MALAYSIA -- The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said Monday it is targeting to register all "stateless Filipinos" who are residing in Sabah amid an ongoing territorial dispute between the Philippine and Malaysian governments.
 
Ambassador to Malaysia-designate Maria Angela Ponce said there are over 770,000 Filipinos in Sabah, of which around 550,000 are considered "undocumented" or "stateless".
 
The embassy has sent a mission to the region to provide civil registry services to Filipinos.
 
“Being stateless if wala ka nang documentation, wala kang bansa nagke-claim sa iyo kaya stateless. So iyong pagre-register ng birth nila, pagbibigay ng passport sa kanila. that gives them a status na Filipino national,” Ponce said.
 
“Marami dito rin na hindi na nila... wala na silang identity na Filipino, because pinanganak sila sa Sabah. Ang alam nilang language ay Sabahan and lahat ng mga kamag-anak nila ay nasa Sabah. Marami ang nangyayari na napapabalik sila sa let say,Tawi-Tawi or Zamboanga. Pagdating nila doon, wala na rin kilala doon, wala na silang kamag-anak doon. So wala nang ties doon,” she added.
 
Formal registry for these individuals is needed for them to have access to social services offered by the Philippine government.
 
“Under Malaysia’s laws, walang access to education kung hindi ka national o hindi ka permanent resident. So what we tried to provide na mayroon tayong alternative learning centers with the help of NGOs na tumutulong magprovide ng education to them,” Ponce explained.
 
“Para sa health services, we are also working with the Department of Health natin para sana makapag-provide ng health services for them,” she added.
 
Sabah is located in Malaysia's northern Borneo and southwest of Sulu.
 
The Philippine government continues to lay claim over Sabah, citing a land lease agreement in 1878 between the Sultanate of Sulu and the British North Borneo Chartered Co. 

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