Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 2) – Birth, death, and marriage certificates issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and its predecessor National Statistics Office (NSO) are now permanently valid regardless of their date of issuance.
In a transmittal letter to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri sent on Monday, Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez said the bill seeking the permanent validity of the documents lapsed into law last July 28.
The measure is set to become Republic Act No. 11909, which officially grants permanent validity of birth, death, and marriage certificates.
“Ang panalo dito ay ang bawat Pilipino, na hindi kailangan gumastos pa nang paulit-ulit para sa mga certificates dahil ang mga hawak at nabayaran na nila ay di na mawawalan ng bisa,” the law’s sponsor Sen. Bong Revilla said in a statement.
[Translation: The winner here is every Filipino, who no longer need to spend repeatedly to get the certificates because the documents they own and paid for won’t lose validity.]
The law provides that birth, death, and marriage certificates are permanently valid as long as it is “intact, readable and still visibly contains the authenticity and security features.”
The new legislation also states the three certificates must be recognized and accepted in all government and private offices, which require the submission of such documents as a person’s proof of identity and legal status.
Before it lapsed into law, government and private offices require an individual to present either of the three documents obtained six months before submission.
The PSA said in a prior Senate hearing that most offices enforce the six-month validity requirement for the submission of the three certificates due to the changing color of the security paper.
Violators will face prison time from one month and a day to six months, or pay a fine of at least ₱5,000 and ₱10,000 or both. Government workers who will violate the law will be temporarily disqualified from holding public office.
