Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 14) — Adopting a child will now take only around two months under a new law that simplifies the country’s adoption process and does away with months or even years of tedious processes.
President Rodrigo Duterte has enacted Republic Act 11222, or the “Simulated Birth Rectification Act,” on February 21, according to a document released by Malacañang Tuesday. The bill was filed at the House of Representatives in August 2017, and at the Senate in October 2018.
The new law aims to “provide for and allow a simpler and less costly administrative adoption proceeding where the child has been living with the person or persons who simulate her or his birth record” for at least three years before the effectivity of the act.
Birth simulation refers to the tampering of documents to make it appear that a child was born to a non-biological parent. This act is not considered a criminal or civil offense under the new law if it was made for the best interest of the child, if the child is being treated like the person’s own flesh and blood, and if petition for adoption was filed within 10 years from the effectivity of the act.
Those who simulated the birth of a child may now do away with lengthy court hearings and avail of administrative proceedings which could last for at most 70 days at the Department and Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The new process requires a person to file a petition for adoption filed with the office of the Social Welfare and Development Officer (SWDO) of the city or municipality where the adoptee resides. The SWDO has seven days to examine the petition. If found sufficient in form and substance, the SWDO shall forward the petition to the regional director within three days, along with supporting documents.
The regional director then has up to 30 days to examine the petition and ask for additional information or evidence if necessary. The regional director will then make a recommendation to the Social Welfare Secretary, who has 30 days to decide on the petition.
“If the Secretary determines that the adoption shall redound to the best interest of the child, an order of adoption shall be issued which shall take effect on the date the petition was filed with the office of the SWDO, even if the petitioner dies before its issuance,” the law reads.
The DSWD shall then send the adoption order to the petitioners, concerned agencies, and the local civil registry. Socialized fees will be waived for indigent petitioners.
Once the administrative adoption is approved, the child shall be considered the legitimate child of the petitioner, entitled to all rights and obligations provided by law to legitimate children.
The measure gives further protection to children, making the following offenses punishable with up to 12 years in jail: Obtaining consent for adoption through coercion and other unlawful means; non-compliance with the procedures and safeguards stated by Philippine laws; and exposing the adoptee to danger, abuse, and exploitation.
The DSWD, upon consultation with concerned agencies and child rights groups, is tasked to come up with implanting rules and regulations within 60 days from the effectivity of the act, which shall happen once published in state-run Official Gazette or in a major newspaper.
Government records show there are 6,500 children who have been declared available for adoption, almost 4,000 of them are in government and non-government residential care facilities.
