QUEZON CITY -- The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is set to adopt several of the Anti-Red Tape Authority’s (ARTA) recommendations in their guidelines for securing a Certificate of Foundling and Certification of Registration of Authority to Solemnize Marriage.
In a meeting between the two agencies on Wednesday, 4 August 2021, PSA Assistant Secretary Leo Malagar said they have revised the requirements needed to secure a Certificate of Foundling for adults, which are their profile from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and affidavits from two disinterested persons.
The new guidelines were suggestions that ARTA made in a meeting on 15 July 2021 after finding out that there were no clear guidelines for obtaining a Certificate of Foundling for adults.
These are still subject for consultation with PSA’s regional directors and other officials.
Marizza Grande of PSA also presented the revised guidelines for the Certification of Registration of Authority to Solemnize Marriage Certificates, which omits the previously required list of 200 bonafide active church members, the point of contention in the earlier meeting.
Secretary Jeremiah Belgica, ARTA Director General, lauded PSA for immediately taking steps to amend and streamline their guidelines.
“Thank you PSA for adopting our recommendations. As the guidelines are in the final stages of preparation before the rollout, we fervently hope that there will no longer be changes, specifically in the provisions that we pointed out, in the draft,” he said. “This, as we strongly believe that our efforts would surely be able to change and affect a lot of people’s lives.”
Belgica also pledged that the Authority will continue helping national government agencies in addressing the pain points in their processes.
“Lumalabas na marami sa mga problema ay inter-agency related. Hangga’t hindi natin nasti-streamline together, hindi ‘yan mawawala,” he said.
“Asahan niyo po na ang ARTA would be more than willing to assist kung ano pa ‘yung mga inter-agency choke points natin,” he added.
During the meeting on Wednesday, suggestions were made to change the name of the Certificate of Foundling to Certificate of Live Birth of a Foundling.
The profile of a child or adult foundling will also be renamed to Profile and Case Study Report to capture the efforts of social workers.
Malagar also said that PSA will be issuing an advisory to national government agencies and local government units to honor the Certificate of Foundling in the same way as the Certificate of Live Birth.
For the Certification of Registration of Authority to Solemnize Marriage, the PSA will be tapping the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for monthly updates on the list of revoked, suspended, or cancelled registration of religious organizations, who were found to be spurious.
This will make it faster for them to release the necessary certifications to legitimate churches, temples, chapels, mosques, synagogues, and other places of worship.
More meetings will be conducted to finalize the guidelines for the said certificates.
“One of the good regulatory reforms that should more often be practiced is the creation of a streamlined registration process with a strong post-registration evaluation or audit,” the ARTA chief stressed.
“Ibig sabihin, wag masyadong pahirapan ang registration sa paghingi ng kung ano anong rekisito kasi hindi pa nga nagsisimula yung aktibidades kaya hindi pa natin alam talaga if ano mangyayari sa aplikante,” he furthered. “This is genarally advisable to most of our regulatory agencies moreso to the registry agencies.” (ARTA)
