DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 11 December) — The Japanese government has extended 858 million yen (₱325 million) to support birth registration and the campaign against statelessness in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Japanese Minister for Economic Affairs Yokota Naobumi said the grant is part of Tokyo’s continuing support for the Bangsamoro peace process and socioeconomic development in the area.
The funds would be used for the program dubbed “The Project for Promoting Digital Birth Registration of Populations at Risk of Statelessness in the BARMM.”
“As we move forward, let us continue to work hand in hand to ensure that no Bangsamoro man, woman, nor child is left behind on the journey toward peace and progress,” he said in a statement issued by the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines.
The Japanese grant aims to enhance the facilitation of birth registration of Sama Bajaus, unregistered children in the context of forced displacement due to armed conflict, and former Moro combatants and their families in the BARMM.
The project is implemented by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for a duration of 30 months. It targets to benefit 130,000 unregistered individuals, with 800,000 more indirectly benefiting in the next 10 years.
Seven mobile birth registration caravan vehicles were handed over to the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD), headed by Atty. Raisa Jajurie, during the handover ceremony on December 5 at the Bangsamoro Government Complex in Cotabato City.
In a report from the Bangsamoro Information Office, Jajurie said the mobile units are expected to strengthen the ministry’s free birth registration services, particularly in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, and the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area.
“These mobile vehicles are a great help in speeding up and expanding the delivery of free birth registration for every Bangsamoro,” she said, noting that the effort is a critical gateway to essential government services.”
“They will also strengthen our coordination with the Philippine Statistics Authority for mobile and digital-enabled registrations,” she added.
In addition to the vehicle turnover, seed grants worth ₱50,000 each, along with advocacy materials, were awarded by UNICEF Philippines to four youth organizations in Lanao del Sur under the Birth Registration Advocacy for Vulnerable Populations to End Childhood Statelessness (BRAVE) Project.
The MSSD-led birth registration campaign forms part of the Bangsamoro Government’s broader push to expand equitable access to public services by ensuring that all Bangsamoro residents, particularly those in marginalized and remote communities, are legally documented and recognized under the law.
Atty. Maria Ermina Valdeavilla-Gallardo, head of UNHCR Philippines, echoed the importance of the initiative, saying the program aims at “ensuring that no one is left without a nationality and without a legal identity.” (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
