Anyone know a reliable lawyer in The Philippines?

A bit of an odd one this. Someone we know has tried to bring their daughter to Germany from The Philippines. The application was refused.

One reason for the refusal was that her daughter had 2 different birth certificates in 2 different names! They applied using the later birth certificate hut, basically, got busted by the very thorough German investigation process.

Their refusal letter (a rather odd version of which I have after it has been translated on Google) says that only the first birth certificate is valid and the need to have the second one erased and need to do this through the Philippine courts.

Any advice anyone? Particularly regarding a good law firm in Philippines they can contact.

Wow those Germans really are thorough, different names and all! I'm not so sure the application would have failed had it been done here.

Hang on... How is this even possible? Are the two registry entries cross-linked so that a request for that person's Birth Certificate yields two documents in different names? That would be the only way that I can see that a German investigator would know.

That's what I was thinking

I'm not sure how they found out, but you wouldn't believe how thorough they are.

Another problem they have is that the mother's surname is incorrect as she uses her father's surname, but the parents weren't married when she was born so she should have used the mother's surname. This brings into doubt the validity of the documentation.

I was very surprised when I found out what the German authorities do. They even went to her village and interviewed family and local people about them.

Like... WOW, I'm flabbergasted!

When I've had a chance to black out the names I'll put the rejection letter on here. It's an interesting read.

The sad thing about it all is that a young girl is being prevented from being with her mother by German red tape.

I wonder if it would make a difference if she changed her religion?

Even that would be a help. They have no idea where to start.

Lawyers here are leeches.
You will see what I mean soon enough.
Good luck.

This can happen quite easily here - similar problem for marriage certs ... I found out about it via a Filipina my wife became friendly with at the local school - basically this woman was leaving our Island of Leyte to go to Cebu to marry her new Husband... seems some of the "Databases" for records in Fils are not joined up - might also explain why the UK take so long to verify the records for child passports too.

So... yes my wife had a Cenomar but was it worth the paper it was written on... ?

If anyone is interested, this is the censored version of the German rejection letter. I believe it's been run through Google translator, which hopefully explains the use of the term "child trafficking"!

They are certainly strict in Germany. The people involved here are my wife's sister and her daughter, and when my wife's sister originally applied to move to Germany it was discovered that her parents marriage was never final because they never signed the marriage certificate! So they actually had to get remarried (properly!) in 2009, otherwise the visa would have been refused because the parents weren't married. So I'm told! You have to bear in mind I'm relying on second hand information from emotional women here!

You are grasping at straws.
There is no one here qualified to help your friend or advise him/her.
Good luck.

Your sister-in-law doesn't just need a competent lawyer, that lawyer needs to be based close to the family on Leyte as it is there that all the paperwork resides and where the eventual court hearings will need to be. I do know of a very good and honest lawyer but he's based in Cebu City and really only takes cases there or Manila where he also has appearance "rights". And he is very expensive in Philippine terms.

Probably you s-i-l's best course of action would be to return to her home island in order to interview, select and instruct a firm that he feels comfortable using. She will have to swear affidavits to cover her side of the story and she may need to contact the child's father and persuade him to do likewise.

Good luck!

I agree. Even before all this came to light I said she'd need to get in touch with the child's father and sort everything properly but the Filipino way seems to be not to worry about anything as they are sure it will be fine, and then, suddenly, when it isn't, everything is a complete disaster!

It's something they will have to sort out for themselves in the end. I just worry about her daughter, who is the innocent victim in this shambles. I just hope her mum doesn't decide it's all too much effort and just forget about it.

thanks for that..ive just learned something thats been staring me in the face since last year.

i would of recommend my Dad (retired Judge and now practicing lawyer) and my brother but they are based in Davao.. I'll ask if they know of anyone in Leyte.. from what I can gather, the first step needed is to have the 2nd birth certificate declared null and void by the courts.. i will ask and get back to you on this one

That's great. Thanks.