NSO urged to waive census services fees for Yolanda survivors

MANILA, Philippines –Senator Nancy Binay on Tuesday asked the National Statistics Office (NSO) to waive all government fees for census services for  survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”

In her letter to NSO Administrator Carmelita Ericta, Binay said that waiving the fees for services such as requests for copies and certifications of birth, marriage and death documents “would help our countrymen to easily secure important personal records that are needed to establish not only for purposes of identification but likewise in other legal requirements in applying for multi-purpose loans, claiming insurance, and the like”.

A MAN who survived Supertyphoon “Yolanda” visits the grave of a relative who died at the height of the storm in Palo, Leyte province, as storm survivors continue to struggle for their daily survival amid the toughest of conditions and threats to the flow of relief. RAFFY LERMA

“Waiving of fees is a concrete serviceable support as we try to help our countrymen rebuild and bring a sense of normalcy to their lives,” she said.

“People are slowly picking up the pieces and having their identity papers at hand would lead to the restoration of their dignity and well-being,” the neophyte senator said.

The NSO is mandated by law to keep and preserve the birth, marriage and death certificates of a Filipino citizen. These certificates are the bases for establishing the legal status of each and every Filipino.

Binay also requested the NSO to set up online “mobile centers” that would cater to those in far-flung and inaccessible locations, or in municipalities/cities whose functions still remain incapacitated.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has already waived passport renewal requirements for “Yolanda” survivors who lost their travel document.

Such services from national government agencies (NGAs), Binay said, would help allay fears that NGAs were slow in delivering services to cities and municipalities devastated by Yolanda.

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