Graft-ridden civil registry

In behalf of the citizens of Quezon City, may I request the immediate investigation by the Office of City Mayor and the city council into the decade-long irregularities at the Quezon City Civil Registry?

Since the time of Mayor (now Speaker) Feliciano Belmonte, the graft-ridden Civil Registry has been charging incredible and extortionary fees for civil registry documents like marriage licenses, birth certificates, death certificates, delayed birth certificate registrations, to name a few.

Not only that, the delayed birth certificate registration takes several months to process due to red tape and unnecessary pre-requirements that are already obsolete. For the birth certificate of a child of an unmarried couple, the registry requires more documents than Republic Act 9255 requires. The law says only the father’s acknowledgment of his paternity is needed.

On top of these, astronomical amounts are charged for each document. For example, the legitimation of a child requires all sorts of requirement each of which is charged a fee—like the unnecessary “Cenomar.” The process requires big money and the Civil Registry charges P700 for this. Never in the history of the Quezon City did we have a government agency as graft-ridden as the Civil Registry. No wonder even the janitors in that office wear expensive jewelry.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government might as well join the investigation that will be conducted by the city mayor and the city council.—ARMANDO SANCHEZ, 1220 Tandang Sora, Culiat, Quezon City