Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo reiterated the Philippines’ commitment to supporting conventions under the Hague Conference on Private International Law - Conférence de La Haye de droit international privé (HCCH).

In remarks before delegates of the HCCH Asia Pacific Week held in Manila on Tuesday, Manalo said the Philippines is a party to five HCCH instruments, the most recent being the Child Support Convention which entered into force for the Philippines on October 1 this year.

“To date, the Philippines is the only country in Asia which has ratified this convention,” Manalo said.

“The Philippines remains committed to supporting HCCH conventions that are aligned with our foreign policy and which are beneficial to our people.”

Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands J. Eduardo Malaya explained the HCCH is the international organization tasked to unify rules of private international law and has provided internationally agreed solutions to gaps in the legal framework developed through the negotiation, adoption, and operation of international treaties, particularly in three main area: International Family and Child Protection Law, Transnational Litigation and Apostille, and International Commercial, Digital, and Financial Law.

The Philippines acceded to the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction in 2016, Apostille Convention in 2019 which abolished the requirement of legalization for foreign public documents, Service Convention in 2020 which streamlined the transmission of judicial and extrajudicial documents on party litigants based overseas, and the most recent, the Child Support Convention which entered into force for the Philippines last October 1.

“With this latest development, the collection of maintenance support for Filipino and other children from neglectful parents residing in other countries has become easier,” Malaya said.

In his remarks, Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo underscored the importance of an efficient administrative and adjudicative system to facilitate cross-border transactions, processes, and enforcement of decisions.

“In general, an efficient administrative and adjudicative system at the domestic level is an essential condition in cross-border facilitation of transactions, processes, and enforcement of decisions or judgment,” Gesmundo said.

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