The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) , in partnership with the National Statistics Office and the Department of Interior and Local Government will be launching today, May 13, 2011, a Free Birth Registration for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (Pantawid Pamilya) beneficiaries in Mahaplag, Leyte.

The activity is envisioned to mark the start of the implementation of Free Birth Registration, which will end on May 31, 2011. A total of 85 participants from different partner-agencies are expected to grace the said event.

DSWD Regional Director Leticia Corillo said, that this is in response to what has been discovered in the course of the implementation of the Pantawid Pamilya, particularly during registration and validation process or in the conduct of community assemblies, where a number of children-beneficiaries do not have birth certificates. During community assembly, the potential beneficiaries are required to present legal documents as basis for verification, before they are registered in the program.

Article 7 of United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child states that birth registration is the primary right of a child, This right is fundamental in the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which the Philippine government is committed to attain through its various anti-poverty programs including the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.