Ever since her father passed, thirty-year old Haguiar Esmael has stepped up to support her mother in sending her siblings to school. She serves as a volunteer teacher in their community and sees that education is a need and a human right, especially in their conflict-affected community in Kitango.
Haguiar struggled to register her siblings’ births due to the long-distance travel to their community’s local civil registry office and the costs of processing their documents. Without these documents, they are unable to avail basic social services that are critical for development such as livelihood and educational scholarships. This scenario is not unique to Haguiar and her family. Their story is the story of thousands of families residing in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
In numbers, birth registration in the BARMM is the lowest in the Philippines, garnering only 77%. The region also lags in their access to timely birth registration as 2022 PSA data show that BARMM has the highest proportion of late registered births at 26.8%. Securing birth certificates ensures that an individual is recognized by the government, along with their rights and access to social services befitting a Filipino.
Haguiar shared that the lack of birth registration has made it difficult for her siblings to continue their schooling or to even just dream of a better life. Children may be allowed to go to school without a birth certificate, but this only extends until primary education. Pushing through and beyond secondary education may prove to be a struggle if they are still without their legal identity.
In the Philippines, a birth certificate is a primary requirement in being considered and granted financial assistance by the government. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) offers scholarships to marginalized and underprivileged students, but can only be accessed by those who can present their birth certificate.
IDEALS, a local human rights organization, aims to address this gap and ensure that civil registration is accessible to vulnerable and marginalized communities. The project aims to provide mobile registration assistance to decommissioned combatants, their families and communities residing in six major MILF camps, alongside Moro and non-Moro indigenous people in the Upi Complex.
As part of the project outreach, IDEALS utilizes social media to announce project information and any upcoming visits to the community. Haguiar saw this online and immediately inquired about the requirements for registration – not just for herself, but for her siblings as well. According to Haguiar, one of her siblings has received their birth certificate already and was allowed to enroll.
With the burning passion to help more people register their birth, Haguiar went the extra mile by volunteering under IDEALS and its civil registration programs. She shared that she finds joy in being able to contribute to her community by ensuring their access to a free birth certificate.
Further, she reminds everyone that the right to an identity should not be limited by age or circumstance, especially for senior citizens and elderly who are in need of social services.
Aside from birth registration, Haguiar also stressed the significance of securing marriage certificates. These certificates are a basic requirement in registering the birth of children born under a marriage, as well as applying for delayed birth registration. It protects the rights of children – no matter when and how they are born.
The birth certificate is a simple piece of paper that serves as our passport to life.
ABOUT THE PROJECT: The PEACE Bangsamoro project is a civil registration project generously aided by the British Embassy and Misereor, in partnership with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Joint Task Force on Camp Transformation (JTFCT), Task Force for Decommissioned Combatants and their Communities (TFDCC), and the Joint Normalization Committee (JNC).