UAE amnesty: 27 children of overstaying Pinay mothers flown to PH

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Twenty-seven children, including 11 infants, who did not have birth certificates as they were born to overstaying mothers in Abu Dhabi, were flown home this week after getting proper documentation.

The Philippine Embassy, in an announcement on November 5, said the children, along with their mothers, were legalized following close coordination with UAE government agencies. There were 18 mothers, the embassy said.

The move was made as the world celebrates the 35th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Migrant Workers Office - Abu Dhabi successfully issued documents to undocumented Filipino children born in Abu Dhabi, and assisted in their repatriation to the Philippines,” stated the announcement. 

It added that the embassy and MWO officials in Abu Dhabi worked together to ensure that the mothers and their children were given proper documentation in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department and Department of Health.

This brought the total number of Filipinos repatriated to the Philippines to 813, the embassy said. It was also the 12th batch so far, the statement added.

“As this year marks the 35th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi and MWO-Abu Dhabi continuously advocates for the Convention’s objective of recognizing the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family that is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world,” the embassy said.

Labor Attaché John Rio Bautista, MWO head at the Philippine Consulate General, has previously told GMA News Online that 146 cases of children who did not have birth certificates because they were born to unwed, overstaying mothers were recorded in just the first 12 days of the UAE government’s amnesty. 

The program began on September 1, 2024, and has been extended until December 31, 2024. 

A pregnant, overstaying mother usually prefers not to give birth at a hospital, fearing arrest for not having legal papers. Most deliver their babies in shared apartment units facilitated by a midwife, usually not certified. 

There have been cases of stillbirth, among the contributing factors being that the overstaying mother did not have proper prenatal care also because clinics require proper IDs.

There have also been instances in the past where an unlicensed midwife assisted a mother in giving birth, and the mother passed away from an infection. —VBL, GMA Integrated News