THE PHILIPPINE Statistics Authority (PSA) XI announced the agency is opening a new Civil Registration System (CRS) outlet in Malita, Davao Occidental on Dec. 19.
This is the fifth CRS outlet in the region: one in Davao City; Tagum, Davao del Norte; Mati, Davao Oriental; and Digos, Davao del Sur.
Baby Jean Alid, PSA XI chief administration officer, said this minimizes the long queue and waiting time and enables cost-efficient access to civil registration documents.
“Malaki po siyang tulong sa mga residents of that area, hindi na sila pupunta ng Digos or Davao na costly din yung pamasahe nila, doon na mismo sa kanilang lugar,” Alid said.
She added with the establishment of the outlet, residents of Davao Occidental and neighboring provinces can avoid long hours of travel as they can request birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, and certificates of no marriage (Cenomar) in Malita.
The estimated travel time from Malita to Digos is about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Malita to Davao takes about 3 hours.
Malita outlet is the third outlet to be opened this year as the outlet in Digos, located on the second floor of Digos Business Center was just opened last May 29, while the Mati outlet, located in the Provincial Statistical Office of Davao Oriental, Mati City, was just opened last October 23.
Alid emphasized they prioritize the installment of outlets one in every province as the process can be costly, especially with the system and data privacy safeguards.
However, the agency is open to requests from local government units to open an outlet, provided the LGU is responsible for the operating expenses and manpower.
“Mayroon naman tayong mobile outlets for Araw or Fiesta, kung pwede mag request ang LGU tsaka other government agencies, we are very much willing naman na pumunta, pero sa ngayon up to province-level ang naka program na buksan,”
The agency is also set to open a CRS outlet in the municipality of Nabunturan, Davao de Oro in the first quarter of 2025.
Alid this will be convenient for the residents from that area as it takes about an hour from Nabunturan to Tagum, which is the closest outlet.
Photo by Bing Gonzales
