The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday that it delivered birth certificates to some 28,226 individuals, who registered late through their Birth Registration Assistance Project (BRAP).
BRAP allows late registration for individuals without birth certificates, especially those who identify as members of the Indigenous Peoples communities, Muslim Filipinos, senior citizens, and other vulnerable sectors, including those in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
“These are our underprivileged folks with no birth certificates. They are the people with very little chance of engaging in fraudulent acts to have birth certificates,” according to PSA Western Visayas Director Nelida Amolar.
Amolar also noted that out of the 141,985 individuals who applied for negative omnibus certificates in 2022, a total of 104,319 applicants have been issued their documents as of July 24.
The negative omnibus certificate is provided by the PSA for individuals with no birth record, serving as a requirement for late registration.
“The local registrars have been a tremendous help,” Amolar added.
To extend PSA services to more residents, Amolar plans to include mobile registration in the national identification system. The PSA also aims to strengthen its information and education drives.
PSA data showed that 6.73 million out of the 7.95 million population in Western Visayas have registered in the Philippine Identification System, with over 4.3 million receiving their physical national IDs and others issued with electronic IDs.
