Session 2-Legal Mandates, Rules and Procedures On Death Certification and Regis

Medical Death Certificataion and
Registration:Legal Mandates, Rules and

Procedures
By Dr. Eric T. Cabayacruz
Department of Health, Philippines

1
Objectives:
1. Discuss important legal mandates on certification
and registration of death;
2. Explain the processes involved in death
certification and registration; and
3. Enumerate important uses of the Certificate of
Death.

Legal Mandates: Civil Registry Law,
Code of Sanitation

3
Act 3753: Civil Registry Law
● Approved Nov. 26, 1930 and took effect Feb. 27, 1931.
● Mandates the registration of all facts and acts concerning the civil
status of persons from birth to death in appropriate civil registry
books.
● To carry out and administer its provisions, the Bureau of Census and
Statistics was created in 1940 by Commonwealth Act 591. The
director of the Bureau became the ex-officio Civil Registrar General.
● The treasurers were identified to be the local civil registrars in
addition to their ordinary duties.
● “No human body shall be buried unless the proper death
certificate has been presented and recorded in the office of the
LCR. The physician who attended the deceased or, in his
default, the health officer concerned, or in default of the later,
any member of the family of the deceased or any person having
knowledge of the death shall report the same to the local health
authorities who shall issue a death certificate and shall order the
same to be recorded in the office of the LCR.” (Sec. 6)
● “The death certificate shall contain the following data: full
name (of the deceased); date and place of death; age; sex;
occupation or profession; residence; status as regards marriage;
nationality; and probable cause of death.”
● “The books making up the civil register and all documents
relating thereto shall be considered public documents and be
prima facie evidence * of the truth of the facts therein
contained.” (cf. Art. 410, Civil Code)
● “Any person who shall knowingly make false statements in the
forms furnished and shall present the same for entry in the civil
register, shall be punished by imprisonment (one month to six
months) or by a fine, or both.” (Sec 16)
● “Any person whose duty is to report any fact concerning the
civil status of persons and who knowingly fails to perform such
duty shall be punished by a fine.” (Sec. 17)

● Registrable Acts as provided for in Sec 1 of Act 3753 include:
1. Birth
2. Death
3. Marriage
4. Annulment of marriage
5. Divorce
6. Legitimation
7. Adoption
8. Acknowledgment of natural children
9. Naturalization
10. Changes of name

● In 1950, the Civil Code (Art 408) amended Sec. 1 of Act 3753 by increasing the
number of registrable acts and events and eliminating the provision on “divorce.”
The additional registrable acts are as follows:
1. Legal separation
2. Judgments declaring marriages void from the beginning
3. Loss of citizenship
4. Recovery of citizenship
5. Civil interdiction
6. Judicial determination of filiation
7. Voluntary emancipation of minor

P.D. 856: Code of Sanitation
● Approved on December 23, 1975.
● No remains shall be buried without a death certificate. This
certificate shall be issued by the attending physician.
● If there has been no physician in attendance, it shall be issued
by the CHO/MHO, mayor, the secretary of the municipal board,
or councilor of the municipality where the death occurred.
● The death certificate shall be forwarded to the local health
officer within 48 hours after death.
P.D. 856: Code of Sanitation (Revised IRR)
● The requirement for a death certificate (for burial) may be waived in the
following special circumstances when it cannot be issued on time:
1. The deceased died from a dangerous communicable disease and must be
buried within 12 hours.
2. The family members of the deceased have requested immediate
cremation without embalming or viewing.
3. The kin opt for immediate burial.
4. Religious beliefs or tradition, such as lslam or the Jewish faith that calls
for burial within 12 hours after death.
(*A.O. 2010-0033, Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of PD 855 Code of the Philippines)

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● Requirements for shipment or transfer of cadaver from one
place to another: death certificate; transfer permit from the
local health authority of the point of origin; remains properly
embalmed; transit permit secured from places where the
remains will pass if local ordinances of such places so require;
and shipments of remains to and from abroad shall be governed
by the rules and regulations of the National Quarantine
Office.
● Graves where remains are to be buried shall be at least
1 ½ meters deep and filled well and firmly; and no
remains shall be buried in a grave where water table is
less than two meters deep from the natural ground
surface.

● If the local health officer who issues a death certificate has reasons to
believe or suspect that the cause of death was due to violence or
crime, he shall notify immediately the authorities of the PNP or NBI
concerned.
● There is violence or crime when the cause of death was due but not
limited to the following: stab wounds, GSW, suicide of any kind,
strangulation, accident resulting to death, actual physical assault
resulting to death, or any other acts or violence upon a person
resulting to death and or sudden death of undetermined cause.
● In case the cause of death was due to violence or crime, the
deceased shall not be buried until permission is obtained from
the provincial or city prosecutor where the death occurred.
● In the absence of the prosecutor, permission shall be obtained
from any of these government officials in the place where the
death occurred: municipal/city judge; municipal/city mayor;
and chief of police.

● No unembalmed dead body shall remain unburied longer than 48
hours after death, except:
1. When there is a necessity for legal intervention. However, the
remains shall not remain unburied for more than 72 hours
regardless of the cause of death;
2. When permitted by the local health authority for valid reasons
such as flood, calamities and disasters, provided, that the cause of
death was not due to dangerous communicable disease.

● The following are dangerous communicable diseases:
1. AIDS/HIV infection
2. Cholera
3. Ebola hemorrhagic fever
4. Hepatitis
5. Plague
6. Yellow fever
7. Meningococcemia
8. Other dangerous communicable diseases declared by DOH
● The following are declared as Dangerous Communicable Diseases:
1. Hepatitis B and C
2. Rabies
3. Invasive group A streptococcal infections
4. Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (e.g. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease or mad
cow disease)
5. HIV/AIDS
6. Meningococcemia
7. Viral hemorrhagic fevers (e.g. African Ebola, Lassa or Marburg)
8. Yellow fever
9. Plague
10. SARS
11. Other communicable diseases that shall be declared by the DOH

19
20
● The following are the requirements when the cause of death is a
dangerous communicable disease:
1. The remains shall be buried within 12 hours after death;
2. The remains shall not be taken to any place of public assembly;
3. Only the adult members of the family of the deceased shall be
permitted to attend the funeral;
4. The remains shall be placed in durable, air tight and sealed casket;
and no permit shall be granted for the transfer of such remains.

● When the cause of death is dangerous communicable
disease, the remains shall be placed in a plastic cadaver
bag or other durable, airtight container at the point of
death and a biohazard tag attached, provided, that this
container shall not be opened for viewing or any other
purpose prior to burial or cremation.

22
● Requirements for disinterment or exhumation of remains of persons who
died of dangerous communicable disease:
1. Permission to disinter may be granted after such bodies have been buried for
a period of five years;
2. The remains upon exhumation shall be disinfected and placed in a
hermetically sealed container, properly identified as to the name of the
deceased, date and cause of death and place of origin;
3. Exhumation and transfer permits shall be secured from the point of origin;
4. Death certificate; and
5. Reburial permit shall be secured at the place of re-interment.

● Requirements for disinterment or exhumation of remains of persons who
died of non-dangerous communicable disease:
1. Permission to disinter may be granted after such bodies have been buried for
a period of three years;
2. The remains upon exhumation shall be disinfected and placed in a sealed
coffin case or box, and properly identified as to the name of the deceased,
date and cause of death and place of re-interment;
3. Exhumation and transfer permits shall be secured from the point of origin;
4. Death certificate; and
5. Reburial permit shall be secured at the place of re-interment.
● Autopsies shall be performed in the following cases:
1. Whenever required by special law.
2. Upon orders of a competent court.
3. Upon written request of police authorities.
4. Whenever the solicitor general, provincial or city prosecutor as authorized
by existing laws, shall deem it necessary to disinter and take possession of
remains for examination to determine cause of death.
5. Whenever the nearest kin requests in writing the authorities concerned to
ascertain the cause of death.

● The following persons are authorized to perform autopsy
and dissection:
1. Health officers: provincial, municipal, city health officers.
2. Medical officers of law enforcement agencies such as:
PNP and NBI.
3. Members of the medical staff of accredited hospitals.

● No remains shall be buried without a burial permit
issued by the city/municipality where the burial will
take place.

NSO Administrative Order No. 1 s. 2005
● In accordance with the Islamic law and jurisprudence, the
dead body shall be buried as soon as possible even
without the certificate of death, provided that the death
shall be reported by the person who performed the burial
rites (or by the nearest kin) within 48 hours after the date
of burial to the local health authority who shall certify the
cause of death.

Form 103 Attachment

Rules and Procedure

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Registration of Death: Rules and Procedure
● Death is the permanent disappearance of all evidence of life at any
time after live birth has taken place.
● The fetus with an intrauterine life of seven months or more and born
alive but died later shall be considered as death and shall be
registered.
● However, a fetus with an intrauterine life of less than seven months
is not deemed born if it dies within 24 hours after delivery. A
Certificate of Death is prepared in duplicate for statistical purposes
only.
31
Intrauterine Fetus lived less Fetus lived
Life than 24 hours more than 24 Remarks
hours
Accomplish (2) copies of COLB and COD each
with remarks, “For statistical purposes.”
Less than ̸
(One copy each for LCR and CRG.)
seven (7)
months Accomplish four (4) copies of COLB and COD and
register.
̸̸
(One copy each for the registrant, CRG, C/MCR,
attendant at death.)
More than Accomplish four (4) copies of COLB and COD and
seven (7) register.
̸̸ ̸̸
months (One copy each for the registrant, CRG, C/MCR,
attendant at death.)

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Rules and Procedure on Registration of Death
● Body parts surgically removed are not considered as death of a person.
Hence, document containing such body parts should not be registered since
it is used only for burial purposes.
● When a dismembered body part which is non-viable for attachment is
brought to the facility, such body part shall be forwarded to the surgical
pathology section of the laboratory for gross and microscopic examination
and documentation.
● The surgical pathology report signed and issued by the pathologist shall
serve as the Certificate of Dismembered Body Part which may be used for
burial purposes or proper disposal.
33
34
Place of Registration of Death
As a general rule, registration shall be made in the Office of
the Civil Registrar of the city/municipality where the death
occurred, within 30 days from the time of death.

35
Place of Registration of Death
Place of Death COD Issued by Place of Registration of Death
Vehicle, airplane or vessel while in transit within Health officer of the Place of burial or cremation
Philippine jurisdiction and the exact place cannot be place of burial or
determined cremation
Aboard a vessel or airplane en route to the Health officer of the Place where the deceased habitually
Philippines and the exact place cannot be place where the resides before his death, otherwise
ascertained deceased habitually register at the City of Manila
resides before his death
Aboard a vessel or airplane en route to other country Death shall be reported to the
from the Philippines or any other country and the Philippine Foreign Service
exact place of death cannot be determined Establishments of the country of
destination
Death in a vehicular accident, airplane crash or Health officer of the Place of burial
shipwreck within Philippine jurisdiction and the site place of burial
cannot be determined
Buried and drowned in the high seas, and for any Ship doctor or captain or Place of last known address of the
other reason, the body was not recovered. the health officer. deceased, if not resident of
Department of Health, Philippines Philippines, at the City of Manila.*
36
Persons Responsible to Report the Death
● The physician who last attended the deceased or the
administrator of the hospital or clinic where the person died is
responsible to prepare the Certificate of Death and certify as to
the cause of death.
● The death certificate shall then be forwarded within 48 hours
after death to the health officer who shall examine the
certificate and affix his signature in the “Reviewed by” portion
and shall order its registration at the LCR within the 30 days.

37
Death Registration for Death with Medical Attendant
hours 48
Death in a Hospital days 30
Local Health Officer
Local Civil Registrar

Persons Responsible to Report the Event
● If the deceased died without medical attendant, it shall be
the responsibility of the nearest relative or person who has
knowledge of the death to report the same within 48 hours.
● The health officer shall examine the deceased and shall
certify as to the cause of death and direct its registration to
the LCR office within the reglementary period of 30 days.

39
Death Registration Death without Medical Attendant
hours 48
Local Health Officer
days 30
Death Outside Hospital
Local Civil Registrar

Delayed Registration
● Registration of death beyond the 30–day period shall be considered delayed registration and
shall be accepted only if these procedures and requirements are observed and complied
with:
1. Four copies of Certificate of Death accomplished correctly and completely;
2. Affidavit for delayed registration which shall be executed by the hospital administrator, or
if the person died elsewhere, by the attendant at death (in their default, by any relative), and
the affidavit shall state the name of the deceased, the facts of his death, date and place of
burial or cremation, and the circumstances why the death was not reported for registration
within 30 days;
3. Authenticated copy of the certificate of burial, cremation, or other means of corpse
disposal; and
4. Approval for registration by the health officer.
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Certification and Registration of Mass death
● Mass death occurs when several persons die due to natural calamities,
accidents, epidemics, etc. When the deceased cannot be identified, the
health officer, upon submission of an affidavit of two disinterested
persons, in the exercise of his wise discretion, may issue and cause the
registration of the death certificate bearing the annotation “Body not
Identified.”
● The affidavit shall contain the following information: sex of the
deceased, estimated age, distinguishing features, condition of the body
when found, date when the body was found, place where the body was
found, and circumstances surrounding the death.
42
Maraming Salamat.

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Medical Death Certificataion and

Registration:Legal Mandates, Rules and

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

Department of Health, Philippines

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Death in a Hospital days 30

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Death Outside Hospital

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