CONGRESS needs to pass legislation to digitalize the civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) system, which records births and deaths, among others, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) said.
In its 2025 CRVS Report released on Monday, ESCAP said “the (CRVS bill) will allow systems to be digitalized, processes to be streamlined, fees to be removed, and access to be improved.
The proposed Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Act or House Bill No. 9572, drafted in collaboration with the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, has been before Congress since 2022.
“In the Philippines, the legal review highlighted the need for a series of improvements to the law as well as the lack of a clear legal framework for medico-legal death investigations,” it added.
ESCAP noted that the lack of proper regulation contributed to fragmentation across agencies and overlapping jurisdictions.
Nevertheless, ESCAP noted that the Philippines was among several countries taking significant steps to improve the quality of their cause-of-death data over the past decade.
“Notably, Thailand and the Philippines have implemented reforms which have included investing significantly in training of medical doctors in certifying causes of death in line with ICD requirements,” it said.
As of end-2024, three fourths of members and associate members had met their national targets for timely death certificate issuance, up from two thirds in 2015, ESCAP said.
“This progress is partly driven by national laws requiring a death certificate to proceed with burial or cremation, such as in Maldives, Northern Mariana Islands, Philippines and Türkiye,” it said.
In the Philippines, a death certificate is required to make funeral arrangements, access insurance and pension benefits, and settle estates.
ESCAP said an estimated 6.9 million deaths go unregistered annually across Asia and the Pacific.
Meanwhile, a quarter of countries and territories do not medically certify deaths, leaving major gaps in mortality data and evidence for public health planning.
It also found that the number of unregistered children under five has dropped by 62% in Asia and the Pacific, from 135 million in 2012 to 51 million last year.
“This means 84 million more children today have a recognized name, a legal identity and a stronger foundation for the future, according to the newly released Progress Made on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific After a Decade of Getting Every One in the Picture,” it said.
ESCAP warned that a child without a birth registration may be denied the right to education and healthcare services due to lack of official documentation. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante
