Eye Opener
Wrong entries in Civil Registry blamable to parents
Why are parents, relatives and next of kins blamable for wrong entries in birth, marriage and death certificates of their children? Many parents and next of kins are paying several thousands of pesos for correction of entries in their children's birth or marriage certificates due to negligence or laziness in examining the child's entries on the document when said child was newly born to determine whether or not the data being prepared by either the nurse or the local civil registrar are correct or not. It is only the mother or the father or the closest next of kin who can determine whether or not the entries in the birth certificate are correct or not. For instance, the child is a boy and the entry under sex was female or the name of the child was Alexander and Alex was typed under the first name of the child. If other entries in the document were wrongly typed and the parents did not bother to review the authenticity of the data typed in the certificate, then after one month, the document is forwarded by the local civil registrar to NSO Manila and thereafter no changes will be made on the wrong entries. Only a court order is necessary to make the changes of wrong entries. In some instances, the changes will be made by the local civil registrar according to the new guidelines issued by the Civil Registrar General of NSO Manila.
If parents or next of kins are meticulous enough to review the birth certificate within a month after the birth of the child, correction can still be made with the local civil registrar's office as the document is still with the LCR's office.
Today, there are many children who have difficulties in having their birth document authenticated due to error in spelling of their name, age, sex, date of birth, parent's name, etc. and could not depart immediately abroad or find employment elsewhere. Students who are required to present NSO SECPA (Security Paper) are delayed in enrolling, taking the board examination or other processes since their erroneous birth certificate is forwarded to NSO Manila for review and authentication.
Married couple who had erroneous marriage certificate find difficulty in having their document processed as they will go to the long way of waiting and following up their erroneous document either at the local NSO office or in Manila. There is no serious problem in the death certificate, but still parents and next of kins are enjoined to also verify before hand the document.
Since erroneous documents on birth and marriage have been the problem of parents and kins, DECS and CHED should include in the school's curriculum subject on civil registration so that when students become parents later on, they know how to handle the situation of their children's birth or marriage document.
NSO officials should conduct seminar for parents and next of kins or future mothers. Local Civil Registry personnel at cities and municipalities should also be careful in typing the data on birth and marriage furnished to them by nurses, "hilots" and even court and church personnel as far as birth or marriage data are given to them. Parents and next of kins must double check the certificates once they received them from the LCR's office.