Deaths, births, marriages decline in January-May

MANILA, Philippines — Registered deaths, births and marriages in the country showed year-on-year declines in the period from January to May, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

A report from the PSA showed that the preliminary number of registered deaths reached 208,099 in the first five months of the year – 34.7 percent lower than the 318,888 deaths in the same period last year.

Recording the highest number of registered deaths was Region IV-A or Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) at 31,469 or 15.1 percent of the total deaths in the country for the January-May period this year.

The National Capital Region (NCR) saw a 42.2-percent drop in registered deaths to 26,257 in January-May this year from 45,449 deaths in the same period last year.

Within the NCR, Quezon City had the highest number of registered deaths with 5,584 or 21.3 percent of the total deaths in the region.

Among provinces, Cavite had the highest number of registered deaths in the first five months of the year at 7,897 or 3.8 percent of the total.

Bulacan placed second with 7,465 deaths or a 3.6-percent share while Pangasinan came in third with 6,749 deaths or a 3.2-percent share.

A separate report from the PSA showed that COVID-19 was among the leading causes of death in January-May this year.

“Registered deaths due to COVID-19 accounted for a total of 11,051 deaths or 5.3 percent of the total registered deaths from January to May 2022,” the agency said.

Deaths due to COVID-19 with virus identified or those confirmed by a laboratory test reached 8,143 cases or 3.9 percent of the total deaths in January-May this year.

Registered deaths due to COVID-19 with virus not identified accounted for 2,908 or 1.4 percent of the total deaths.

The PSA said its reported deaths due to COVID-19 may differ from what is released by the Department of Health (DOH) “because the figures in this release were obtained from certificates of death, particularly the descriptions written on the medical certificate portion therein as reviewed by the health officer of the local government unit concerned.”

DOH figures are obtained through a surveillance system.

The PSA said the top three causes of death in the country for January-May this year were ischaemic heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases and neoplasms, similar to the same period last year.

Deaths due to ischaemic heart diseases reached 38,707 cases or 18.6 percent of the total deaths in the country in the first five months of the year.

Those due to cerebrovascular diseases accounted for 21,602 deaths or a 10.4 percent share, while neoplasms, or cancer, accounted for 20,408 deaths or a 9.8-percent share.

When it comes to registered births, the PSA said the preliminary figure was at 343,032 in January-May this year, down 31.9 percent from the 503,746 registered births in the same period in 2021.

Among regions, Calabarzon had the highest number of registered births in the first five months of the year with 53,627 or 15.6 percent of the total births in the country.

In the NCR, 43,328 registered births were recorded in January-May this year – a 25.8-percent decrease from the 58,371 births in the same period a year ago.

In the NCR, Quezon City recorded the highest number of registered births with 8,705 or 20.1 percent of the total in the region.

Among provinces, Cavite had the highest number of registered births for January-May this year with 14,256 or 4.2 percent of the total births in the country.

This was followed by Pangasinan with 11,446 births or a 3.3-percent share and Rizal with 10,937 births or a 3.2-percent share.

As for registered marriages, the PSA said the preliminary number fell by 9.5 percent to 136,588 in January-May this year from the 150,998 registered marriages in the same period last year.

Calabarzon topped the regions with 21,310 registered marriages or 15.6 percent of the country’s total in January-May this year.

In the NCR, the number of registered marriages dipped 1.6 percent to 15,734 in January-May this year from the 15,983 marriages in the same period last year.

Within the region, Quezon City had the highest number of registered marriages with 4,560 or 29 percent of the total marriages in the region.

Provinces with the most number of registered marriages in January-May this year are Batangas with 5,422 or a four percent share, Pangasinan with  5,225 or a 3.8 percent  share and Cavite with 5,063 or a 3.7 percent share.