The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) lauded the Philippine Supreme Court’s (SC) adoption of the rule on facilitated naturalization of refugees and stateless persons.
UNHCR officials paid a courtesy call on Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo and SC justices on Tuesday, May 31 at the SC’s en banc conference room.
The rule would simplify, reduce legal and procedural hurdles, and facilitate the naturalization as Filipino citizens of refugees and stateless persons.
Among the other features, the rule would now allow electronic publication of the petition filed by refugees and stateless persons.
Section 12 of the rule states: “If the court is satisfied that the petition is sufficient in form and substance, it shall direct the clerk of court to cause the publication of the petition, excluding its annexes, for three (3) consecutive weeks in the Official Gazette or its website and in one (1) newspaper of general circulation or its website in the place where the petitioner resides, or the official website of the Supreme Court.”
The SC said the petition by publication “is with due regard to the special and vulnerable circumstances of refugees and stateless persons, such that the alternative modes of publication would reduce the necessary fees and be less burdensome for them.”
Also, the SC said “the provision on electronic publication is a step towards the goal of the Supreme Court to have a technology-driven Judiciary that is capable of providing equal access to justice in real time.”
Also, the rule allows an unaccompanied child to file a petition for naturalization.
“A petition, in behalf of the unaccompanied child or a joint petition involving related unaccompanied children, may be filed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the appropriate Local Social Welfare and Development Office (LSWDO) where the unaccompanied child resides, or the child-caring agency having care and custody of the child,” the rule states.
The SC explained that “this is in accordance with the Philippines’ obligation under international instruments to ensure the right of a child to acquire a nationality, with the courts guided by the ‘best interests of the child’ principle.”
The UNHCR delegation in the courtesy call were composed of Ms. Aurvasi Patel, head of the Bureau Protection Service, UNHCR Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific; Atty. Maria Ermina Valdeavilla-Gallardo, head of the National Office of UNHCR Philippines, and Ms. Maria Louella Gamboa, senior protection associate, UNHCR Philippines.
Aside from Chief Justice Gesmundo, the UNHCR officials were met by Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando and SC Spokesperson and Deputy Court Administrator Brian Keith F. Hosaka.
“We are really appreciative of what you have done.... It is a fantastic illustration of progressive thinking,” Ms. Patel said during the meeting.
In response, Gesmundo said: “The Philippines, historically, is welcoming of refugees. Every case that reaches the Supreme Court will be treated with absolute liberality. We assure you that we will treat them with fairness.”
For his part, Justice Hernando stressed that the rule “highlights the strong commitment” of the Judiciary to the international law governing refugees and stateless persons.
Earlier, the SC had said that the rule was adopted in recognition of the Philippines’ commitments under international law, particularly the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.