Catandunganons need not go to the mainland to get their civil registry documents or wait for days for it to arrive, as the very same documents can now be secured in just an hour at the Civil Registry System (CRS) outlet in Virac.
Last Friday, Dec, 9, 2022, the on-line Census Serbilis Center (Serbilis Outlet) was formally launched at the office of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Catanduanes Provincial Statistical Office in Cavinitan, Virac after several months of renovation to accommodate the system.
Inaugurated by PSA on the same day as that of Antipolo, Rizal, the Virac CRS Outlet is the 53rd such facility opened by the agency and its partner, Unisys Public Sector Services Corporation, in the country.
In Bicol, it the fourth outlet opened to the public after Masbate, Legazpi City and Naga City.
According to Vital Statistics Division chief Aurora Talan-Reolalas, who represented Assistant National Statistician Marizza Grande, the Virac Serbilis outlet will be able to issue copies of an individual’s birth, marriage, and death certificate in an hour.
Also taking just an hour to process is the authentication of the specimen signature of the issuing officer from the Local Civil Registry Office (LCRO) as indicated in the local copy of the birth, marriage and death documents.
It will also be able to issue within one day the Certificate of No Marriage Record (CENOMAR), which states no marriage record involving the person appears in the National Indices of Marriage.
Also available in one working day is the CENODEATH, a certification as to non-availability of death record in the PSA CRS database.
The outlet will likewise accept and process requests for annotation of civil registry documents within five working days and provide, as an alternative to copy issuance, the image of the document made accessible through the web for a limited period using an access code.
The issued documents will have a QR code to assure its authenticity, Reolalas stated, with the PSA set to open 22 more CRS Outlets next year and 10 in 2024.
The CRS-IT Project is aimed at ensuring the efficient and effective delivery of civil registry services by bringing it to the countryside, she added.
In the agency’s goal of providing world-class services, she expressed optimism that the CRS Outlets will be one of the channels for the implementation of new projects.
“A dream come true for Catanduanes,” PSA Regional Director Cynthia Perdiz described the opening of the Virac facility as she recalled instances in the past when travel weary Catandunganons would request that their applications for civil registry documents be given priority as they had limited money for staying in the mainland.
As part of its re-engineering process, the PSA embraced digital transformation in the CRS IT Project, entering into a contract for the storage and retrieval of such documents with Unisys in a public-private partnership (PPP).
Under the program that began in 2018 and will end in 2030 when the project is turned over to PSA, Unisys provided the software and all equipment, doing away with the delay that bogs down similar government transactions, especially with regards to the maintenance and replacement of equipment.
Admitting that the government cannot afford such an operation, RD Perdiz revealed that more than 187 million digital images of records and documents, which would have been physically difficult to store, have already been stored in a database.
The requested document can be issued in less than an hour, she stressed, with the system assuring its high quality and integrity, she added.
The CRS project is cost-efficient and cost-effective especially with the use of the cash-less transactions through PayMaya and soon GCash, the PSA official said in describing the project as proof of its partnership with the private sector and as a result of customers’ feedback and satisfaction surveys.
For her part, PSA Catanduanes Chief Statistical Specialist Anavi Camacho said the opening of the Virac CRS Outlet is an early Christmas gift for 271,000 Catandunganons who previously had to travel to the PSA’s mainland office and then wait for two weeks for their requested document to arrive.
Recalling that the Sangguniang Panlalawigan passed a resolution twice to request the agency for the establishment of the outlet in Virac, she expressed appreciation to their partners in helping the PSA deliver its services, including the protection of vital personal information of every individual.
Governor Joseph Cua, represented by information officer Nikko Franco Templonuevo, congratulated the agency for responding to complaints and appeals from islanders and added that the challenge now is for the PSA to protect the data and maintain its reliability.
The chief executive expressed hope that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) would follow suit by expanding its services to Catanduanes.
For his part, Bato Mayor Juan Rodulfo cited the vital role of technology in speeding up transactions with regards to civil registration documents.
Also present were Bagamanoc Mayor Odilon Pascua, Viga Mayor Emeterio Tarin, representatives of three other mayors, Unisys executive Edwin Angoluan, and municipal civil registars Julia Vicente of Bagamanoc, Katherene Vergara of Bato, Mirabel Vengado of Caramoran, Julius Tarrago of Gigmoto, Aster Crispino of Pandan, Sonia Tribiana of San Miguel, Jocelyn del Rosario of Viga, and Maria Resurrecion Mangubat of Virac.
The three mayors later participated in the ceremonial signing of a Memorandum of Agreement for the Batch Request Query System (BREQS), which would allow local government units through their Municipal Civil Registry Offices to use the off-line method of encoding requests for civil registry documents and submit the same to the Virac CRS Outlet.
Under the agreement, the LGUs will use the PSA’s BREQS software for encoding details of requests for copy issuances and for querying and batching the records.
Once it is operational, residents of the other 10 towns can request their copies of documents with their respective MCROs and then pay for the service, with the documents to be claimed at the MCRO within a few days.
Here’s how to secure civil registry
documents at the Virac CRS Outlet
Before going to the PSA Virac Office at Cavinitan, Virac, be sure to bring an original valid ID. If you are a representative of the document requester, bring the original or photocopy of the owner’s valid ID as well as the original and photocopy of your own valid ID, along with the authorization letter of Special Power of Attorney duly signed by the document owner and indicating the type and number of document requested, name of the owner and complete details of requested documents.
Those with ePhilID and PhilID cards as their valid ID will be accommodated at the Priority Lane.
Once at the Virac CRS Outlet, fill out the appropriate Application Form for Birth Certificate (white), Marriage Certificate (pink), Death Certificate (yellow) and CENOMAR (green), and get a Queue Ticket.
Once your number is called, present the Application Form and required supporting IDs and documents.
Here is the schedule of fees: Copy Issuance (Birth, Marriage and Death Certificate), P155.00; Authentication, P155.00; CENOMAR or CENODEATH, P210.00; Viewable Online Document – Birth/Marriage/Death Certificate Request, P130.00, and CENOMAR/CENODEATH, P185.00; Document Print from Viewable Online Document, P80.00; and, Premium Annotation, P255.00.
Once your number is called, present your Official Receipt and ID. Check your documents before leaving the counter.