THE House Committee on Population and Family Relations, chaired by Isabela Rep. Ian Paul Dy, on Wednesday approved in principle House Bill 11117, also known as the “Fraudulent Birth Certificate Cancellation Law.”
Originally approved on Nov. 27 this year, the panel reconvened on Wednesday to reconsider the approval of HB 11117 as a stand-alone measure, since its previous approval was consolidated with other measures on the proposed “Philippine Civil Registry Act.”
Committee vice chairperson and Masbate Rep. Olga Kho, who presided over the meeting, said the bill is now prioritized for plenary deliberation and possible enactment into law.
She expressed the pressing need to ensure and strengthen the reliability and integrity of the Philippine Civil Registry database to safeguard vital records, which are essential in measuring progress and planning government activities.
“With the current situation, when voluminous entries on late birth registration were spurious and the program of the PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) was abused, we need the administrative cancellation to urgently address the erroneous problems on the Philippine Civil Registry,” she said.
Authors of the measure include Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Deputy Speaker David Suarez, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez, Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr., Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop, Abang Lingkod Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Ty Pimentel and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, among others.
