Senate Bill Number 2450--Permanent Validity of Certificates of Live Births, etc.

[Stevephoto 224]

Sorry if this topic has been discussed. I could not find anything.

Aloha everyone!

This post is for information purposes for those of you who have or will have business to attend to with any government or school department in the Philippines. Many of you have important documents like birth certificates that were issued by the Philippine National Statistics Office (NSO) before that office merged with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in December of 2013. This has created situations where some offices or schools have required the newer PSA documents even though the PSA has stated publicly that the documents are identical except for the logo and a different type of security paper. The PSA did say, however, that it was beyond their control if a particular office required the newer documents. This may change very soon. We have been closely monitoring the progress of Senate Bill Number 2450, known as the PERMANENT VALIDITY OF THE CERTIFICATES OF LIVE BIRTH, DEATH, AND MARRIAGE ACT (sorry, shouting caps not intended...this is from the Senate website). The bill, if signed or passed into law, would make these certificates permanent regardless of when they were obtained if it was still possible to read them. It would also prohibit government offices from requiring the newer PSA documents if you could still read the older documents.

The bill passed the third reading of the Senate by unanimous vote and was sent to the Office of the President on June 27, 2022. Former President Duterte had not signed the bill before his departure and the senate website (https://legacy.senate.gov.ph/lis/bill_res.aspx?congress=18&q=SBN-2450) still shows that the bill was forwarded to Malacanang and seems to be as yet unsigned. I will post here as soon as I see any updates—or please post an update if any of you see something first.

 

[Chancy 6,233]

13 hours ago, Stevephoto said:

The PSA did say, however, that it was beyond their control if a particular office required the newer documents.

 

I wonder if the US embassy will begin accepting NSO documents for visa cases if this bill is signed into PH law.

 

[Stevephoto 224]

4 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

I wonder if the US embassy will begin accepting NSO documents for visa cases if this bill is signed into PH law.

 

I would certainly hope so. The whole point of the bill is to save Filipinos time and money by securing the permanence of their old documents. I didn't realize that the US Embassy was not accepting NSO documents (it has been a long time for us!) Let's hope that changes and there is one less step (redoing old, but valid documents) in the process. Salamat for your comment.

[Stevephoto 224]

Sorry, no updates. I THINK this bill is in limbo now. It was sent by the 18th Congress to former President Duterte. He did not sign it so I thought t would either need to signed, vetoed, or passed into law after 30 days under President Marcos. I cannot find any updates on its status (now past 30 days), but I saw an article stating that the "pass into law after 30 days" clause is on;y in effect when Congress is in session The 18th Congress adjourned and it is now the 19th Congress, so I am not sure if the bill needs to reintroduced to the new legislature or not. President Marcos did veto a tax incentive bill for the Bulacan Airport area, but there is some question about whether that will stand (because the old congress is no longer viable and therefore cannot exercise the right to override the veto or not).

 

I had hoped to have a more definitive update on what I think is a very important measure that, as @Chancy indicated, may have implications for the procedures at the US Embassy. Please post here if you have any other information either on this bill or what happens in general in these situations. Salamat!

[Stevephoto 224]

UPDATE: The bill has lapsed into law according to the Philippine Senate website!

 

(I added the bold to the last sentence):

18th Congress
Senate Bill No. 2450

PERMANENT VALIDITY OF THE CERTIFICATES OF LIVE BIRTH, DEATH, AND MARRIAGE ACT

Filed on November 9, 2021 by Pangilinan, Francis "Kiko" N., Recto, Ralph G., Gatchalian, Win, Villanueva, Joel, Revilla Jr., Ramon Bong, Angara, Sonny, Poe, Grace, Binay, Maria Lourdes Nancy S., Villar, Cynthia A., Gordon, Richard J., Cayetano, Pia S., Go, Christopher Lawrence T.

Top of Form

Overview | Committee Referral | Floor Activity | Leg. History | All Information

Bottom of Form

Download

• SBN-2450 (Per Ctte. Rpt. No.334)
  11/9/2021 4.2MB

• SBN-2450 (Third Reading Copy)
  5/26/2022 286.3KB

• Republic Act No. 11909 361.6KB

Long title

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE PERMANENT VALIDITY OF THE CERTIFICATES OF LIVE BIRTH, DEATH, AND MARRIAGE ISSUED, SIGNED, CERTIFIED, OR AUTHENTICATED BY THE PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY (PSA) AND ITS PREDECESSOR, THE NATIONAL STATISTICS OFFICE (NSO) AND THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRIES, AND THE REPORTS OF BIRTH, DEATH, AND MARRIAGE REGISTERED AND ISSUED BY THE PHILIPPINE FOREIGN SERVICE POSTS

Scope

National

Legislative status

Lapsed Into Law (7/28/2022)

@Chancy I would THINK that the US Embassy would now need to follow Philippine law. Please post here if anyone has any issues with the Embassy accepting pre-PSA documents (AKA NSO documents) to keep us updated on this. Salamat!