A document as basic as a birth certificate is out of the reach of many poor families.
A Butuan City lawyer has made it his personal mission to help people enjoy the “right of identity” as a fundamental right.
Lemuel “Law” H. Fortun first became aware of the need eight years ago as a guest lawyer for a radio program. He was then a city councilor, answering legal queries from callers for several months.
Unregistered births are a common problem for ordinary people with little means.
In 2007, with a few lawyer-friends, the 43-year-old councilor set out to help residents of a far-flung community get their births registered, providing required affidavits for free.
“People should not be denied this basic right: the right to identity,” said Fortun.
He was elected congressman of the First District of Agusan del Norte in 2013, after serving one term as Butuan city councilor and another term as vice mayor.
Under his Programang Pangkatawhan, he and other volunteer lawyers have provided about 10,000 affidavits for residents of barangays in Butuan and the adjacent town of Las Nieves.
With these documents residents are able to finally get themselves registered and get their birth certificates. This in turn allows them to avail of basic government services like Philhealth coverage.
Barangay level
In Congress, Fortun authored a measure allowing birth registration in barangay halls and prohibiting hospitals from withholding birth records.
The pending bill aims to address the problem of late birth registration by establishing a barangay registration system where barangay personnel are given authority to register births delivered outside of hospitals.
“If hospitals can do it, why not the barangay?” said Fortun.
When birth registration is late, or 30 days have lapsed since birth, the process or registration costs a lot for a poor family who has to get affidavits.
Three affidavits are normally required from a late registrant, with each costing P100. This does not include expenses for transportation, meals, and other incidentals as families live in villages far from urban centers.
As a child, Fortun grew up seeing his father, the late Butuan Councilor Camelo Fortun, leave their house in the middle of the night to buy or borrow medicine from a drugstore for constituents who knocked on their door for help.
When Fortun was vice mayor, people swarmed his office in City Hall every day.
“His office was like a PCSO (Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office). There was always a long line of people asking for help,” said John Gil Unay Jr., a lawyer and friend of Fortun who has accompanied him on his barangay missions.
Fortun’s Programang Pangkatawhan provides other forms of aid such as medical and dental services to residents in Butuan, Las Nieves, and neighboring towns.
Hundreds of students have also enjoyed scholarships, being sent to schools locally and out of Butuan for college.
The biggest impact on the community is the help to thousands establish their births on official record.
“The birth certificate is a simple document. Not having one has big implications,” said Fortun.
Poor families need the document to benefit from government programs.
The free nationwide enrollment of indigents in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., or PhilHealth, has highlighted the problem of unregistered births.
Fortun taps his wide network of friends.
In 2010, the City Civil Registrar’s Office joined his cause in sending personnel out to communities so that residents would not have to spend for fare to City Hall.
“Not only does he use his influence as a congressman, but he also offers free services as a lawyer,” said City Civil Registrar Judith Calo about Fortun.
Starting 2015, Calo said her office will implement mobile birth registration to help prevent late birth registrations in barangays.
While he is busy with his duties as a national legislator and has to stay in Manila most of the time, Fortun
continues to provide services under his Programang Pangkatawhan.
He now however has his eye is on a bigger goal: the passage of the Civil Registration Act.
“I’m looking for a long-term solution. And that’s passing a law,” he said.
(Rep. Lawrence Lemuel Fortun is one of three finalists in the individual category of the 6th Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. Triennial Awards. The winner in the category will be known on Friday, August 14.)
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