DESK REVIEW ON POPULATIONS AT RISK OF STATELESSNESS A.3. PSA Memorandum Circular 2017-12 PSA Memorandum Circular 2017-212 was issued to all concerned Consuls General on “requirements for the preparation of reports of birth (ROB) of a child born abroad of Filipino parent/s without any foreign documents.”82 It was issued due to the increase of unreported births abroad, “particularly in the Middle East.” The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) conducted consultations with the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) and other stakeholders because of children who come home undocumented. It provides that: 1. Children born to a Filipino mother without documents such as medical/hospital or local birth records, can be registered with an affidavit from the mother and two disinterested witnesses. 2. Where the mother is deceased, an affidavit of the father or person to whom the child was entrusted, plus a death certificate and two disinterested witnesses are sufficient. 3. Where the mother is missing, an affidavit of the father or person to whom the child was entrusted, and two disinterested witnesses are sufficient. 4. Where the mother is missing and unknown to the person currently entrusted with the child, the Philippine Foreign Service Post is empowered to investigate and where unsuccessful, shall assist local registration of the child in the country where the child was born.83 This Circular was reported by the Philippines during the High-Level Segment on Statelessness.84 All ROBs are free (done gratis) as long as Social Welfare Attachés facilitate the requirements (affidavit of the mother, among others) for the registration of birth of the child. The following analysis regarding application of PSA MC 2017-12, is based on excerpts from the initial consultations with DSWD Social Welfare Attachés who have worked in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia.85 • For Embassies that are implementing this policy, it is reported that among mothers who give birth without documents, there are cases where the children are left behind or abandoned, and where parents are deported without their children, complicating the process of obtaining the requirements to prove Filipino lineage. 82 PSA MC 2017-12. 83 This is subject to the domestic laws and practices of the relevant State. Results of the High-Level Segment on Statelessness, October 2019, available at: https://www.unhcr.org/ibelong/results-of-thehigh-level-segment-on-Statelessness/ 84 85 30 Based on initial consultations with Social Welfare Attachés and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, 17 June 2020. UNHCR / April 2021