Fees for Philippine government documents have only been waived for first time job seekers under a law passed in April 2019
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on October 23, 2019 at 02:28
- 3 min read
- By AFP Philippines
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The article was published here on September 27, 2019, on a website called “HowToCare.net”.
The website publishes content written in both Tagalog and English on a range of topics.
The post was shared thousands of times on Facebook by Philippine-based users, for example here, here and here.
Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:
The Tagalog-language headline translates to English as: “Village Clearance, Birth Certificate And Other Documents, Now Free For Everyone”.
Translated to English, the Tagalog-language text superimposed on a photo showing several government documents states: “ALREADY FREE! Under RA 11261, the following documents from the government are now free”.
The article is misleading; the law only applies to first time job seekers, who can enjoy the benefit once only.
“RA 11261” refers to Republic Act No. 11216, a law signed by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on April 10, 2019.
The legislation is titled: "AN ACT WAIVING GOVERNMENT FEES AND CHARGES IN THE ISSUANCE OF DOCUMENTS REQUIRED IN THE APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT OF FIRST TIME JOBSEEKERS".
Below is a screenshot of relevant provisions of the law:
Below is a screenshot showing the type of documents that can be issued free of charge for first time job seekers:
AFP previously debunked a similar misleading claim circulating on Facebook.
The HowToCare.net article has been shared more than 10,000 times on Facebook, as seen in the screenshot below showing data from social media analytics application CrowdTangle:
Some Facebook users appeared confused about the article published by HowToCare.net.
Below is a screenshot of some comments on the post that was shared on Facebook:
The Tagalog-language comments translate to English as: "That's old news but I just recently changed my name and spent 9,000 pesos... when I submitted the papers in the municipal hall I paid 3,500 pesos and after 1 month I followed up, it was not yet processed and I was charged 3,000, so I paid immediately and waited 1 year before it got arranged.”
“But why is it when my child applied for certificate of voters a fee was charged at the municipal hall”.
“In our country nothing is free everything needs payment.”
“Fake news-- this is not true. 2 weeks ago my son applied for police clearance and birth certificate there were fees”.
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