MALASIQUI: The Philippine Statistics Authority-Ilocos (PSA-1) has issued 7,369 birth certificates in security papers as of November 20 this year to unregistered residents of the region's four provinces. This initiative is part of the PSA's Birth Registration Assistance Project (BRAP), which aims to help marginalized individuals secure their birth registration and assist them in enlisting under the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys). According to Philippines News Agency, Camille Carla Beltran, PSA-1 chief administrative officer for civil registration and administrative support, stated that the beneficiaries of the project include 285 residents in Ilocos Norte, 955 in Ilocos Sur, 846 in La Union, and 5,283 in Pangasinan. The project targets marginalized communities, indigenous peoples, the poorest sectors, and those residing outside their place of birth. BRAP, an initiative by the PSA and the National Civil Registry Office, commenced in February 2022. In the Ilocos Region, 45,044 records were submitte d for verification, and 33,962 were confirmed as unregistered with the National Civil Registry Office. Of these verified negatives, around 9,000 individuals have been registered under BRAP as of November 20, with 81.2 percent or 7,369 issued birth certificates. Beltran highlighted that most beneficiaries are elderly. The PSA has been conducting mobile registration to reach these individuals, while some local government units are initiating house-to-house visits to identify unregistered residents. BRAP is part of the PSA's campaign to enhance civil registration and aligns with the goals of the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Decade, a period from 2015 to 2024 during which governments in Asia and the Pacific strive to improve civil registration and vital statistics systems.