BUTUAN CITY — Rep. Lawrence Lemuel H. Fortun of the First District of Agusan del Norte has been chosen one of the three finalists in the 6th Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) Triennial Awards for Exemplary Individuals. The RAFI Triennial Awards are conferred every three years to honor those men, women, and organizations, who, through their efforts and selfless commitment bring about change in the lives of the less-privileged in various groups and communities in the Philippines. About 300 have been nominated for the award.
Fortun was chosen as finalist for his work in organizing lawyers and other volunteers to go to remote communities to extend free legal and related services for the registration of births of children and also adults who lack birth certificates. This outreach program, which he started about seven years ago, has now served not less than eight thousand individuals who have not been able to obtain birth certificates due to poverty and distance.
At the Leaders of Change Forum in Cebu City yesterday where he was a speaker, Fortun expressed disappointment in the current civil registration system that “actually penalizes the poor for being poor.” He said “poverty is, almost always, the reason for a parent’s failure to register the birth of his or her child, and by imposing fees for delayed registration, the state is actually penalizing the poor.”
“Aside from the application fee which local civil registrar requires, an application for late birth registration has to be supported with two affidavits, namely, an affidavit of delayed registration and a joint affidavit of two disinterested persons who will attest to the fact of birth. This makes delayed birth registration too cumbersome for the less-privileged,” Fortun.
Fortun emphasized that the right to identity is a most fundamental human right. “Before we even talk about other human rights, we have to start with, first and foremost, recognizing the existence of the human being,” he pointed out.
The young legislator also said, “Without that basic document, that is, the birth certificate, one’s existence is not known and for that reason, he or she cannot exercise his or her rights as a citizen.” He also asserted, “this is actually a human rights issue because therecan be no greeter violation of human rights than not recognizing the existence of the human being.”
Fortun’s efforts inspired other lawyers who later on joined him in visiting remote barangays to extend free legal services for birth registration. The local government of Butuan has also been moved by his initiative as the SangguniangPanlungsod passed an ordinance providing for free at east one day of every month where the local civil registrar facilitates free late registration for indigents.
Fortun, however, said that while this is a welcome development, it still does not address the problem on a long-term basis. (PR)
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