ILOILO City — Despite government efforts to promote inclusive family-based care, only 25 of the 189 adoption and foster care petitions filed in Western Visayas and Negros Occidental since 2023 have come from single applicants, prompting the Regional Alternative Child Care Office (RACCO) to intensify its campaign encouraging more solo parents and LGBTQIA+ individuals to consider becoming adoptive or foster parents.
The figures, released by RACCO during the recent observance of Adoption and Child Care Week, show that while Republic Act No. 11642 allows qualified single individuals to adopt or foster children, participation remains heavily dominated by married couples.
Of the 189 petitions received since the implementation of the Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act in 2023, 164 were filed by married couples, while only 25 came from single petitioners.
RACCO said 128 of the petitions have already resulted in adoption orders.
Janice Brasileño, regional head of RACCO, said the agency is working to broaden public understanding of who can provide a loving and stable home for children in need.
“Families come in many forms. We are not only recognizing the traditional family model of a mother, father, and children but also embracing diverse family compositions,” she shared.
“Our goal is to highlight the fact that parenthood is not limited to childless couples. Solo parents and members of the LGBTQIA+ community are invaluable to our expanding community of adoptive and foster families,” she added.
Brasileño said applicants seeking to become adoptive or foster parents must be Filipino citizens with full civil rights, possess good moral character, and must not have been convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude.
She stressed that an applicant’s sexual orientation or gender identity does not determine eligibility.
Importantly, she emphasized that the most critical aspect of fostering or adopting is the ability to provide a loving, safe, and stable nurturing environment for children in need, regardless of the applicant’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The agency is also urging individuals with simulated birth records to avail themselves of the amnesty provided under Republic Act No. 11222 or the Simulated Birth Rectification Act.
“The opportunity to correct simulated birth records will only be available until March 29, 2029. For anyone who has simulated the birth record of their child, please reach out to your local social welfare development office or RACCO to take advantage of this amnesty initiative,” Brasileño said.
RACCO reported that only 52 petitions have been filed under the rectification program so far, with 44 already granted orders of finality. Nine of these petitions were filed by single petitioners.
“With three more years remaining under this initiative, we are hopeful that we will receive more petitions from diverse groups. We recognize that strengthening family-based care is not a solitary effort; it requires collaboration with the community and unwavering support from various stakeholders,” she stressed.
“Every child deserves the fundamental right to a family — and institutional care should always remain a last option, deployed only in circumstances where family-based or alternative child care options are inaccessible,” she added./PN
