CH waives penalties for late registration of birth

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Council has waived the penalties for late registration of children at the Civil Registrar’s Office in support of the celebration of the Civil Registration Month on February.

Starting next month, unregistered children in Cebu City can be registered without paying penalties.

Councilor Lea Ouano-Japson, chairperson of the committee on the Cebu City Women and Family Affairs, said the city registrar’s office has lined up series of activities meant for the disadvantaged and indigents.

Among the activities lined up for the whole month of February includes the free delayed registration of birth, one-day issuance of certificates of birth, marriage and death.

“Our less fortunate constituents would not anymore file or process documents due to the amount or cost which they could hardly afford,” Japson said. The processing of the documents would range from P150 to P300.

Civil Registrar Evangeline Abatayo said the city must also provide a mechanism for giving financial assistance to the certified indigent applicants to cover for the payments that cannot be waived by the city.

Among the cost that cannot be waived are the supporting affidavits and documents such as baptismal and the security paper, which is a public document that contains the vital events pertaining to status of persons.

Japson said it will be the Department of Social Welfare and Services that will be in-charge in laying out the mechanism and the guidelines for those who can avail the free issuance of certificates.   (FREEMAN NEWS)