ARMM passes law on free late registration of births

COTABATO CITY, Philippines—The acting governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has signed into law a  regional legislative bill that is aimed at fast-tracking the registration of children— and adults— in the region as well as facilitating the registration of new births in an area that paid scant attention to this matter in the past.

Mujiv Hataman said the new law, officially called Mindanao Muslim Autonomy Act 293 or MMA 293, effectively addresses the non-registration of a large part of the ARMM’s population. Under the law, late registrations of birth will be facilitated for free. It is done for a fee under a tedious process elsewhere in the Philippines.

Hataman acknowledged that birth registration was not among the priorities of mothers in far-flung areas of the region, probably due to lack of education on the importance of birth certificates in legal transactions.

“We have employees in the ARMM government that are already beyond retirement age, but are still working because they don’t have authentic birth certificates to show they are already more than 60 years old,” Hataman said.

Hataman said they have already started removing “overaged” employees from different line agencies and support offices under the Office of the Regional Governor.

MMA 293 requires all private and government hospitals, clinics and birthing facilities to immediately process the registration of childbirth at municipal civil registry offices and the local branches of the National Statistics Office.

Hataman said the health and social welfare departments in the region will help implement the law.

He assured the public that the law requires no payment for the processing of birth certificates anywhere in the ARMM provinces:  Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

He clarified, however, that only people born in the ARMM can avail themselves of the services provided by the new law.

The law was authored by Assemblywoman Rahima Datumanong-Alba, who represents the second district of Maguindanao in the Regional Legislative Assembly.

The signing into law of MMA-293 last Monday was witnessed by Trevor Clark, head of United Nation’s Children’s Fund-Cotabato field office and Cliff Winston Albarico of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Also present at the signing were Hadji Manny Pilimpinas, director for National Statistics Office for ARMM, and Razulden Mangelen, NSO-Maguindanao chief.

Clark said he was happy the regional legislature passed the law.

“We are proud of and fully support the implementation of this law,” Clark said.