SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: SOUTHEAST ASIA commendable that the Philippines has ratified all treaty bodies relating to statelessness, reservations were made to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. The reservations are on Article 17(1), which ensures stateless persons equal rights as aliens in wageearning employment and Article 31(1), which protects stateless persons lawfully residing in the territory from expulsion unless for national security reasons.2943 On this, the Constitution disallows stateless persons from practicing their profession in the Philippines under the provisions which states, “the practice of all professions in the Philippines shall be limited to Filipino citizens”.2944 A reduced period of 5 years is available for those who are married to a Filipino, have introduced a new industry or invention to the Philippines, are a school teacher for at least two years, or were born in the Philippines.2937 A person may be disqualified from this process if they are opposed to organized governments, endorse violence, are a polygamist, convicted of a morally compromising crime, suffering a “mental alienation or incurable contagious diseases”, have not socialized with Filipinos during their residence, or are a subject of a nation with which the Philippines is at war.2938 Documents required for the application include a birth certificate, marriage certificate (if applicable), proof of recognition of refugee or stateless status, a moral endorsement from two Philippine citizens, among others.2939 In 2023, the CERD Committee included in its concluding observations concerns over the “lack of comprehensive and reliable publicly available statistics on demographic composition of the population”, including for stateless persons.2945 Further, the Committee also highlighted the concerning absence of protective legislation against statelessness, particularly regarding “unregistered children living in the context of forced displacement”.2946 It was recommended that the Philippines improve civil and birth registration mechanisms in geographically remote and conflict-affected areas.2947 In 2016 concluding observations by the CESCR Committee, the Committee expressed concerns regarding the lack of birth registration of indigenous children, Muslim children, and children of overseas Filipino workers.2948 These concerns were echoed in the 2022 concluding observations by the CRC Committee, which expressed that while these affected children remain unregistered, they are at Dual citizenship The right for Philippine citizens to maintain dual citizenship is available only to natural-born citizens who have earlier lost their Philippine citizenship by reason of acquisition of foreign citizenship.2940 While the renunciation process for foreigners is not stipulated in legislation, the oath to be taken upon issuance of Certificate of Naturalization states that the foreign citizen relinquish allegiance to any foreign state.2941 Treaty ratification status Following accession to the 1961 Statelessness Convention in March 2022,2942 Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia and one of only three countries in the entire Asia-Pacific to be party to all the relevant Statelessness, Refugee and Human Rights Conventions. While it is TABLE 76 In the Plan, the Philippines shared its intentions to abide by the following action points2949:  Resolve existing situations of statelessness;  No child is born stateless;  Remove gender discrimination from nationality laws;  Grant protection status to stateless migrant and facilitate their naturalization;  Ensure birth registration for the prevention of statelessness;  Accede to the UN Statelessness Conventions; Improve quantitative and qualitative data on stateless populations. SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: SOUTHEAST ASIA Further, the Philippines declared the years 2015 to 2024 as the “Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Decade” as well as committed to universal birth registration.2955 Population Reported stateless persons The Philippines is one of few countries in the entire Asia-Pacific region to have implemented a statelessness determination procedure having established the procedure in 2012. risk of “statelessness and deprivation of the right to a name and nationality and of access to basic services”.2950 As a party to the CRC, the Philippines is obligated to ensure that every child’s birth is registered immediately as well as to ensure all children the right to acquire a nationality.2951 The Rule on Facilitated Naturalization of Refugees and Stateless Persons defines a stateless person as “a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law,” which is directly aligned with the definition included in the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons.2952 The Philippines is one of few countries in the entire Asia-Pacific region to have implemented a statelessness determination procedure having established the procedure in 2012.2953 The Philippines introduced a National Action Plan to End Statelessness in 2015 based on UNHCR’s Global Action Plan to End Statelessness.2954 The Philippines reported 267 stateless persons to UNHCR in 2022, an increase of 7 persons since 2021.2956 UNHCR has noted that this reported population reflects improved information on persons of Indonesian descent who have acquired nationality.2957 The reported number also includes 11 stateless Rohingya refugees.2958 The reported stateless persons were drastically higher before 2019, at 2,678 persons in 20172959 and 1,068 persons in 20182960. Persons at risk of statelessness Six populations groups within the Philippines have been identified by the Philippines Government and a UNHCR supported mapping report as at risk of statelessness, including the indigenous sea-faring Sama Bajau, Persons of Indonesian Descent (the status of most of this population group has been resolved in recent years), foundlings, unregistered children who have been forcibly displaced due to armed conflict and persons of Japanese descent.2961 Stateless Refugees In 2021 there were 5 reported stateless refugees in the Philippines, all of whom were Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.2962 TABLE 77 Status of Accession of International Human Rights Treaties in Southeast Asia Reported stateless persons to the UNHCR Country Philippines ✅ ⛔ 256 Stateless 1 ✅ Stateless 2 ✅ Refugee Signifies that the country is a party to the convention Signifies that the country is not a party to the convention ✅ ICCPR ✅ ICESCR ✅ ICERD ✅ CRC ✅ CEDAW ✅ Stateless 1 - 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons Stateless 2 - 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) Country Philippines 2019 (year start)2963 2020 (year end)2964 2021 (year end)2965 2022 (year end)2966 383 387 260 267 Source: UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement from 2019-2022. 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