City and municipal civil registrars from all over the country will gather together under the auspices of the Office of the Civil Registrar General, National Statistics Office (NSO-OCRG) at the Baguio Convention Center from June 15-18, 1999. The Fifth National Convention on Civil Registration has for its theme "Managing the System of Civil Registration for the 21st Century."

According to NSO Administrator and Civil Registrar-General Tomas Africa, the gathering is aimed at providing a venue for the discussion of the ways and means of making the system of civil registration capable of functioning under the environment of modernization in the next millenium. He also added that the biennial convention serves as a forum for the sharing and exchanging of ideas as well as experiences of stakeholders in the system. This also marks the centennial anniversary of civil registration in the Philippines when President Emilio Aguinaldo created the office of Delegate of Civil Registration and Justice on June 18, 1898.

Expected to grace the activity as guest speakers are Hon. Manuel Roxas III, Majority Floor Leader of the House of Representatives and Hon. Allen Quimpo of the Lone District of Aklan. Other important guests include DILG Assistant Secretary Jesus Ingeniero, NEDA Assistant Director-General Ofelia Templo, CSC Director Consolacion Santos and representatives from the UNICEF and Plan International.

Likewise, the Philippine Association of Civil Registrars (PACR) will also take the opportunity of electing their new set of officers. San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada and concurrent President of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines has been invited for the induction ceremony which will also be followed up with a dialogue.

The selection of Mr. and Ms. Civil Registration from among the participating civil registrars is made part of the fellowship dinner scheduled on the second day.

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