Recto: Birth certificates have no expiry dates

MANILA, Philippines — Birth certificates are valid for life and government agencies shouldn’t require applicants to submit a recently issued one, according to Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto.

Recto was prompted to file a bill affirming the lifetime validity of legitimate birth certificates because of the practice of government and private offices requiring applicants for jobs or permits to submit a recently issued birth certificate.

“It is not like a dish of sardines that becomes spoiled. Which is why it is saddening that many offices still require a newly issued birth certificate, which is a burden to an applicant,” he said.

An authenticated copy of a birth certificate from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) costs P155, and home delivery costs P365.

Even the PSA has explained that birth certificates have no expiration date, and yet offices continue to look for new ones from applicants, Recto noted.

“While [the security paper] over the years has changed in appearance to keep the proliferation of fraudulent birth certificates and identities at bay, the PSA has been emphatic in its assurance that such does not remove the validity of the birth certificate,” he said.

He also said the government should convince foreign embassies in the country to drop the rule requiring the submission of six-month-old birth certificates, marriage certificates and other PSA-issued certificates by visa applicants.

The bill would do away with “an unnecessary, expensive and oppressive” requirement, Recto added.