PSA-certified documents should be a thing of the past

Is there still a need for people to waste their time and money applying online or queueing up at the Philippine Statistics Authority for “PSA-certified true copies” of documents like certificate of live birth or a marriage contract, even when they already have “certified true copies” of their COLBs or MCs from the local civil registrars (LCRs) of the places where they were born or married?

Take it from me: I have had in my possession my birth certificate, an LCR-certified true copy with the official receipt for my payment thereof. When I transacted some business with a government agency that required proof of my identity (despite the presentation of government-issued ID cards) and birth, it insisted on my submission of a recent PSA-certified copy of my COLB—no ifs, ands, or buts! As misfortune would have it, my birth was nowhere recorded either in the PSA’s database or in the National Statistics Office (NSO).

Enacted on July 28, 2022, Section 3 of Republic Act No. 11909, or the Permanent Validity of Certificates of Live Birth, Death, and Marriage Act, unequivocally provides: “The certificates of live birth, death, and marriage issued, signed, certified, or authenticated by the PSA and its predecessor, the NSO, AND THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRIES SHALL HAVE PERMANENT VALIDITY REGARDLESS OF THE DATE OF ISSUANCE AND SHALL BE RECOGNIZED AND ACCEPTED IN ALL GOVERNMENT OR PRIVATE TRANSACTIONS OR SERVICES REQUIRING SUBMISSION THEREOF, AS PROOF OF IDENTITY AND LEGAL STATUS OF A PERSON: Provided, That the document remains intact, readable, and still visibly contains the authenticity and security feature …” There was absolutely no problem with the readability or clarity of the entries on my LCR-certified copy.

Under RA 10625, or the Philippine Statistical Act of 2013, and Commonwealth Act No. 591 (its predecessor creating the NSO), everyone was required to have their COLBs or MCs certified for a fee by those offices for authenticity, validity, and acceptability for employment or a myriad of other purposes. That caused interminable lines of warm bodies for the longest time snaking out into the streets under the scorching heat of the sun. Such cruelty was being inflicted by public officials boondoggling in their air-conditioned offices without any regard for the plight of the taxpayers who were paying their salaries. It was time to put the kibosh on that senseless requirement.

By virtue of RA 11909, COLBs or MCs certified by the LCRs now stand on EQUAL FOOTING with any NSO- or PSA-certified COLBs or MCs. Section 12 of that law provides: “All other laws, rules and regulations, orders, circulars, and other issuances or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly.”

Thus, any official advisory regarding submission of a PSA-certified COLB or MC—in derogation of a certified true copy thereof from the LCR—is PATENTLY UNLAWFUL. Anyone found in violation of this law stands to suffer imprisonment for up to six months and/or a fine of up to P10,000, at the discretion of the court (Section 8). Should I sue then—and wait for a final verdict after 10 or more years? So much for “ease of doing business” in this country.

A PSA certification with respect to the basic documents mentioned in the new law should now be considered a thing of the past. This is precisely in line with RA 11032 or Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018 which ordains that government agencies and offices should adopt “simplified requirements and procedures that will reduce red tape and expedite business and nonbusiness related transactions in government.” It goes without saying that unnecessary requirements—which could be half of those contained in the checklist—should be done away with. And, more importantly, the public should now be spared from the exorbitant fees being exacted by PSA for something the law has categorically declared superfluous and redundant.Steve L. Monsanto,

lexsquare.firm@gmail.com