14 December 2009, Jeddah – The Philippine Consulate General advises the Filipino community in Jeddah and in the western region of the Kingdom, that in accordance with Foreign Service Circular No. 166-09 issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs in Pasay City on 04 November 2009, from now on passport applications of Filipino children born abroad are to be given due course only upon submission of the following: (a) copy of the Report of Birth, together with the birth certificate (duly translated, as the case may be), issued by Posts; and (b) copy of the Philippine passport of a Filipino parent.
This departs from the previous practice of the Consulate of determining the contents of the birth certificate through its in-house translator and comparing these with those entered by a reporting parent in the form prescribed for the purpose. Henceforth, the Consulate will only accept birth certificates duly translated by accredited/licensed translators in Jeddah and the western region to support Reports of Birth.
As in the past, however, Reports of Birth would still be duly signed by the Consular Officer and affixed with Post’s consular seal.
CIVIL REGISTRATION OF BIRTH, DEATH, MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE
What is civil registration?
It is a continuous, permanent and compulsory recording of vital events occurring in the life of an individual such as birth, marriage, and death, as well as court decrees, and legal instruments affecting his civil status in appropriate registers as mandated by Act No. 3753, the Civil Registry Law.
What are the uses of Civil Registry Documents?
Basically, there are two uses:
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Legally, these establish the occurrence of birth, death, or marriage and therefore provide prima facie evidence of facts surrounding these events. Birth records present many facts about an individual such as the person’s name, date and place of birth, parents, religion, and citizenship, among others. The marriage certificate establishes a change in civil status and the legal spouse, while the death certificate records the passing away of an individual. These records are important in legal and personal transactions, applying for jobs, obtaining passports for travel, entrance to school, claiming insurance benefits, and others. |
| ♦ | Statistically, these records provide data on the number of births, deaths, marriages, fetal deaths, adoptions, and the like, which in turn are essential in development planning. |
