1,200 Mapun, Turtle Islands residents to receive free birth certificates

Turtle Islands. Map courtesy of Google

(MindaNews / 15 April) – A total of 1,200 individuals in the far-flung towns of Mapun and Turtle Islands in Tawi-Tawi are set to receive their free birth certificates through a Japanese government-funded birth registration initiative implemented by the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD), the Bangsamoro Information Office said in a media release Monday.
 
The project covers 50 remote island communities across the Bangsamoro region where residents face difficulties in accessing basic government services, including birth registration.

It is implemented in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

“Limited access to birth registration remains a major concern,” said Sheba J. Jamaluddin, MSSD Mapun Municipal Social Welfare Officer (MSWO), during a training session in Davao City early this month.
 
Jamaluddin noted that some members of the Sama Bajau community do not view birth certificates as necessary. “Our role in this initiative is to coordinate the registration process on the ground and advocate for its importance in accessing government support,” she said.
 
Barbangsa M. Jalaide, MSWO of Turtle Islands, added that many children in their area remain undocumented because their parents themselves lack birth certificates and often don’t realize its importance.

But she said that with the trust they have built within these communities, they can now encourage parents to register their children and explain to them the benefits of legal identity in accessing government programs and services.

The birth registration initiative aims to register at least 30,000 individuals in BARMM between July 2024 and June 2026. This aligns with the Philippine Statistics Authority’s broader goal of registering over 400,000 individuals in the region by the end of 2027, addressing a backlog of an estimated two million unregistered births in BARMM.
 
Aside from the PSA-BARMM, the project is supported by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, UNICEF Philippines, Community and Family Services International, and Relief International. (MindaNews)