Permanent validity of civil registry certificates

Permanent validity remains without prejudice to administrative or judicial correction conducted under Republic Act No. 9858, Republic Act No. 9048, Republic Act No. 10172, and Republic Act No. 9255, or other existing laws, rules, regulations, and judicial decrees (Section 3).
Permanent validity of the Certificate of Marriage applies only where the marriage has not been judicially decreed annulled or declared void ab initio as provided under the Family Code of the Philippines or any subsequent amendatory law on marriage (Section 3).
If the texts on the certificate are illegible, or an administrative correction or a judicial decree has been approved, the concerned person must submit the new, amended, or updated certificate (Section 3).
The permanent-validity rule also applies to reports of birth, death, or marriage registered and issued by Philippine Foreign Service Posts and transmitted to the PSA (Section 3).

Despite permanent validity, no person whose information on the occurrence and characteristics of vital events is registered in the civil registry (or the person’s authorized representative) may be prevented from securing copies of civil registry documents in such number of prints or as often as necessary (Section 4).
Requests are subject to the applicable payment of relevant fees prescribed by the PSA, local civil registries, and Philippine Foreign Service Posts (Section 4).
Initial issuance, replacement due to loss or damage, and reissuance upon presentation of a Certificate of Indigency from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are free of charge (Section 4).
For subsequent reissuances, the Certificate of Indigency must be based on the DSWD Listahanan (Section 4).
The same rule applies to requests for issuance of reports of birth, death, and marriage by Philippine Foreign Service Posts (Section 4).

Section 5 prohibits national government agencies and instrumentalities, government-owned and -controlled corporations, local government units, private companies, private and public educational institutions, and other nongovernment entities from requiring submission of another or newer copies of certificates of live birth, death, or marriage, and reports of birth, death, or marriage when a valid certificate can already be presented.
The prohibition covers requirements imposed in contexts where the end-user can already present a certificate that is valid under this Act (Section 5).

Submission of a PSA-authenticated birth certificate does not prevent an end-user agency, company, or entity from requiring or using other supporting documents for determining identity of applicants (Section 6).
Supporting documents may be used particularly for special cases such as dual citizens, persons with dissolved marriages, and those with late registered certificates of live birth (Section 6).

Within six (6) months from the effectivity of Republic Act No. 11909, the PSA, coordinating with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), must develop a civil registry database and establish a virtual viewing facility in local civil registries and Philippine Foreign Service Posts (Section 7).
The virtual viewing facility must be able to verify the authenticity of the certificates of live birth, death, or marriage and the reports of birth, death, or marriage, respectively (Section 7).
The facility must incorporate controls and safeguards ensuring only authorized personnel have access and that confidentiality is protected at all times, consistent with Presidential Decree No. 603 (as amended) and Republic Act No. 10173 (Section 7).
The PSA may charge reasonable fees for use of the virtual viewing facility (Section 7).
The PSA must continually upgrade the virtual viewing facility, prioritize migration of the civil registry database into a fully digitized system, and adopt policies to facilitate the process of data registration (Section 7).

Any person who violates Section 5 is punishable, upon conviction, by imprisonment of one (1) month and one (1) day to six (6) months or a fine of not less than PHP 5,000.00 but not more than PHP 10,000.00, or both, at the discretion of the court (Section 8).
If the violation is committed by a public official or employee, an accessory penalty of temporary disqualification to hold public office is imposed (Section 8).
If the violation is committed by a corporation, partnership, or association, the board of director, partner, trustee, official, or employee who directly or indirectly participated in the unlawful act is liable (Section 8).
A criminal liability under Republic Act No. 9485 (Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007), as amended by Republic Act No. 11032, is imposed on “fixers” as defined by the law—individuals who facilitate speedy transaction completion for pecuniary gain or any other advantage or consideration, whether or not officially involved, and whether or not in collusion (Section 8).

The amount necessary for the initial implementation of the Act is charged against the current year's appropriations of the PSA (Section 9).
Thereafter, sums necessary for implementation are included in the annual General Appropriations Act (Section 9).
Within sixty (60) days from effectivity, the National Statistician must, in coordination with the Secretaries of the Department of Foreign Affairs and DICT, and the President of the Philippine Association of Civil Registrars, promulgate implementing rules and regulations (Section 10).

If any provision, section, or part of Republic Act No. 11909 is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the judgment does not affect other provisions, sections, or parts (Section 11).
All laws, rules and regulations, orders, circulars, and other issuances (or parts) inconsistent with the Act are repealed, modified, or amended accordingly (Section 12).
The Act takes effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation (Section 13).
The Act is Republic Act No. 11909, approved July 28, 2022, and it became law without the signature of the President by operation under Article VI Section 27 (1) of the Constitution (Section 13 section chronology).