146 Pinoy kids found to have no birth certificates in UAE --- By JOJO DASS

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The Migrant Workers Office (MWO) at the Philippine Consulate General (PCG) has recorded, in just the first 12 days of the UAE government’s ongoing two-month amnesty program, 146 cases of children who do not have birth certificates because they were born to unwed, overstaying mothers. “As of Sept. 12, we have 146 cases – 37 finished cases and 109 still ongoing,” Labor Attaché John Rio Bautista, MWO head, told GMA News Online. These were cases of children who do not have birth certificates because their parents were not married, he said. “They were born out of wedlock,” the labor attaché said. Officials said the figure may go up as the amnesty for overstayers still has more than a month and a half to go. Meanwhile, Bautista said 17 of the “finished cases” were funded by MWO. “The rest were for guidance only. ‘Finished cases’ meaning we have completed the necessary documentation. ‘Funded’ meaning MWO shouldered all expenses, including tickets for repatriation,” he explained. Bautista said the children’s ages range from one to five years old. There were also infants, he said. Runaways Asked if the overstayers were runaway housemaids, Bautista said: “Hindi naman po lahat (Not all).” Runaway housemaids have in the past comprised the bulk of what was called “baby cases,” or “love cases,” as they sought solace in the company of men who took advantage of their situation after which they ended up pregnant. These housemaids ran away from their employers because of alleged abuse. There likewise have been cases involving couples referred to as “weekend lovers” because they meet up during day-offs and eventually engage in premarital sex. Strict laws Strict Islamic laws prohibit pregnancy before marriage. The government had, in 2020, introduced liberal reforms decriminalizing unmarried pregnancy and allowing cohabitation in view of Dubai being an international city of more than 200 nationalities with varying religious beliefs and social norms. However, requirements for obtaining birth certificates like a marriage license have remained in place, according to guidelines. Moreover, maternity care for unwed women is not covered by medical insurance. Securing a child’s birth certificate could also be cumbersome as hospitals may still opt to coordinate with agencies and the police when processing the document, officials said. Recurring issue Pregnancy outside of marriage has been a recurring issue besetting PCG and MWO in the past several years. The PCG’s Assistance to Nationals (ATN) section handled 200 such cases in the first quarter of 2018. In some instances, the problem has also led to newborns being abandoned by their mothers after giving birth at hospitals. Case in point was that of a baby boy named Sebastian, who grew up multilingual while in the care of nurses and other staff at an Abu Dhabi hospital in 2017. His Filipina mother left after giving birth, supposedly to get documents from her home, but never came back. Sebastian was repatriated and placed under care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for adoption. In Satwa, a boy, Butchoy, grew up to be six years old without vaccination and unable to attend school because he was born outside of marriage and, thus, did not have proper documentation like a birth certificate. His mother, Vicenta “Nanay Neng” Habagat Casido, an overstaying runaway working illegally for nine years, gave birth to him while in hiding. Mother and son were repatriated to Zamboanga on December 17, 2018. There have also been cases involving unwed mothers dying of sepsis following delivery of a baby, administered by a “komadrona,” or self-styled midwife, in shared apartment units. Being unmarried, it is difficult to seek pre-natal care from licensed ob-gynecologists. —KBK, GMA Integrated News