Ambassador ENDO Kazuya attends Handover Ceremony for The Project for Promoting Digital Birth Registration of Populations at Risk of Statelessness in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in Tawi - Tawi

On 16 June 2025, Ambassador ENDO Kazuya attended the handover ceremony for “The Project for Promoting Digital Birth Registration of Populations at Risk of Statelessness in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)” in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi. Joining Ambassador Endo were Tawi – Tawi Governor Hon. Yshmael Sali, Minister for Social Services and Development (MSSD) Hon. Raissa Jajurie, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Philippines Officer-in-Charge Atty. Lindsey Atienza and various stakeholders.

The Government of Japan handed over vehicles, including a motorboat, and advocacy kits, which are expected to support faster and more comprehensive dissemination of information on the importance of birth registration in the province. With the provision of computer servers early this year to streamline the registration process, this project aims to bring much-needed mobile birth registration activities closer to the vulnerable populations. This initiative is also a part of the JPY 858 million (approximately USD 5.5 million) grant to enhance the facilitation of birth registration of Sama Bajaus, unregistered children in the context of forced displacement due to armed conflict, and former combatants and their families in the BARMM. Following this milestone, Ambassador Endo expressed “greater confidence in realizing human security that accommodates the region’s diverse people.”

Implemented by the UNHCR until 2026, this project benefits approximately 130,000 unregistered individuals in 50 communities in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, with 800,000 more indirectly benefiting in the next 10 years.

For more information on Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the Philippines, check the link below:
https://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/oda/human_index.html