IRR of REPUBLIC ACT NO. 11909 (PSA ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 2 s2023), November 21, 2023
IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 11909 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE PERMANENT VALIDITY OF THE CERTIFICATE OF LIVE BIRTH, DEATH, AND MARRIAGE ACT
Republic Acts November 21, 2023
WHEREAS, it is the policy of the State to establish an effective system for providing copies of civil registry documents to all its citizens;
WHEREAS, the State promotes efficiency and economy by removing duplicitous processes and requirements involving the issuance and use of those documents;
WHEREAS, the State shall enforce the permanent validity of the certificate 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), the Local Civil Registry Office (LCRO), Shari’a Circuit/District Registrar, and the reports of birth, death, and marriage registered and issued by the Philippine Foreign Service Post (PFSP) and transmitted to the PSA;
NOW THEREFORE, pursuant to Section 10 of Republic Act (RA) No. 11909, the National Statistician and and Civil Registrar General promulgated these rules and regulations, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the President of the Philippine Association of Civil Registrars (PACR).
Rule 1
TITLE
These Rules shall be known as the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) on Permanent Validity of the Certificates of Live Birth, Death, and Marriage Act or Administrative Order No. 2 Series of 2023.
Rule 2
COVERAGE
This IRR shall apply to certificates of live birth, death and marriage issued, signed, certified, or authenticated by the PSA and its predecessor, the NSO, the LCRO, and Shari’a Circuit/District Registrar. This likewise applies to:
| a) |
Reports of birth, death, or marriage registered and issued by the PFSPs and transmitted to the PSA.
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| b) |
Transcriptions from the registry books of birth, marriage, and death in case the original or duplicate copy is no longer available in the LCRO or when the original/duplicate copy contains blurred or unreadable entries.
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| c) |
In case the child/person is a foundling, the equivalent birth certificate is a Certificate of Foundling (COF) or Certificate of Live Birth (COLS) of Persons with No Known Parent/s, if a child/person is not legally adopted.
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Rule 3
DEFINITION OF TERMS
For purposes of this IRR, the following definition of terms shall apply:
| a) |
Authentic Civil Registry Documents
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Refer to the civil registry documents issued, signed, certified, or authenticated by the PSA and its predecessor, the NSO, the LLCROs, Shari’a Circuit/District Registrar, and PFSPs containing the signature of the Civil Registrar General, City/Municipal Registrar, Shari’a Circuit/District Registrar, Consul General/Consul/Vice Consul or their authorized signatories, as the case may be, and it can be shown as having the character and authority of the original.
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| b) |
City/Municipal Civil Registrar (C/MCR)
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Refers to the head of the local civil registry office of the city or municipality, as the case may be, who is appointed as such by the city or municipal mayor in accordance with the provisions of existing laws.
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| c) |
Civil Registry Documents (CRDs)
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Refer to Certificate of Live Birth, Certificate of Marriage, Certificate of Death, Transcriptions, Certificate of Foundling, Certificate of Live Birth of Persons with No Parent/s, Report of Birth, Report of Marriage, Report of Death, and Certificate of Muslim Marriages issued, signed, certified or authenticated by the PSA, its predecessor, the NSO, LCROs, PFSPs, and Shari’a Circuit/District Registrars, as the case may be.
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| d) | Civil Registry Database |
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This database contains the information and digitized images of CRDs such as births, marriages, deaths, COLB of persons with no known parent/s, certificates of foundling, reports of births, marriages, deaths, and other registered CRDs submitted to PSA by the LCROs nationwide, the PFSPs, and Shari’a Circuit/District Registrars. It also includes images of specimen signatures of all C/MCRs and authorized signatories of the LCROs.
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| e) |
COLB of Person with No Known Parent/s or Certificate of Foundling
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Refers to the birth record of a person with no known parent/s or a foundling to establish the information/facts surrounding the circumstances on how and when the person was found.
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| f) |
Consul General
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Refers to an official of the DFA who has been issued a consular commission and acts as the head of a consular post or the head of the consular section of an Embassy and entrusted in the capacity with the exercise of diplomatic and consular functions, including civil registration duties.
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| g) |
Consul/Vice Consul
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Refers to an official of the DFA who has been issued a consular commission and entrusted in that capacity with the exercise of diplomatic and consular functions.
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Document Owner
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Refers to the individual whose legal identity, facts and acts concerning his/her civil status from birth to death including all the changes that takes place in his/her lifetime and recorded in a civil registry document or Civil Registers.
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| i) |
Local Civil Registry Office (LCRO)
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Refers to an office or department in the city or municipal government that is mandated to perform civil registration functions.
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| j) |
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General
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Refers to the head of the PSA, who is mandated to provide overall direction in the implementation of the Civil Registry Law and related issuances and exercise technical supervision over the local civil registrars.
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| k) |
Permanent Validity
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Refers to the mandatory acceptability of the certificates of live birth, death, and marriage issued, signed, certified, or authenticated by the PSA and its predecessor, the NSO, the LCROs, and Shari’a Circuit/District Registrars, regardless of the date of issuance and shall be recognized and accepted in all government or private transactions or services requiring submission thereof, as proof of identity and legal status of a person. Provided That the document remains intact, readable, and still visibly contains the authenticity and security features.
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This provision likewise applies to reports of birth, death, or marriage registered and issued by the PFSPs and transmitted to the PSA.
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| l) |
Philippine Foreign Service Posts (PFSPs)
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Refer to all Philippine embassies, missions, consulates, and other foreign service establishments maintained by the DFA.
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| m) |
Security Features
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Are features used to validate the authenticity of CRDs such as: Birth Reference Number/Marriage Reference Number/Death Reference Number, Signature of the authorized official, Barcode/Barcode data, Security Paper Serial Number, Quick Response (QR) Code and such other security features as may be developed in the future.
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| n) |
Shari’a Circuit/District Registrar
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Refers to the Clerk of Court of the Shari’a Circuit/District Court acting as the Circuit/District Registrar of Muslim marriages, divorces, revocations of divorces, and conversions within the territorial jurisdiction of the said courts.
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| o) |
Virtual Viewing Facility
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A facility to be developed by PSA in coordination with DICT to verify the authenticity of the civil registry documents.
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Rule 4
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
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National Statistician and Civil Register General
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The National Statistician and Civil Registrar-General shall have the following duties and powers:
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| i. | To enforce the provisions of RA 11909; | |
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To prepare and issue policies and regulations for the purpose of RA 11909 such as but not limited to acceptance of civil registry documents, submission of other supporting documents, requirements supporting documents, requirements on security features, verification and authentication of CRDs and other relevant issuances that may have impact or affect the acceptance of CRDs;
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| iii. |
To provide overall direction in the implementation of RA 11909, this implementing rules and regulations, and other related issuances to C/MCRs, Shari’a circuit/district registrars, consul general, consul, and vice consul with reference to the performance of their duties; and
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| iv. |
To take action or report any violation of the provisions of RA 11909 and other relevant laws on civil registration in coordination with the concerned office for the filing of the appropriate case against the offender.
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| b) |
City/Municipal Civil Registrars, Shari’a Circuit/District Registrars, Consul General/Consul/Vice Consul
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| i. |
To issue certified copies or certifications in accordance with RA 11909, following the existing rules on Civil Registration Laws;
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To ensure compliance with RA 11909, its implementing rules and regulations and relevant issuances by the CRG;
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To incorporate security features of CRDs in accordance with the guidelines issued by PSA;
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iv.
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Other duties and responsibilities of the City/Municipal Civil Registrars, Shari’a Circuit/District Registrars, Consul General/Consul/Vice Consul as provided under Act 3753 and other CRG policies and issuances relevant to this Act.
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Rule 5
ISSUANCE OF CIVIL REGISTRY DOCUMENTS
Regardless of the permanent validity herein established, the document owner or his/her authorized representative, may request for a copy of his/her CRDs in such number of copies or as often as necessary upon payment of the fees as prescribed by the PSA, the local civil registries, and the PFSPs.
Provided that the prescribed fees shall be in accordance with existing laws including rules and regulations on allowable fees issued by the Anti-Red Tape Authority, local revenue codes or ordinances, as the case may be.
Issuance of CRDs shall be free of charge upon presentation of any of the following certificates:
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Certificate of indigency issued by DSWD;
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Certificate of indigency issued by LGU subject to verification process; or
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Certificate of 4Ps issued by DSWS.
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Provided, that the certificate of indigency shall be based on the DSWD Listahanan. The CRG shall issue guidelines in the implementation of issuance of CRDs for indigents in coordination with DSWD.
his provision likewise applies to requests for the issuance of reports of birth, death, and marriage by the PFSPs.
Rule 6
INSTANCES WHEN THE END-USERS MAY REQUIRE THE SUBMISSION OF A NEW OR UPDATED COPY OF THE CIVIL REGISTRY DOCUMENTS
National government agencies and instrumentalities, government-owned and controlled corporations, local government units, private companies, private and public educational institutions, and other non-government entities are prohibited from requiring the submission of another or newer copies of CRDs when a valid certificate can already be presented, except under any of the following instances:
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When the document upon verification appears not to be authentic;
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The security features of the documents are no longer visible;
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CRDs which are unreadable or the texts on the certificates appear illegible;
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CRDs that need to undergo or have undergone judicial corrections;
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CRDs that need to undergo or has undergone administrative correction pursuant to RA No. 9858 entitled “An Act Providing for the Legitimation of Children Born to Parents Below Marrying Age, Amending for the Purpose the Family Code of the Philippines, as Amended”; RA No. 9048 entitled “An Act Authorizing the City of Municipal Civil Registrar or the Consul General to Correct a Clerical or Typographical Error in an Entry and/or Change of First Name or Nickname in the Civil Register without the Need of a Judicial Order, Amending for this Purpose Articles 376 and 412 of the Civil Code of the Philippines”; RA No. 10172 entitled, “An Act Further Authorizing the City or Municipal Civil Registrar or the Consul General to Correct Clerical or Typographical Errors in the Day and Month in the Date of Birth or Sex of a Person Appearing in the Civil Register without Need of a Judicial Order, Amending for the Purpose Republic Act Numbered Ninety Forty-Eight”, Supplemental Report, RA No. 9255 entitled “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”; and including Acknowledgement under the New Civil Code;
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Administrative and Judicial Adoption pursuant to RA No. 8043 or “Inter-Country Adoption Act of 1995”, RA No. 8552 or “Domestic Adoption Law”. RA No. 11222 or the “Simulated Birth Rectification Act”, and RA No. 11642 or the “Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act”;
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Certified copies of registered legal instruments (i.e., naturalization and/or election of Philippine citizenship);
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Dissolution and Revocation of Dissolution of Marriages under the customs and traditions of the indigenous people and protected by RA 8371 or the “Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act”;
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Divorces and Revocation of Divorces under Presidential Decree 1083 or the “Code of Muslim Personal Laws”;
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CRDs to be used abroad requiring the issuance of apostille; and
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CRDs compliant with requirements in Republic Act 8239 or the “Passport Act of 1996” to establish identity and citizenship, and to meet International Civil Aviation Organization standards pertaining to security, integrity, and a satisfactory level of confidence in the reliability of travel documents.
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Other birth, marriage, or death records that have undergone administrative corrections pursuant to existing civil registration laws, rules and regulations.
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Rule 7
SUBMISSION OF OTHER DOCUMENTS
The submission of a PSA-authenticated birth certificate shall be without prejudice to the submission of other supporting documents that the end-user agency, company, or entity may use in determining the identity of applicants, particularly those classified as special cases such as dual/multiple citizenship or needing further citizenship verification, persons with dissolved marriages, and those with later registered certificates of live birth or persons with discrepant entries on documents.
Rule 8
ISSUANCE OF CIVIL REGISTRY DOCUMENTS IN CASE OF MULTIPLE REGISTRATION
In the case of multiple registration of birth and death, the first registered document shall be issued unless there is a court order to the contrary. For multiple marriages involving the same parties, the certificate of marriage pertaining to the first celebrated marriage shall be issued.
For multiple marriages involving different parties, the document being requested by the document owner/s shall be issued.
Rule 9
PERMANENT VALIDITY OF CIVIL REGISTRY DOCUMENTS
The following shall be the rules in determining the permanent validity of CRDs:
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Certificates of live birth, death, and marriage issued, signed, certified, or authenticated by the PSA and its predecessor, the NSO, LCRO, and the Shari’a Circuit/District Registrar shall have permanent validity regardless of the date of issuance and shall be recognized and accepted in all government or private transactions or service requiring submission thereof, as proof of identity and legal status of a person: Provided, that the document remain intact, readable, and still visibly contains the authenticity and security features.
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This rule likewise applies to reports of birth, marriage, and death registered and issued by the PFSPs and transmitted to the PSA.
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This shall also apply to Certificates of Marriages contracted by Muslim Filipinos and members of the Indigenous Peoples/Indigenous Cultural Communities (IPs/ICCs) in accordance with the Presidential Decree No. 1083, and RA No. 8371, respectively.
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In case where the foundling was not adopted, the COLB of person with no known parent/s or COF, as the case may be, will be the CRD possessing permanent validity. When the foundling or person with no known parent is adopted, the rules under Rule 9d shall apply.
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The new, amended, or updated CRDs that had undergone judicial and administrative correction shall be considered permanently valid and is understood to supersede the original CRD.
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The primary birth record with an approved decree/order of adoption shall no longer be issued and must be sealed or linked with the amended birth record with the latter being the permanent birth record.
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For marriages that have been judicially decreed annulled, declared void ab initio, divorces rendered by the Shari’a Courts and foreign judgments recognized by the Philippine courts, the annotated certificate of marriage shall be the permanent valid record of marriage.
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Certificates of marriages contracted by IPs/ICCs in accordance with the IPRA Law, and subsequently terminated according to their customary laws, the annotated marriage record of such IPs/ICCs shall be the permanent valid record of marriage.
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In case of marriages that were terminated under Article 42 of the Family Code of the Philippines by reason of the reappearance of an absent spouse, and an Affidavit of Reappearance was duly registered, the permanently valid marriage record shall be:
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The Unannotated certificate of marriage of the original contracting parties; and
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The certificate of marriage of the parties to the subsequent marriage with annotation reflecting the reappearance of the absentee spouse.
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Rule 10
PSA CIVIL REGISTRY DATABASE
PSA CIVIL REGISTRY DATABASE
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The PSA shall, in coordination with the DICT, develop a civil registry database in local civil registries and in the PFSPs.
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The PSA as the central repository of all CRDs submitted by LCROs including all reported vital events by the PFSPs for those occurring abroad and from Shari’a Circuit/District Registrars for Muslim Filipinos, shall be updated on a regular basis.
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The PSA shall issue appropriate guidelines in the establishment, maintenance, access, and updating of the civil registry database taking into consideration the incorporation of safeguards and controls to ensure confidentiality of information. The guidelines shall include the mechanisms to align discrepancies between PSA and LCROs and PFSPs.
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Rule 11
VIRTUAL VIEWING FACILITY FOR AUTHENTICATION OF CIVIL REGISTRY DOCUMENTS
VIRTUAL VIEWING FACILITY FOR AUTHENTICATION OF CIVIL REGISTRY DOCUMENTS
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To verify the authenticity and validate the civil registry documents submitted to the stakeholders and/or intended end-users, the PSA, in coordination with the DICT, shall establish a virtual viewing facility in the LCROs and PFSPs.
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The virtual viewing facility shall be used to verify the authenticity of the certificates of live birth, death, and marriage, and the reports of birth, death, and marriage, respectively.
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The PSA shall issue guidelines on the establishment and use of the virtual viewing facility which shall take into consideration the incorporation of safeguards and controls to ensure confidentiality of information. The PSA shall also issue guidelines on the fees to be charged for the use of the virtual viewing facility.
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In cases where the virtual viewing facility is not accessible, offline verification shall be allowed with the PSA, concerned LCROs, PFSPs or Shari’a Circuit/District Registrars. The PSA shall issue guidelines on the process of offline verification.
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Rule 12
SECURITY FEATURES
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Each copy of the certificate of live birth, marriage, and death and other certificates printed on security paper issued by the PSA shall contain security features to ensure that each document is a genuine and authentic copy thereof. This shall include reports of birth, death, or marriage registered and issued by the PFSPs and transmitted to the PSA.
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For LCRO-issued documents and Certificate of Muslim marriages issued by the Shari’a Circuit/District Registrars, the PSA will issue guidelines for the standard implementation in consultation with the PACR, Shari’a Circuit/District Registrars, and DICT.
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Rule 13
PENALTY PROVISIONS
PENALTY PROVISIONS
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Any person who violates Section 5 of RA 11909 shall, upon conviction, be punished with imprisonment of one (1) month and one (1) day to six (6) months or a fine of not less than five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) but not more than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court.
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If the violation is committed by a public official or employee, an accessory penalty of temporary disqualification to hold public office shall likewise be imposed.
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If the violation is committed by a corporation, partnership, or association, the board of director, partner, trustee, official, or employee who directly or indirectly participated in the commission of the unlawful act provided under Section 5 of RA 11909 shall be liable.
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A criminal liability as provided under Republic Act No. 9485, or the “Anti-Red tape Act of 2007”, as amended by Republic Act No. 11032, shall be imposed on “fixers” defined under the law, as any individual, whether or not officially involved in the operation of a government office or agency, who has access to people working therein, and whether or not in collusion with them, facilitates the speedy completion of transactions for pecuniary gain or any other advantage or consideration.
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Rule 14
TRANSITORY PROVISION
TRANSITORY PROVISION
All existing facilities and databases maintained by the PSA, LCROs, Shari’a Circuit/District Registrars, and PFSPs shall be utilized for the implementation and operationalization of RA 11909 pending the development and/or updating of newer facilities and databases.
All certificates of live birth, death, and marriage already issued to the public before and after the effectivity of RA 11909 shall remain to be permanently valid provided that the same are intact, readable, and still visibly contains the authenticity and security features.
The end-users may conduct verification and authentication of the documents with the PSA, for those CRDs issued by LCROs, Shari’a Circuit/District Registrars, and PFSPs while the facilities and databases intended to implement RA 11909 is not yet available.
Rule 15
SEPARABILITY CLAUSE
SEPARABILITY CLAUSE
If any provision, section, or part of this IRR shall be declared unconstitutional or invalid, such judgment shall not affect, invalidate, or impair other provisions, or parts thereof.
Rule16
REPEALING CLAUSE
REPEALING CLAUSE
All other laws, rules and regulations, orders, circulars, and other issuances or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this IRR are hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly.
Rule 17
DATE OF EFFECTIVITY
DATE OF EFFECTIVITY
This IRR shall take effect immediately after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation and upon submission with the University of the Philippines Law Center of three (3) copies thereof.
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(SGD.) CLAIRE DENNIS S. MAPA, PhD
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Undersecretary
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National Statistician and Civil Registrar General
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| In consultation with: |
| For the Department of Foreign Affairs: |
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(SGD.) ENRIQUE A. MANALO
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Secretary
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| For the Department of Information and Communications Technology |
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(SGD.) IVAN JOHN E. UY
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Secretary
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| For the Philippine Association of Civil Registrars |
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(SGD.) LUCENA M. FLORES
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Secretary
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