Congress ratifies simplified adoption

MANILA – The Senate and House of Representatives have recently ratified a measure that will do away with the lengthy court proceedings in the process of adoption.

“Simulated Birth Rectification Act of 2018” – the ratified version of Senate Bill 2081 and House Bill 5675 – will soon be transmitted to the Malacañang for President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature.

Sen. Grace Poe, the principal author the measure, said prospective parents need not undergo the lengthy judicial process in the adoption of a child, which usually takes more than six months to complete.

The measure also grants amnesty and allow the rectification of the simulated birth of a child where simulation was made for the best interest of the child, and that such child has been consistently considered and treated by the person.

Republic Act 8552, also known as the Domestic Adoption Act, “penalizes any person who shall cause the fictitious registration of the birth of a child under the name(s) of a person(s) who is not his/her biological parent(s).”

“This provision makes adoption process tedious and excessively costly for ordinary Filipinos,” Poe said. “This leaves a lot of adoptees under assumed filiation and unduly deprived of the benefits of legitimacy and succession.”

“To fast-track the adoption process, those who simulated the birth record of a child should be exempt from criminal, civil and administrative liability provided that the application to rectify a simulated birth record should be filed within 10 years from the effectivity of the measure,” she added.

Instead of going through the courts, those who will file petition for adoption may do so through the Social Welfare and Development Officer of the city or municipality where the child resides, Poe said.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) secretary shall decide on the petition within 30 days from receipt of the recommendation of the department’s regional director.

After all requirements for administrative adoption have been met, the child shall be considered the legitimate child of a person and as such is entitled to all rights and obligations provided by law to legitimate children born to them.

DSWD records showed that about 6,500 children have been declared available for adoption, almost 4,000 of them are under the care of the government and non-government residential care facilities./PN

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