CIVIL REGISTRATION SYSTEM in the PHILIPPINES ... - nsor12.ph

OVERVIEW OF THE PHILIPPINE CIVIL 

REGISTRATION SYSTEM and its 

GOVERNING LAWS 

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Before Spanish Regime 

There were no known 

system of documenting 

civil status of persons.

Spanish Regime 

The first known records of civil status 

of persons were the records of the 

Catholic Church consisting of the 

records of baptisms, marriages and 

deaths. Unfortunately, most of these 

records are no longer available, 

except those from 1876 to 1885.

Philippine 

Revolutionary Period 

The Philippine Revolution in 

1889 caused the separation 

of the church and state.



After the declaration of Philippine 

Independence on June 12, 1898, one 

of the early actions of the government 

was the promulgation of a decree on 

June 18, 1898 reorganizing 

the towns under its control.



Section 3 of this decree required the 

election of three delegates, one of 

whom was the Delegate of Justice and 

Civil Registration to assist the Chief of 

the Pueblo in the initiation of court 

proceedings and preparation of the 

record books of births, death and 

marriages and the census.

The American Regime 

The Municipal Law or Act No. 82, 

enacted by the Philippine 

Commission of 1901 provided in its 

Section 20 that each Municipal 

Secretary should keep the civil 

registers of his locality.


Act No. 273 which was promulgated on 

October 21, 1901 created the Bureau of 

Archives. The act provided that one of the 

duties of the Bureau of Archives was 

“to have the care and custody of such 

public records as may be in accordance 

with law or by direction of the Civil 

Governor be deposited in the insular 

archives.”


Act No. 3022 amended Act No. 2711 on 

March 8 1922 by converting the 

Bureau of Archives as one of the 

divisions of the National Library, and 

requiring all municipal secretaries to 

submit quarterly reports on all 

registration matters to the Chief of the 

Division of Archives.

Enactment of Civil Registry Law 

(Act No. 3753) 

“An Act to establish a Civil 

Register” on November 26, 

1930. It took effect on 27 

February 1931.

Creation of the Bureau of 

the Census and Statistics 

Commonwealth Act 

No. 591 created the 

Bureau of the Census 

and Statistics.



Act No. 3753 by transferring the civil 

registration function from the National 

Library to the Bureau of the Census and 

Statistics. The Director of the Bureau of 

the Census and Statistics then became 

the ex-officio Civil Registrar-General.



The Bureau of the Census and Statistics has 

been renamed to National Census and 

Statistics Office and later on to the 

National Statistics Office, maintaining 

basically the same functions including 

those that pertain to civil registration.

Other Important Laws on 

Civil Registration 

Presidential Decree 651 – 

promulgated on January 31, 1975, 

ordered that unregistered within 60 

days from effectivity of the decree 

are without fee or free of charge.

Other Important Laws On 


Presidential Decree No. 603 – 

known as Child and Youth Welfare 

Code and took effect on June 10, 

1975, provides that birth records 

of a person are to be kept 

confidential.



Presidential Decree No. 856 – 

Code on Sanitation of the 

Philippines (December 23, 1975) 

specifies that no human body 

shall be buried without death 

certificate.



Presidential Act No. 386 – 

(Civil Code of the Philippines) 

Title XVI of this Code is 

entitled Civil Register.



Rules of Court – requires the Clerk 

of Court to report certain court 

decisions concerning civil status 

of persons to local civil registry 

office for recording …



Batas Pambansa Blg. 337 – 

(Local Government Code of 1983). 

This code transferred the civil 

registration function from the 

municipality planning and development 

coordination to a permanent 

city/municipal civil registrar.

Other Important Laws On Civil 

Registration 

Former President Corazon C. Aquino 

issued Proclamation No. 682 on 

January 28, 1991, making February of 

each year as Civil Registration Month.



Republic Act No. 9048 – 

an act authorizing the City or 

Municipal Civil Registrar or the 

Consul General to Correct a 

Clerical or Typographical Error




an act allowing illegitimate children 

to use the surname of their father 

Amending for the purpose Article 

176 of Executive Order No. 209, 

Otherwise known as the “Family 

Code of the Philippines”




An Act Providing for 

Legitimation of Children Born to 

Parents Below Marrying Age, 

Amending for the purpose the 

Family Code of the Philippines

CIVIL REGISTRATION SYSTEM in the PHILIPPINES ... - nsor12.ph

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