THE Davao City Civil Registrar's Office (CCRO) recorded a lesser number of late birth registrations from January to June this year compared to the same period last year.
CCRO Birth Division acting head Shirley Arendain, said they recorded 3,550 late birth registrations this year, which is lesser compared to 4,290 late birth registrations recorded in 2016.
Based on the document obtained by SunStar Davao, timely birth registrations constituted 82 percent of the total number of registered births for January to June 2017, which is higher compared to 2016 data in the same period with 80 percent.
A total of 19,780 birth registrations were recorded in the first half of the year 2017: 16, 280 of it were timely, while 3,550 were late.
In 2016, the CCRO recorded a total of 21,400 birth registrations in the same period with 17,120 timely registrations and 4,280 late registrations.
"Ang nagkadaghan children, gamay ra kaayo ang naa sa legal age. Ang registration after more than one month is already considered late, mao na ang majority (Most of the late registrations are children, we received few registrations from those who belong to the legal age. Registration after more than one month, is already considered late, so it constitutes the majority)," she said.
She added that the peak months of recorded late registration include the month of May since it is the time to accomplish records for school enrollments.
In May 2016, they recorded 737 late birth registrations, while in the same month this year, 787 were recorded.
Meanwhile, Arendain attributed the decrease of late registrations to their ongoing mobile registration drive conducted in barangays and school-based registration called, "Sa paaralan ko, pwede nang magparehistro."
"Teachers were trained to assist in the registration process," she said, adding that they also conduct information and education campaigns in schools, barangays, and through the media.
She said through their campaigns, indigenes from the city's hinterlands were able to register.
A total of 188 birth registrations were recorded from January to June this year from the indigenous peoples, which is lesser compared to last year's 194 in the same period.
CCRO also took note of the recorded live births of Muslim Filipinos in the city which is 841 from January to June this year, and 1,041 in 2016. (Karina V. Cañedo)