The month-long celebration of the Civil Registration Month (CRM) in the province of Antique officially commenced with a caravan followed by an opening program led by Philippine Statistics Authority Antique Provincial Statistical Office (PSA Antique) and the Association of Municipal Civil Registrars in Antique (AMCRA) on February 2, 2023 in the capital town of San Jose de Buenavista.

Left picture: Vehicles from the different municipalities joining the Caravan.  Right picture: AMCRA President Ronald Rey Guamen (left) and PSO Randy Tacogdoy of PSA Antique awarding the Certificate of Appreciation to the Guest Speaker, Hon. Elmer Untaran (center).

The caravan was composed of vehicles and civil registration workers and other civil registration stakeholders from different municipalities and barangays in the province.  It passed through the main thoroughfares and major commercial centers in the capital town and concluded at the Robinsons Place of Antique where the opening program was held with Hon. Elmer Untaran, the Municipal Mayor of San Jose, served as the Guest Speaker.  

Mayor Untaran in his message, emphasized on the challenges being faced by civil registry personnel in the performance of civil registration functions due to their critical and sensitive nature and as an essential public service. He presented how the local government have assisted the indigent constituents in tandem with civil registration through the provision of services like burial assistance and many others. He also thanked the participants from other municipalities for participating in the event and for visiting the municipality and encouraged them to see for themselves the fast-paced developments that had recently transpired in the locality. 

On the other hand, Dr. Randy Tacogdoy, Provincial Statistics Officer of PSA Antique, delivered a message on the critical role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to the establishment of well-functioning Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System (CRVS) in the country.  He highlighted digital transformation as a means in improving and making the CRVS more efficient and effective and how the use of well-designed, United Nations recommended principles-compliant Information Technology (IT) systems can improve CRVS and their impacts to the country’s governance processes.  He also mentioned and discussed some of CRVS-related technological endeavors being implemented by the agency like the Philippine Civil Registry Information System (PhilCRIS), Decentralized Vital Statistics System (DVSS), ANACONDA (Analysis of National Causes of Death for Action), and the Civil Registry System Information Technology Project Phase 2 (CRS-ITP2).  

AMCRA President Ronald Rey Guamen gave his closing remarks thanking all participants that included Local Civil Registry Offices (LCROs) staff and Barangay Secretaries for their continuous and constant support to the civil registration endeavors in the province.

Every February, the country celebrates the Civil Registration Month pursuant to Proclamation No. 682 issued on January 28, 1991 by President Corazon C. Aquino.  This year’s theme is "PSA @10: Providing Efficient and Effective Civil Registration and Vital Statistics through Digital Transformation".  Among other activities set for the month are e-Poster-making contest (for Local Government Units, National Government Agencies and High Schools), Vital Events Infographics-making contest for LGUs, a Seminar on Civil Registration and Civil Registration Laws, and quiz contest for PSA and LCROs personnel.  Local government units in the province also prepared various CRM activities to be held in their respective localities.

RANDY M. TACOGDOY, DPA

Provincial Statistics Officer