Fix errors in personal documents, Filipinos told

Get clerical or other errors in your identification documents corrected before the Philippine national ID system is rolled out, Filipinos were told yesterday.

In a free, legal-aid mission at the Philippine consulate, a group of visiting lawyers from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Pampanga Chapter conducted a seminar for the community on the most common legal problems Filipinos encounter and how to address them.

The seminars were held for the first time in the Middle East, particularly in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, by the volunteer lawyers following successful legal aid missions in Hong Kong and Macau.

Attorney Angelo Lopez III, one of the speakers, said a ‘simple’ error in one’s birth certificate must not be taken lightly. “Clerical or typographical errors in birth certificates may appear to be simple, but may hinder us from pursuing our dreams, especially in cases when we need to work or travel abroad,” Lopez said.

Philippine Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes agreed that clerical errors in documents are a “huge problem” among some Filipinos in Dubai, especially for those with documents issued decades ago. “That’s why when the 10-year Philippine passport was issued, we got more stringent in ensuring the information on the birth certificate is correct,” he said.

Cortes said Filipinos who spot errors in their documents may request a correction at the consulate that will then recommend a correction based on the merits of the case to the civil registrar at the Philippine Statistics Authority in Manila. The process takes roughly one month, he said.