THE Philippines deposited its instrument of ratification to the “Child Support Convention” (CSC), formally known as the “Convention of 23 November 2007 on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance”.

Philippine Ambassador to The Netherlands J. Eduardo Malaya handed the instrument of ratification signed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to Jules van Eijndhoven, head of the MFA Treaties Division, at ceremonies at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in The Hague.

Laura Martinez-Mora, Diplomatic Secretary of the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), was also present during the ceremony.

“The ratification of the HCCH Child Support Convention is among the last acts with international law significance of President Duterte, and it reinforces the commitment of the Philippine Government to protect and promote the welfare of children through an efficient way of collecting support from parents based overseas,” Malaya said.

The Child Support Convention is a global child support treaty that provides procedures to facilitate the processing and enforcement of international child support cases.

The ratification of the convention means that children can more expeditiously receive financial support from absentee parents, Filipinos or foreigners, residing in other countries that are also signatories to the convention.

There are currently 44 contracting states to the convention, including the United States and European countries.

“The Philippines is the only country in Asia which has ratified the convention, and the HCCH looks forward to other countries in the region to accede to the convention,” Martinez-Mora said.

The Supreme Court promulgated on May 31, 2021, the Rules on Action for Support and Petition for Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Decisions or Judgments on Support (A.M. No. 21-03-02-SC).

The rules also provide for an expedited procedure in actions for support and petitions for recognition and enforcement of foreign decisions within the framework of the HCCH Child Support Convention.

These rules will serve as implementing guidelines for the convention.

The convention will enter into force for the Philippines on October 1, 2022, three months after its deposit.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has been designated the central authority to discharge the duties under the convention.

The Philippine Embassy in The Hague, as the foreign service post coordinating with the HCCH on behalf of the Philippine Government, expressed its gratitude to the Office of the President, the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo and Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr., and Assistant Secretary for Treaties and Legal Affairs Maria Angela Ponce, DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista, Undersecretary Sulit, and Assistant Secretary Dr. Glenda Relova, Court of Appeals Justice Angelene Quimpo-Sale, University of the Philippines’ College of Law Dean Carlo Vistan and Philippines’ Technical Expert to the HCCH Prof. Elizabeth Aguiling-Pangalangan – for all their valuable efforts and contributions to the Philippine ratification of the HCCH Child Support Convention.

The Philippines became a Member of the HCCH in 2010.

Out of the 39 HCCH Conventions, the Philippines is a contracting state in four, namely the Intercountry Adoption Convention, Child Abduction Convention, Apostille Convention, and Service Convention.