Civil Registration for IPs: A Necessary Step in Accessing Better Services
“Tagbanua mothers recognize how important it is to acquire birth certificates for their family members so they may receive more benefits from the government.” -Chrislyn Da-aw, project development associate
If born but without legal proof, the right to basic services often becomes limited and difficult to uphold. Civil registration has been a challenge particularly for many Indigenous Peoples (IP) communities in the Philippines with places of residence far from town, few health centers within their areas, and countless unrecorded births at home.
This is the reality faced by the Tagbanua fisherfolk of Sitio Alulad in Culion, Palawan, with whom Cartwheel Foundation International (Cartwheel INTL) and Cartwheel Foundation Philippines (Cartwheel PH) have been working together as development partners. Both organizations have committed to assisting in the Tagbanua’s civil registration process—helping coordinate with specific offices and following through with necessary groundwork. Acquiring birth certificates for each of their community members has been identified as an important step in ultimately helping them improve their access to better health services.
Tagbanua community members submit documents for processing to a representative from the Municipal Civil Registrar of Culion in February 2018. (Photo courtesy of Mike Onduran)
Following through with next steps
A database created in early 2018 identified 21 families comprised of 117 individuals, many of whom are children currently enrolled in Alulad IP School, as a priority group for civil registration.
On February 9, 2018, the Municipal Civil Registrar Office (MCR) of Culion visited Sitio Alulad, in coordination with Cartwheel PH. MCR staff began the application process for birth certificates of Tagbanua who had document requirements on-hand.
The MCR has committed to again visit Sitio Alulad in their latest round of mobile registration in February 2019. Cartwheel PH project development associate Chrislyn Da-aw remains in close coordination with Ms. Indira Maniego of Culion’s MCR, liaising between their office and Tagbanua community members to prepare for said upcoming registration.
In Manila, Cartwheel INTL and Cartwheel PH team members have set a joint meeting also in February with key persons from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-Civil Registration Services to request assistance in expediting the tedious process of civil registration for IPs, specifically.
Even as much persistence and patience with tedious processes are necessary to complete civil registration for late applicants such as the Tagbanua, commitment remains unwavering from both Cartwheel INTL and Cartwheel PH to help see them through. After all, one’s birth certificate is indeed instrumental in accessing better health services, among many other opportunities.
This article also appears on the website of Cartwheel Foundation International.