NOTE: THIS STORY WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE BOHOL CHRONICLE’S SUNDAY PRINT EDITION.

Boholanos need not go to Cebu anymore, to request a copy of their civil registration documents; an extension outlet of the Civil Registration Services (CRS) of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is opening here on May 2.

In an event billed as “Go Live and Opening,” the PSA will showcase the start of the operation of its CRS outlet here in Bohol, a long dream project for Boholanos who would have to sail to Cebu to get a hard copy of their civil registration documents.

“For so long a time, we have lobbied for the opening of a Bohol CRS outlet of the PSA, noting the inconvenience of having to wait for the necessary documents processed under the Batch Request Entry Query System (BREQS), said Jessamyne Anne Alcazaren, Bohol PSA chief.

BREQS is a scheme where the PSA authorizes a partner to receive requests for PSA-issued copies and certifications of civil registry documents and issue these documents to their clientele. 

The BREQS is served by a Serbilis Outlet, the PSA authorized agent to process the CRS needed.

But considering the time needed for an offline batch request to be lumped for processing, a client may have to wait for seven days to get his needed civil registration documents.

With the opening of the CRS outlet in Bohol, specifically at the Second Floor of the Uptown IT Hub, JLU Centre Bloc adjacent to the Tagbilaran City Satellite Market, Boholanos can now avail if the frontline services of the PSA.

The new CRS Outlet which opens a day after the feast day of Tagbilaran could already physically issue a birth certificate, marriage certificate, death certificate, Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR), manual authentication and copy issuance of annotated civil registry documents on security paper (SECPA).  

With the ongoing and continuing threat of coronavirus disease, the PSA however informs its potential clients in the new outlet to present vaccination cards so you can be admitted inside the CRS Outlet.

For those needing their SECPA copy of their civil registry documents, if one is requesting for his own documents, a valid identification card is needed.

If the requesting person is the parent of the document owner or a direct descendant of the document owner, they must bring the requester’s valid ID.

If the requester is not in any way related to the document owner, they must bring the owner’s valid ID, the requester’s valid ID and a letter of authorization or special power of attorney, to process the requested document.

In cases where the owner of the document is abroad, the owner’s passport, the requester’s ID and a scanned copy of the Owner’s Letter of Authorization or Special Power of Attorney suffice.  (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)