Quezon City is set to open its first online birth registration portal as part of the local government’s digitalization program for its public services.
“Like the business and occupational permits where one could apply through online, we will open an online portal for birth registration to address the problem of late and unregistered birth registration in our city,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
The innovation and automation of the services would also save the residents from the hassle of physically going to the city hall to transact amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The project offers a more convenient and efficient birth registration process as the requirements can be sent through the website and be verified by the City Civil Registry Department.
“It is the right of every child to have a name and identity through birth registration. Through this initiative, we can submit the requirements and check online so we would not go back and forth to city hall. Hopefully, we can have the portal up and running before the year ends,” Belmonte said.
According to City Civil Registrar Salvador Cariňo Jr., they are currently in talks with the City Administrator’s Office and Information Technology Development Department to include the initiative in the city’s QC E-Services portal, which streamlines all city government programs.
“We are making all our programs more convenient to the public. Hindi na sila magpapabalik-balik sa city hall kapag may kulang na requirement. After sending the documents needed, our staff will review and verify these and will advise the applicant if their certificate is ready for pick-up,” he said.
Apart from birth registration, other Civil Registry Department programs such as marriage registration and death registration would soon be available online as well.
The city would also ensure that the portal would have a real-time tracking and email notification system for applicants.
Once formally launched, the portal will be accepting applications from QC residents 24/7, Belmonte said.