Davao City celebrates civil registration month

The City Government of Davao, through the City Civil Registrar’s Office, is celebrating the 33rd Civil Registration Month with activities that aim to strengthen the civil registration system in the city.

The month-long celebration kicked off with a motorcade with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Monday, February 6.

On February 11-12, the office will be deploying a mobile registration program at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Maa (Davao City Jail). This will be followed by a mall tour on February 13-19 at the SM City Davao and SM Lanang Premier.

To highlight the office’s efforts to enhance the civil registration system in far-flung barangays and IP communities, a school-based registration will be conducted at the Alon Elementary School in Barangay Malabog, Paquibato District on February 28.

Civil Registrar’s Office Head Atty. Leo Anthony Braceros, during the I-Speak media forum on February 2, said these activities are geared at promoting the civil registration system in city. The activities also aim to clear misconceptions about the registration system and the issuance of certificates.

“Just to correct the misconceptions– sometimes if there are errors found on certificates, they blame the local civil registrar but under the law, we are not the ones mandated to prepare your certificates,” Braceros said.

Birth certificates, for instance, are usually prepared by hospital personnel while most death certificates are prepared by the funeral homes.

“That is why we feel the need to regularly conduct enhancement training for those responsible for the preparation so that we can also give updates on changes in policies with respect to civil registration,” Braceros added.

With this, government agency employees, school registrars, hospital and clinic personnel, funeral homes personnel, and other stakeholders are invited to attend the office’s orientation on Civil Registration Laws on February 23 and 24. The City Civil Registrar’s Office is also set to conduct enhancement training on Civil Registration Laws with its own ranks on February 25. CIO