Deaths, births and marriages down

THE RATES of births, deaths, and marriages in the Philippines declined from January to May this year compared with the same period in 2022, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday.

Data from the PSA’s Vital Statistics report showed the deaths totaling 232,287, down by 17.2% from last year’s figure and based on those registered up to the cut-off date of July 31, 2023. Region 4-A or Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) posted the biggest number of deaths (16.4%) at 38,100.

Births in the same period and cut-off date of registration totaled 449,876, slipping down by 17.9% from last year’s 548,021. Again, Calabarzon had the most births at 72,449 or 16.1% of the total.

For marriages, 154,889 Filipino couples tied the knot, also lower by 26.4% from the 210,384 registered last year. Calabarzon still led the regions in number of marriages at 26,488 or 17.1% of the total nationwide.

In a separate report, registered deaths due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) declined by 89.5% to 900 deaths in the period.

Of the total 232,287 deaths in the period, ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of death in the country with 44,770 cases, accounting for 19.3% of the total death statistics.

Around 10.4% or 24,066 cases were caused by neoplasm diseases and 10.3% or 23,951 were caused by cerebrovascular diseases.

The information in the Vital Statistics report was compiled from tallies generated by city or municipal Civil Registrars, consolidated by the PSA’s Provincial Statistical Offices and then submitted to the Office of the Civil Registrar General as July 31. — Mariedel Irish U. Catilogo