The Department of Education Regional Office III seeks to clarify the issue regarding the alleged “new DepEd policy” that will not allow thousands of students to graduate due to lack of birth certificates as published in the March 26-31, 2018 issue of Punto! Central Luzon.

This Office reiterates that no such policy has been issued by the Department of Education Central Office, and further seeks to emphasize that the DepEd, its regional and schools division offices, and all its public schools have remained faithful to our Constitutional mandate to ensure the delivery of quality and accessible education for all its learners.

The birth certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) formerly NSO, as stipulated in Department Order No. 3 s.2018 or the Basic Education Enrollment Policy issued on January 26, 2018, is one of the minimum documentary requirements needed to establish the identity of the learners. DO 3 s.2018 also states that “in the absence of a PSA Birth Certificate, the parent or guardian must submit a Birth Certificate (late registration) from the local civil registrar or a barangay certification containing the basic information of the child such as the name of the child, name of parents, date of birth, and sex.” Further, the said policy provides that “submission of the learner’s Birth Certificate from the PSA or the local civil registrar, or barangay certification for purposes of enrollment will only be done once during the duration of a child’s basic education and shall be an attachment to the learner’s permanent record.”

This Office admonishes the claims that the said “new DepEd policy” is “exploitative and ignorant” as we maintain our firm and steadfast commitment in upholding the right of every Filipino to quality, accessible, relevant and liberating education.

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