1,500 lumads eyed for registration

THE Davao City Civil Registrar's Office (CCRO) targets to register 1,500 lumads in far-flung areas and remote villages of the city through its mobile civil registration for this year to attain their 100-percent registration goal.

Leslie Lagare, CCRO Mobile head in charge, said Monday, January 22, that their effort is continuous to accommodate the indigenous people (IP) in the upland who could hardly register themselves at their office.

Although she could not provide the media the specific data on the number of registered lumads in Davao, she said the number of unregistered lumads is declining.

The objective of their mobile registration is to bring the government service to the upland.

She said they usually respond to the request of barangay officials on the kind of civil activities that the barangay officers want to hold.

She said aside from the birth registration, they also cater to mass wedding and marriage registration requests.

CCRO Birth Division acting head Shirley Arendain said one of the challenges in dealing with the IPs is that they could not provide supporting documents, which is one of the requirements for registration.

Some could not also exactly determine their date of birth.

Arendain also underscored the importance of being registered as it is one of the fundamental rights of the children to have name and nationality.

Birth certificate is also essential in availing government programs, when acquiring education and religious ceremonies such as baptism.

To give way for the lumads who could no longer provide the necessary documents, the CCRO waived some of the requirements for the elderlies. The office only needs certification from the lumads' deputy mayor and the National Commission on Indigenous People on their personal identification.

Meanwhile, the CCRO will have a mobile registration for the Araw ng Lumad in Barangay Lagian, Marilog District in February. (JCR)