Senate approves Philippines accession to convention on reduction of statelessness

The Senate on Monday approved on second reading the resolution concurring with the accession to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

The approval came a week after it was sponsored on the floor by Senate Foreign Relations chairman Aquilino Pimentel III.

“Accession to the 1961 Convention affirms the Philippines’ strong commitment to human rights, pursuant to Section 1, Article II of the 1987 Constitution, which provides that ’[t]he State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights’ and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which the country voted in favor of,” Senate Resolution  964 read.

According to the resolution, the 1961 Convention establishes a system of common rules and provides detailed and concrete safeguards to ensure an appropriate response to the threat of statelessness.

The 1961 Convention also laid down measures to prevent and reduce statelessness in four areas of concern, specifically statelessness among children, statelessness due to renunciation of nationality, statelessness due to deprivation of nationality, and statelessness in the context of State succession.

“Acceding to the 1961 Convention will complement and further demonstrate the commitment of the Philippines to its obligations under international human rights instruments, especially those that concern affirmation of the right of all individuals to a nationality,” the resolution read.

PSR 964 also sets the following guidelines:

• The Republic of the Philippines maintains the grounds for the acquisition, loss and reacquisition of Philippine citizenship as provided under Article IV of the 1987 Philippine Constitution and relevant domestic laws.
• Related to Article 2 of the 1961 Convention, the Republic of the Philippines declares that a foundling found in the Philippines, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, is presumed born to a Filipino parent, and therefore, a Filipino citizen.
• In accordance with paragraph 3, Article 8 of the 1961 Convention, the Republic of the Philippines retains the grounds for losing Philippine citizenship as provided for under Section 1 of Commonwealth Act No. 63 (s.1936) subject, however, to the provisions of Republic Act 9225 or the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003, and RA 8171 and other prevailing domestic laws.
• The Republic of the Philippines may apply Article 2 [of the treaty] retroactively should it be more beneficial and conducive to the well-being of the foundling.

Under the measure, the Department of Social Welfare and Development and other concerned government agencies will endeavor to register all the births of children born under disadvantaged situations in the country to avoid any possibility of being stateless, this addressing it as its source.

Moreover, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Labor and Employment through the Philippine missions abroad, will assist undocumented Filipinos and overseas Filipino workers victimized by unfortunate circumstances to prevent their risk of being stateless, including their children born outside the country.

PSR 964 indicated that the Philippine president, with the concurrence of the Senate, may withdraw from the treaty.

On August 3, 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte has ratified the 1961 Convention and submitted it to the Senate for its concurrence. —NB, GMA News