At least 18,177 from the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) are expected to benefit from the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) Birth Registration Assistance Program (BRAP).

Juanito Yabes, chief statistical specialist and administrative support division officer-in-charge of the PSA-CAR, during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas press briefing here on Tuesday, said about 15,500 individuals from the region have been initially verified to have a negative birth record with the agency.

He said a total of 5,780 individuals, meanwhile, have registered with PSA under the program since it started in 2022.

There were around 2,627 who were issued copies of their birth certificate in security paper and about 9,770 individuals who are in the process of registration.

“The BRAP program aims to have at least 99 percent of Filipinos registered by end of 2024,” he said.

Imelda Buyuccan, PSA-Benguet statistical specialist, said during the same briefing that at least 452 in the province have completed the registration process, some 238 were issued copies of birth certificate in security paper while around 1,159 are in the process of registration.

Gerard Tolito, PSA-CAR registration officer, said some of those who were found to be unregistered, especially the older generation, were born at home and the birth attendant or the parents did not know the importance of registering.

There are also children who remain unregistered despite having been born in a facility, with mothers preferring to register the child using the biological father’s surname in his absence and sans the lack of proof of marital relations.

“In these cases, the facility simply provides the mother with the registration form for them to be the ones to register the child at their convenience,” Tolito said. (PNA)