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ADOPTION IN THE PHILIPPINES

March 11, 2017 admin ADOPTION IN THE PHILIPPINES

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I.LOCALORDOMESTICADOPTION:

Therearetwotypesofdomesticadoptionundertakenbyourteamof
adoptionlawyersandattorneysinthePhilippines,1)Adoptionwiththe
consentofthenaturalparentsand2)AdoptionofaFoundlingorachild
whoseparentsarenotknownorwhohavebeenabandoned.

There are basically two ways to initiate a domestic adoption in the

Philippines,theadministrativeandthejudicial.

THEADMINISTRATIVEPROCESS

1) ATTENDAPREADOPTIONSEMINAR.Thisistheinitialstepfor
couples or individuals who are interested to adopt a child in the
Philippines.InquirewiththenearestofficeoftheDepartmentofSocial
WelfareandDevelopmentinyourareaabouttheiradoptionseminars.
Theseseminarsareintendedtoeducatethepubliconthebenefitsand
responsibility involved in the adoption process in the Philippines.
Whilethefocususuallyisontheadoptionofabandonedchildren,these
seminarsareusefulasaneyeopenerforprospectiveadoptiveparents
whoarelookingatadoptingchildrenofrelativesorotherpersonswho
arepreparedtogivetheirconsenttoanadoptioninthePhilippines.

2)APPLICATIONFORADOPTION.Prospectiveadoptiveparentsmay
fileanapplicationtoadoptachildinthePhilippines.

3) DECLARATIONOFABANDONMENT.Thisoccurswhenachildis
abandoned or when efforts to locate the natural parents fail. The
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equivalentofthisprocedureinthecaseofaPhilippineadoptionwith shares
the consent of the natural parents is the signing by the latter of a
DEED OF VOLUNTARY COMMITMENT. Theoretically, this is where
theStateasparenspatriaeassumesitsroleastemporarycustodianof
the child preparatory to the adoption by the prospective adoptive

parents.TheinterventionbytheStateatthispointistoensurethebest
interestsofthechild.

4)HOMESTUDY.HomeStudyReportreferstoastudymadebythe
court social worker of the motivation and capacity of the prospective
adoptiveparentstoprovideahomethatmeetstheneedsofachild.

5) MATCHING.Thisistheprocessofdeterminingifthemotivation
and capacity of the adoptive parents match the needs of the child
subjecttoadoptioninthePhilippines.

6)CHILDSTUDY.ChildStudyReportreferstoastudymadebythe
court social worker of the childs legal status, placement history,
psychological,social,spiritual,medical,ethnoculturalbackgroundand
that of his biological family needed in determining the most
appropriateplacementforhim.

7)PREADOPTIONPLACEMENTAUTHORITY.IssuedbytheDSWD
attesting to the fitness of the child for the next step which is the
SupervisedTrialCustody.

8)SUPERVISEDTRIALCUSTODYreferstotheperiodoftimeduring
whichasocialworkeroverseestheadjustmentandemotionalreadiness
ofbothadoptersandadopteeinstabilizingtheirfilialrelationship.

9) ADMINISTRATIVE CONSENT TO ADOPT. This is issued by the

DSWD after conducting the supervised trial custody indicating the
governments consent to cede custody of the child to the prospective
parentssubjecttojudicialapprovalbythecourt.

THEJUDCIALPROCESSOFADOPTIONINTHEPHILIPPINES

After the consent to adopt issued by the DSWD, the process can
proceedwiththefilingofthePetitionforAdoptionwiththeRegional
Trial Court of the place where the adoptive parents reside. Note,
however,thattheprocedurecanlikewisebeinitiatedjudicially(instead
of1to9above)byfilingthePetitionincourtfromtheverystart,but
the case will proceed jointly with the administrative process (more
particularlyunderNos.3to9above).
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1) Filing of Petition for Adoption at the Regional Trial Court. This
commencestheadoptionprocesswithPhilippinecourts.Thepetitionis
accompanied by documentation which will prove the capacity of the
prospectiveadoptiveparentstoadoptthesubjectchild,suchasproof
of financial capacity, social and religious support, and the proper
psychologicalmakeuptoadopt.Therearenoblankformstofillup,the
Petitionbeingalegaldocumentthatcanbeexecutedproperlywiththe
assistanceofadoptionlawyers.

2) PublicationofthePetition.Beforehearing,thecourtwillorder
thepublicationoftheHearingofthePetitioninanewspaperofgeneral
circulation once a week for three consecutive weeks. There is a
determination at this point by the court of the sufficiency of the
petitioninformandsubstancebeforemovingaheadwiththehearings
ontheadoptioncase.

3) Hearing. After the publication of the Petition and the court

determines that the petition is sufficient in form and substance,
hearings will be scheduled to receive the testimony of the witnesses
which will support the Petition. The two main witnesses are the
adoptive parents, the social worker, and when required by the court,
thepsychologistwhoconductedtheevaluation.

4) Decree of Adoption. After the hearing the evidence, the court

rendersadecisionandadecreeofadoptiongivingcustodyofthechild
subjectoftheadoption,thecancellationofthebirthcertificate(ifone
has already been issued) and a new one issued with the adoptive
parentsnamedasfatherandmotheronthebirthcertificate.

5) AuthorizationToTravelAbroad.Iftheadoptiveparentsintendto
bringthechildtoanothercountry,theDSWDwillissueanauthorityto
travelwhenthejudgmentofthecourtapprovingtheadoptionbecomes
finalandexecutory.

II. INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION IN THE PHILIPPINES

The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption is a treaty to

which the Republic of the Philippines has already acceded. It
applies to situations where the adoptive parents are residents of a 6
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foreign country which are likewise signatories to the treaty and the
child is in the Philippines. Normally, the so-called Hague adoption

or international adoption is initiated in the country of residence of
the prospective adoptive parents.

Procedures on Adoption

1) WHERE TO FILE THE APPLICATION

The application shall be led with the ICAB through the Central
Authority (CA) on Inter-country Adoption or an ICAB accredited
Foreign Adoption Agency (FAA) or Governmental Adoption Agency
(GAA) in the country where the applicant resides.

For example, in the United States the designated Central Authority

is the Department of State and only Federally accredited or
approved adoption agencies act as the Foreign Adoption Agency
(FAA).

2) RELATIVE ADOPTION

Relative Adoption as applies to inter-country adoption refers to the

adoption of Filipino child/ren by relatives residing abroad within the
fourth (4th) degree of consanguity.

Former Filipinos permanently residing abroad and/or foreigners

intending to undertake either local adoption (the ling and the
nalization of the adoption is done in the Philippines and have the
intention of bringing the adoptive child to their country of
residence) or through the inter-country adoption route MUST rst
secure the approval from the Central Authority or appropriate
government agencies before ling any adoption petition. For
instance, applicants from the USA must rst secure their suitability

and eligibility to adopt (I800A) from the United States Citizenship
and Immigration Services (USCIS).

MODIFIED PROCEDURE FOR RELATIVE ADOPTION CASES (AS

APPROVED BY THE BOARD ONAUGUST 30, 2007)

1) SUBMISSION BY THE PROSPECTIVE ADOPTIVE PARENTS OF

THE COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRE FOR RELATIVE ADOPTIVE 6
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APPLICANTS (ICAB Form No.2) which can be downloaded from the
DSWD website shall be submitted by the prospective adoptive

parents (PAPs) to the Central Authorities (CAs)/ Foreign Adoption
Agencies(FAAs). The CAs/FAAs shall endorse to ICAB the completed

Questionnaire for Relative Adoptive Applicants (QRAA) with the
agencys assessment and recomendation on the prospective

adoptive parents.

2) If the CA/FAA favorably recommends the PAPs, the ICAB social

worker will then request the CA/FAA to proceed with the
preparation of the PAPs dossier. On the other hand, based on the
signicant data on the child as indicated in the QRAA, the assigned
ICAB Social Worker will request the DSWD Field Oce (FO) to
conduct the Child Study Report with supporting documents.
Periodic follow-ups will be made with the DSWD-FO.(The time
frame from request to ICABs receipt of the report will be 3-6
months. In sitautions where the FO could not prepare the Child
Study Report within the expected time frame in view of heavy
adoption caseload, the ICAB social worker will assist in the conduct
of the CSR).

3) Once the ICAB receives from the DSWD-FO the childs dossier
and the complete adoption application dossier of the PAPs from
the CA or FAA, the ICAB social worker will prepare an executive
summary on the case with his/her recommendation on the childs
adoptive placement for the disposition of the Board.

Ifyouhaveanyquery,CONTACTUSorsubmitacommenthere.

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ADOPTION IN
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(We are reprinting
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