Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto filed a new bill that seeks the “lifetime validity” of birth certificates. When approved, government agencies have to accept a birth certificate regardless of when it was issued.
The Philippine Statistics Office (PSA) said that birth certificates have no expiration dates. However, Senator Recto said that he filed for this bill to end the practice of government and private offices requiring individuals for a document, permit, service, or job to present a new or recently issued birth certificate.
In the bill that he filed, a “birth certificate certified and issued by the PSA shall not expire and shall be considered valid at any time.
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However, there are exceptions to this such as if your name was misspelled or your birth date is incorrect, you have to request for a new birth certificate.
Still, Senator Recto gives credit to PSA and said the agency “has never been remiss in explaining that birth certificates it has issued have no expiry dates, but this assurance remains unheeded in many offices which continue to require that the submitted birth certificate was issued within the past six months.”
People who want to request a birth certificate may do so online. According to the PSA website, birth, marriage, and death certificates cost Php330 each, including application and delivery, which is seen as unnecessary cost by Senator Recto if you already have a birth certificate and just need to get a recently issued one.
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