pp che elec.

7/31/2019 pp che elec.

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REPORTER:

Cherry Lou C. Tejada


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ARTICLE I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 1.Short Title.This Act shall be known asthe "Domestic Adoption Act of 1998."

Section 2. Declaration of Policies.(a) It is hereby

declared the policy of the State to ensure thatevery child remains under the care and custody ofhis/her parent(s) and be provided with love, care,understanding and security towards the full andharmonious development of his/her personality.Only when such efforts prove insufficient and no

appropriate placement or adoption within thechild's extended family is available shall adoptionby an unrelated person be considered.


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(b) In all matters relating to the care, custodyand adoption of a child, his/her interest shall bethe paramount consideration in accordancewith the tenets set forth in the United Nations(UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child; UNDeclaration on Social and Legal Principles

Relating to the Protection and Welfare ofChildren with Special Reference to FosterPlacement and Adoption, Nationally andInternationally; and the Hague Convention onthe Protection of Children and Cooperation inRespect of Intercountry Adoption. Toward this

end, the State shall provide alternativeprotection and assistance through foster care oradoption for every child who is neglected,orphaned, or abandoned.


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(c) It shall also be a State policy to:

(i) Safeguard the biological parent(s) frommaking hurried decisions to relinquish his/herparental authority over his/her child;

(ii) Prevent the child from unnecessaryseparation from his/her biological parent(s);

(iii) Protect adoptive parent(s) from attempts todisturb his/her parental authority and custodyover his/her adopted child.

Any voluntary or involuntary termination ofparental authority shall be administratively orjudicially declared so as to establish the status

of the child as "legally available for adoption"and his/her custody transferred to the


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Department of Social Welfare and Development orto any duly licensed and accredited child-placing or

child-caring agency, which entity shall be authorizedto take steps for the permanent placement of thechild;

(iv) Conduct public information and educationalcampaigns to promote a positive environment foradoption;

(v) Ensure that sufficient capacity exists withingovernment and private sector agencies to handleadoption inquiries, process domestic adoptionapplications, and offer adoption-related servicesincluding, but not limited to, parent preparation and

post-adoption education and counseling; and(vi) Encourage domestic adoption so as to preservethe child's identity and culture in his/her native land,and only when this is not available shall intercountryadoption be considered as a last resort.


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(c) "Voluntarily committed child" is one whoseparent(s) knowingly and willingly relinquishes

parental authority to the Department.(d) "Involuntarily committed child" is one whoseparent(s), known or unknown, has been permanentlyand judicially deprived of parental authority due toabandonment; substantial, continuous, or repeatedneglect; abuse; or incompetence to discharge

parental responsibilities.(e) "Abandoned child" refers to one who has noproper parental care or guardianship or whoseparent(s) has deserted him/her for a period of atleast six (6) continuous months and has been

judicially declared as such.

(f) "Supervised trial custody" is a period of time withinwhich a social worker oversees the adjustment andemotional readiness of both adopter(s) andadoptee in stabilizing their filial relationship.


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(g) "Department" refers to the Department of SocialWelfare and Development.(h) "Child-placing agency" is a duly licensed andaccredited agency by the Department to providecomprehensive child welfare services including, butnot limited to, receiving applications for adoption,evaluating the prospective adoptive parents, andpreparing the adoption home study.

(i) "Child-caring agency" is a duly licensed andaccredited agency by the Department thatprovides twenty four (24)-hour residential careservices for abandoned, orphaned, neglected, orvoluntarily committed children.(j) "Simulation of birth" is the tampering of the civil

registry making it appear in the birth records that acertain child was born to a person who is not his/herbiological mother, causing such child to lose his/hertrue identity and status.


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ARTICLE II

PRE-ADOPTION SERVICES Section 4. Counseling Service.The

Department shall provide the services oflicensed social workers to the following:

(a) Biological Parent(s)Counseling shall beprovided to the parent(s) before and after thebirth of his/her child. No binding commitment toan adoption plan shall be permitted before thebirth of his/her child. A period of six (6) monthsshall be allowed for the biological parent(s) toreconsider any decision to relinquish his/herchild for adoption before the decision becomesirrevocable. Counseling and rehabilitationservices shall also be offered to the biologicalparent(s) after he/she has relinquished his/herchild for adoption.


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Steps shall be taken by the Department toensure that no hurried decisions are made and

all alternatives for the child's future and theimplications of each alternative have beenprovided.

(b) Prospective Adoptive Parent(s)Counselingsessions, adoption fora and seminars, amongothers, shall be provided to prospectiveadoptive parent(s) to resolve possible adoptionissues and to prepare him/her for effectiveparenting.

(c) Prospective Adoptee Counseling sessionsshall be provided to ensure that he/she

understands the nature and effects of adoptionand is able to express his/her views on adoptionin accordance with his/her age and level ofmaturity.


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Section 5. Location of Unknown

Parent(s).

It shall be the duty of theDepartment or the child-placing or child-caring agency which has custody of thechild to exert all efforts to locate his/herunknown biological parent(s). If such

efforts fail, the child shall be registered asa foundling and subsequently be thesubject of legal proceedings wherehe/she shall be declared abandoned.

Section 6. Support Services.The

Department shall develop a pre-adoptionprogram which shall include, amongothers, the above mentioned services.


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ARTICLE III

ELIGIBILITY Section 7. Who May Adopt.The following may

adopt:(a) Any Filipino citizen of legal age, in possession of

full civil capacity and legal rights, of good moralcharacter, has not been convicted of any crimeinvolving moral turpitude, emotionally andpsychologically capable of caring for children, atleast sixteen (16) years older than the adoptee, andwho is in a position to support and care for his/herchildren in keeping with the means of the family. The

requirement of sixteen (16) year difference betweenthe age of the adopter and adoptee may bewaived when the adopter is the biological parent ofthe adoptee, or is the spouse of the adoptee'sparent;


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(b) Any alien possessing the same qualifications

as above stated for Filipino nationals: Provided,That his/her country has diplomatic relationswith the Republic of the Philippines, that he/shehas been living in the Philippines for at leastthree (3) continuous years prior to the filing ofthe application for adoption and maintains

such residence until the adoption decree isentered, that he/she has been certified byhis/her diplomatic or consular office or anyappropriate government agency that he/shehas the legal capacity to adopt in his/hercountry, and that his/her government allows the

adoptee to enter his/her country as his/heradopted son/daughter: Provided, Further, Thatthe requirements on residency and certificationof the alien's qualification to adopt in his/hercountry may be waived for the following:


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(i) a former Filipino citizen who seeks to adopt a

relative within the fourth (4th) degree ofconsanguinity or affinity; or

(ii) one who seeks to adopt the legitimate

son/daughter of his/her Filipino spouse; or

(iii) one who is married to a Filipino citizen andseeks to adopt jointly with his/her spouse a

relative within the fourth (4th) degree of

consanguinity or affinity of the Filipino spouse; or

(c) The guardian with respect to the ward after

the termination of the guardianship andclearance of his/her financial accountabilities.


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Husband and wife shall jointly adopt, except in

the following cases:(i) if one spouse seeks to adopt the legitimateson/daughter of the other; or

(ii) if one spouse seeks to adopt his/her ownillegitimate son/daughter: Provided, However,

that the other spouse has signified his/herconsent thereto; or

(iii) if the spouses are legally separated fromeach other.

In case husband and wife jointly adopt, or one

spouse adopts the illegitimate son/daughter ofthe other, joint parental authority shall beexercised by the spouses.


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Section 8. Who May Be Adopted.The

following may be adopted:(a) Any person below eighteen (18) years ofage who has been administratively or

judicially declared available for adoption;

(b) The legitimate son/daughter of onespouse by the other spouse;

(c) An illegitimate son/daughter by aqualified adopter to improve his/her status

to that of legitimacy;


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(d) A person of legal age if, prior to the

adoption, said person has been consistentlyconsidered and treated by the adopter(s)as his/her own child since minority;

(e) A child whose adoption has been

previously rescinded; or(f) A child whose biological or adoptiveparent(s) has died: Provided, That noproceedings shall be initiated within six (6)months from the time of death of saidparent(s).


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Section 9. Whose Consent is Necessary tothe Adoption.After being properly

counseled and informed of his/her right togive or withhold his/her approval of theadoption, the written consent of thefollowing to the adoption is hereby

required:(a) The adoptee, if ten (10) years of age orover;

(b) The biological parent(s) of the child, if

known, or the legal guardian, or the propergovernment instrumentality which has legalcustody of the child;


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(c) The legitimate and adopted

sons/daughters, ten (10) years of age orover, of the adopter(s) and adoptee, if any;

(d) The illegitimate sons/daughters, ten (10)years of age or over, of the adopter if living

with said adopter and the latter's spouse, ifany; and

(e) The spouse, if any, of the personadopting or to be adopted.


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ARTICLE IV

PROCEDURE Section 10. Hurried Decisions. In all

proceedings for adoption, the court shallrequire proof that the biological parent(s)

has been properly counseled to preventhim/her from making hurried decisionscaused by strain or anxiety to give up thechild, and to sustain that all measures tostrengthen the family have been

exhausted and that any prolonged stayof the child in his/her own home will beinimical to his/her welfare and interest.


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Section 11. Case Study.No petition for

adoption shall be set for hearing unless alicensed social worker of the Department,the social service office of the localgovernment unit, or any child-placing or

child-caring agency has made a casestudy of the adoptee, his/her biologicalparent(s), as well as the adopter(s), andhas submitted the report andrecommendations on the matter to the

court hearing such petition.


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At the time of preparation of the adoptee'scase study, the concerned social worker shallconfirm with the Civil Registry the real identityand registered name of the adoptee. If thebirth of the adoptee was not registered with theCivil Registry, it shall be the responsibility of theconcerned social worker to ensure that theadoptee is registered.The case study on the adoptee shall establishthat he/she is legally available for adoption andthat the documents to support this fact arevalid and authentic. Further, the case study of

the adopter(s) shall ascertain his/her genuineintentions and that the adoption is in the bestinterest of the child.


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Section 12.Supervised Trial Custody.Nopetition for adoption shall be finallygranted until the adopter(s) has beengiven by the court a supervised trialcustody period for at least six (6) months

within which the parties are expected toadjust psychologically and emotionally toeach other and establish a bondingrelationship. During said period,

temporary parental authority shall bevested in the adopter(s).


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The court may motu proprio or upon motion ofany party reduce the trial period if it finds thesame to be in the best interest of the adoptee,stating the reasons for the reduction of theperiod. However, for alien adopter(s), he/shemust complete the six (6)-month trial custodyexcept for those enumerated in Sec. 7 (b) (i) (ii)(iii).

If the child is below seven (7) years of age andis placed with the prospective adopter(s)through a pre-adoption placement authorityissued by the Department, the prospectiveadopter(s) shall enjoy all the benefits to which

biological parent(s) is entitled from the date theadoptee is placed with the prospectiveadopter(s).


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Section 13. Decree of Adoption. If, after the

publication of the order of hearing has beencomplied with, and no opposition has beeninterposed to the petition, and after considerationof the case studies, the qualifications of theadopter(s), trial custody report and the evidencesubmitted, the court is convinced that the

petitioners are qualified to adopt, and that theadoption would redound to the best interest of theadoptee, a decree of adoption shall be enteredwhich shall be effective as of the date the originalpetition was filed. This provision shall also apply incase the petitioner(s) dies before the issuance of

the decree of adoption to protect the interest ofthe adoptee. The decree shall state the name bywhich the child is to be known.


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Section 14. Civil Registry Record.An

amended certificate of birth shall beissued by the Civil Registry, as required bythe Rules of Court, attesting to the factthat the adoptee is the child of theadopter(s) by being registered with

his/her surname. The original certificate ofbirth shall be stamped "cancelled" withthe annotation of the issuance of anamended birth certificate in its place andshall be sealed in the civil registry records.

The new birth certificate to be issued tothe adoptee shall not bear any notationthat it is an amended issue.
http://www.lawphil.net/courts/rules/rules.htmlhttp://www.lawphil.net/courts/rules/rules.html


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Section 15. Confidential Nature ofProceedings and Records. All hearings in

adoption cases shall be confidential and shallnot be open to the public. All records, books,and papers relating to the adoption cases inthe files of the court, the Department, or anyother agency or institution participating in theadoption proceedings shall be kept strictly

confidential.If the court finds that the disclosure of theinformation to a third person is necessary forpurposes connected with or arising out of theadoption and will be for the best interest of theadoptee, the court may merit the necessaryinformation to be released, restricting thepurposes for which it may be used.


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ARTICLE VEFFECTS OF ADOPTION

Section 16. Parental Authority.Except in cases

where the biological parent is the spouse of theadopter, all legal ties between the biologicalparent(s) and the adoptee shall be severed and

the same shall then be vested on the adopter(s). Section 17. Legitimacy.The adoptee shall be

considered the legitimate son/daughter of theadopter(s) for all intents and purposes and as suchis entitled to all the rights and obligations providedby law to legitimate sons/daughters born to themwithout discrimination of any kind. To this end, theadoptee is entitled to love, guidance, and supportin keeping with the means of the family.


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Section 18. Succession.

In legal andintestate succession, the adopter(s) andthe adoptee shall have reciprocal rightsof succession without distinction from

legitimate filiation. However, if theadoptee and his/her biological parent(s)had left a will, the law on testamentarysuccession shall govern.


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ARTICLE VI

RESCISSION OF ADOPTION Section 19. Grounds for Rescission of

Adoption. Upon petition of the adoptee,with the assistance of the Department if aminor or if over eighteen (18) years of age butis incapacitated, as guardian/counsel, theadoption may be rescinded on any of thefollowing grounds committed by theadopter(s): (a) repeated physical and verbalmaltreatment by the adopter(s) despitehaving undergone counseling; (b) attempt onthe life of the adoptee; (c) sexual assault orviolence; or (d) abandonment and failure tocomply with parental obligations.


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Section 20. Effects of Rescission.If the

petition is granted, the parental authorityof the adoptee's biological parent(s), ifknown, or the legal custody of theDepartment shall be restored if theadoptee is still a minor or incapacitated.

The reciprocal rights and obligations ofthe adopter(s) and the adoptee to eachother shall be extinguished.

The court shall order the Civil Registrar to

cancel the amended certificate of birth ofthe adoptee and restore his/her originalbirth certificate.


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ARTICLE VII

VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES Section 21. Violations and Penalties.(a) The penalty

of imprisonment ranging from six (6) years and one(1) day to twelve (12) years and/or a fine not lessthan Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00), but not more

than Two hundred thousand pesos (P200,000.00) atthe discretion of the court shall be imposed on anyperson who shall commit any of the following acts:

(i) obtaining consent for an adoption through coercion,undue influence, fraud, improper material inducement,or other similar acts;(ii) non-compliance with the procedures andsafeguards provided by the law for adoption; or(iii) subjecting or exposing the child to be adopted todanger, abuse, or exploitation.


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(b) Any person who shall cause the fictitiousregistration of the birth of a child under the name(s)

of a person(s) who is not his/her biological parent(s)shall be guilty of simulation of birth, and shall bepunished by prision mayor in its medium period and afine not exceeding Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00).

Any physician or nurse or hospital personnel who, inviolation of his/her oath of office, shall cooperate inthe execution of the abovementioned crime shallsuffer the penalties herein prescribed and also thepenalty of permanent disqualification.

Any person who shall violate established regulationsrelating to the confidentiality and integrity of records,documents, and communications of adoptionapplications, cases, and processes shall suffer the

penalty of imprisonment ranging from one (1) yearand one (1) day to two (2) years, and/or a fine of notless than Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) but notmore than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00), at thediscretion of the court.


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Section 22. Rectification of Simulated Births.A person who has, prior to the effectivity of

this Act, simulated the birth of a child shall notbe punished for such act: Provided, That thesimulation of birth was made for the bestinterest of the child and that he/she has beenconsistently considered and treated by thatperson as his/her own

son/daughter: Provided, further, That theapplication for correction of the birthregistration and petition for adoption shall befiled within five (5) years from the effectivity ofthis Act and completed thereafter: Provided,finally, That such person complies with the

procedure as specified in Article IV of this Actand other requirements as determined by theDepartment.


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ARTICLE VIIIFINAL PROVISIONS

Section 23.Adoption Resource and Referral Office.

There shall be established an Adoption Resourcesand Referral Office under the Department with thefollowing functions: (a) monitor the existence,number, and flow of children legally available for

adoption and prospective adopter(s) so as tofacilitate their matching; (b) maintain a nationwideinformation and educational campaign on domesticadoption; (c) keep records of adoption proceedings;(d) generate resources to help child-caring andchild-placing agencies and foster homes maintainviability; and (e) do policy research in collaboration

with the Intercountry Adoption Board and otherconcerned agencies. The office shall be manned byadoption experts from the public and private sectors.


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Section 24. Implementing Rules andRegulations.Within six (6) months from thepromulgation of this Act, the Department,with the Council for the Welfare of Children,the Office of Civil Registry General, theDepartment of Justice, Office of the SolicitorGeneral, and two (2) private individualsrepresenting child-placing and child-caringagencies shall formulate the necessaryguidelines to make the provisions of this Actoperative.

Section 25.Appropriations.Such sum as maybe necessary for the implementation of the

provisions of this Act shall be included in theGeneral Appropriations Act of the yearfollowing its enactment into law andthereafter.


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Section 26. Repealing Clause.Any law,presidential decree or issuance, executiveorder, letter of instruction, administrativeorder, rule, or regulation contrary to, orinconsistent with the provisions of this Act ishereby repealed, modified, or amendedaccordingly.

Section 27.Separability Clause

.

If anyprovision of this Act is held invalid orunconstitutional, the other provisions notaffected thereby shall remain valid andsubsisting.

Section 28. Effectivity Clause.This Act shall

take effect fifteen (15) days following itscomplete publication in any newspaper ofgeneral circulation or in the Official Gazette.

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