A SITUATIONER ON THE RIGHT TO A NAME AND NATIONALITY

A. THE HISTORY OF CHILDRENS RIGHTS

International and domestic laws are in place to protect the rights of
children, in general and those living in poverty, in particular. The
international instruments on childrens rights have evolved from mere
statements of recognition of the rights of the child, as exemplified by
the Declaration of Geneva in 1924, to a legally binding document in
the form of the Convention of the Rights of the Child. The need of
children for special protection was recognized by nations of the world
as early as 1924 when the assembly of the League of Nations
(precursor of the United Nations) endorsed the Declaration of the
Rights of the Child. Although called a declaration of rights, the
document focused mainly on childrens welfare specifically their
economic, psychological and social needs. Moreover, it was not
intended to bind states to do positive acts for the protection of
children, the matter being considered a duty of men and women of
all nations. It was not until later in the century that a universal code
for the rights of the child was adopted. In the interim, childrens rights
were protected, albeit impliedly, by international human rights
covenants. 1
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is founded on rights
intrinsic to everyone and also builds on concerns for the specific
needs and vulnerabilities of children. It entered into force in 1990 and
is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history. The
Philippines signed the CRC on 26 January 1990 and ratified it on 21
August 1990. The right to a name is part of the childs right to an
identity that, in effect, guarantees other rights. The Civil Code
provides for the mandatory recording in the civil register of all events
concerning the civil status of persons, registration of birth, and
change of name.2
B. CURRENT SITUATION OF THE CHILDRENS RIGHT TO
NAME AND NATIONALITY

Understanding Filipino Children, 2011

Ibid

There are 2.6 million unregistered children in the country, many of

whom are Muslims and members of indigenous communities.
Government has taken some measures to address this problem such
as through the passage of Republic Act 9048, which authorizes the
city/municipal civil registrar or consul general to correct a clerical or
typographical error in an entry and/or change the first name in the
civil registry through an administrative process that is quicker and
less expensive than a judicial procedure; Administrative Order No. 3
Series 2004, on the rules and regulations governing registration of
acts and events concerning civil status of indigenous peoples; and
Memorandum Circular 2004-01 concerning birth registration for
children in need of special protection.
In furtherance of the right of a child to name and nationality, the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), National
Statistics Office (NSO), and Department of the Interior and Local
Government (DILG) signed an agreement to hold a one-month birth
registration program in May 2011. The program waived fees for the
late registration of birth of families identified through the National
Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) and
school aged children. This is laudable but it would have left a greater
impact had the program ran for a longer period.
The Filipino Child of the Millennium National Plan of Action points out
that since 1998, the country has been able to improve birth
registration rate by a mere 0.17% per year instead of 2.5% per year.
It suggests that active involvement of a roving birth registration team
that will go the rounds in various local government units. This will
solve the problem of parents who live in remote places where there
are no available means of transportation for travel to the municipal
hall. The Committee on the Rights of the Child observed that there is
need for improvement of the registration of newborn deaths and
stillbirths by engaging more than 5,500 trained barangay civil
registration agents and the local civil registrars (LCRs) in all the 132
cities and 1,496 municipalities around the country.
C. DEFINITON OF TERMS
Name - The designation of an individual person or of a firm or
corporation. A word or combination of words used to distinguish a
person, thing, or class from others.

Nationality - The state of a person in relation to the nation in which

he was born.
Right To A Nationality - is a fundamental human right. It implies the
right of each individual to acquire change and retain a nationality.
D. KEY FACTORS ON UNREGISTERED CHILDREN IN THE
PHILIPPINES
Birth registration involves payment of fees and is not easily
accessible to all parents particularly those in remote areas, those
among ethnic communities and in cases where the mother is assisted
at a home birth, not by a skilled medical practitioner but by a
traditional birth attendant (hilot).3
Some countries impose late fees, fines or judicial procedures for late
registration. While this may encourage some parents to register their
children on time, it can also impose an unfair burden on families that
find it difficult to register, such as those living in isolated areas poorly
served by government services or who cannot afford the cost of
registration. These penalties result in double discrimination against
the family. Some families may not register their children until it is
convenient to access a registration office or may wait until it is
necessary for their children to have formal identification, for example,
prior to attending school or receiving social services. In other cases,
cultural factors may be at play, including among families whose
custom dictates that children should not be named for a period of
time after birth.4
According to UNICEF, unregistered births are a symptom of the
inequities and disparities in a society. The children most affected by
these inequities include children from certain ethnic or religious
groups, children living in rural or remote areas, children from poor
households or children of uneducated mothers. 5

3 Looking After Filipino Children A Legal Framework for childrens Rights and
Welfare
4 http://www.unicef.org/mena/MENA-Birth_Registration_report_low_res-01.pdf
5 http://www.unicef.org/media/media_71508.html

E. GOVERNMENTS RESPONSE TO THE GROWING NUMBER

OF UNREGISTERED BIRTHS
The National Statistics Office, together with Plan Philippines,
launched the Birth Registration Project (BRP) in the region last
February 23, 2005 at Kanhuraw Convention Center, Tacloban City.
Over 50 participants coming from various NGAs, LGUs, academe
and the private sector attended the activity.The Birth Registration
Project is the second phase of the Unregistered Children Project
(UCP) implemented in 2000. Its target groups included the Muslims,
indigenous people and street children. The UCP has achieved
significant strides in promoting birth registration, which gave to the
realization of a UCP-2 or the Birth Registration Project. The project
intends to run until June 2007 aiming a 100 percent Birth Registration
in the country for the year 2005-2010, as well as to sustain and
institutionalize the gains of the UCP at a larger scale by establishing
a Barangay Civil Registration System (BCRS).6
In furtherance of the right of a child to name and nationality, the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), National
Statistics Office (NSO), and Department of the Interior and Local
Government (DILG) signed an agreement to hold a one-month birth
registration program in May 2011. The program waived fees for the
late registration of birth of families identified through the National
Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) and
school-aged children. This is laudable but it would have left a greater
impact had the program ran for a longer period .7
F. LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF THE RIGHT TO NAME AND
NATIONALITY
1. International Legal Framework
The right to a nationality is recognized in a series of international
legal instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
6 http://www.nscb.gov.ph/ru8/Statnews/statnews_birth%20registration
%20project.htm
7 Looking After Filipino Children A Legal Framework for childrens Rights and
Welfare

Women, the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women, the

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of Their Families. The issue of nationality is
also regulated in the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness,
the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. 8
An explicit and general prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of
nationality can be found in numerous international instruments. In
particular, it is worth noting that article 15 of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights explicitly provides that no one should be arbitrarily
deprived of his or her nationality. The General Assembly, in its
resolution 50/152, also recognized the fundamental nature of the
prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality.9
2. Philippine Legal Framework
The Civil Code provides for the mandatory recording in the civil
register of all events concerning the civil status of persons,
registration of birth, and change of name. 10
The passage of Republic Act 9048, which authorizes the
city/municipal civil registrar or consul general to correct a clerical or
typographical error in an entry and/or change the first name in the
civil registry through an administrative process that is quicker and
less expensive than a judicial procedure; Administrative Order No. 3
Series 2004, on the rules and regulations governing registration of
acts and events concerning civil status of indigenous peoples; and
Memorandum Circular 2004-01 concerning birth registration for
children in need of special protection. 11
The Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act18 as amended by
RA 10022, created an inter-agency committee composed of the
Department of Foreign Affairs, Commission on Filipinos Overseas,
and National Statistical and Coordination Board, among others. Its
8 http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/Nationality.aspx
9 Ibid
10 Looking After Filipino Children A Legal Framework for childrens Rights
and Welfare
11 Ibid

goal is to establish a shared government information system for the

purpose of tracking past and present gender disaggregated cases
involving male and female migrant workers, including minors. The
minors referred to here would include children of migrant workers
born abroad, which the tracking system can help identify and
document.12
G. BARRIERS TO BIRTH REGISTRATION
A major barrier to universal birth registration in Asia is the lack of
public awareness about registration as a fundamental right. It is often
seen as a mere formality and not given importance as compared to
bigger issues such as poverty and hunger, says Regional Building
Relationships Advisor Ming Viado of the non-governmental
organization Plan Asia. Other barriers stem from lack of political will,
conflicts and war, as well as ethnic and gender discrimination. 13
Despite the legal bases that have boosted compulsory registration of
vital events, statistics show significant levels of under registration and
delayed registration which can be traced back to the following
problems: lack of awareness on the importance of civil registration,
difficulty of reaching the city or town proper considering the
topographical features consisting of valleys, mountains and rivers
aggravated by expenses in transportation, language barriers due to
the presence of tribal groups, peace and order situation and varying
cultural beliefs and practices.
H. RECOMMENDATION

12 Ibid
13 http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/philippines_31606.html