DESK REVIEW ON POPULATIONS AT RISK OF STATELESSNESS A.2. Birth and Civil Registration Birth registration is a prerequisite to establishing parentage and would be a means to acquire proof of nationality.71 Under Article 172 of the Family Code, the filiation of legitimate children is established by any of the following: (1) the record of birth appearing in the civil register or a final judgment; or (2) an admission of legitimate filiation in a public document or a private handwritten instrument and signed by the parent concerned. In the absence of that, the legitimate filiation shall be proved by: (1) the open and continuous possession of the status of a legitimate child; or (2) any other means allowed by the Rules of Court and special laws (265a, 266a, 267a). A Regional Strategic Plan for the Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific72 was approved by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Commission Resolution 69/15.73 A Regional Action Framework was also developed setting goals and targets that would set a road map towards achievement of a shared vision that, “all people in Asia and the Pacific will benefit from universal and responsive CRVS systems that facilitate the realization of their rights and support good governance, health and development.”74 Three outputs are intended: • Universal civil registration of births, deaths, and other vital events • The provision to individuals and families of legal documentation as evidence of the occurrence of vital events • The production and dissemination of vital statistics based on civil registration records. Civil registration records should contain, for each vital event, the minimum information for judicial and administrative purposes as recommended by the United Nations.75 The Philippines, through Presidential Proclamation 1106 declared the years 2015-2024 as Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Decade.76 Following up on UNESCAP Resolution 69/15 Article 172, Chapter 2, Executive Order 209 [Family Code of the Philippines]. 71 Regional Strategic Plan for the Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific, 3 December 2012, available at: https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/CRVS%20Draft%20Regional%20Strategic%20Plan%20 %282012%29%20English.pdf. 72 ESCAP Commission Resolution 69/15, Implementing the outcome of the High-level Meeting on the Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific, E/ESCAP/69/L.5, 27 April 2013, available at: https://www.unescap.org/ sites/default/files/ESCAP%20Res-69-15.pdf. 73 Regional Action Framework on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific, 28 November 2014, available at: https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/Regional.Action.Framework.English.final.pdf. 74 Principles and Recommendations for a Vital Statistics System: Revision 3, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division, Statistical Papers, Series M No. 19/Rev.3, available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/standmeth/principles/ M19Rev3en.pdf. 75 Presidential Proclamation No. 1106, Declaring the Years 2015 to 2024 as Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Decade, available at: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2015/08aug/20150820-PROC-1106-BSA.pdf. 76 28 UNHCR / April 2021