The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) lauds the signing of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte of Republic Act (RA) 11642 or the “Domestic Administration Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act.”
The law will shorten the adoption process as it will become administrative in nature. It will be simple, less costly, and shortened to give way to a faster process for the benefit of the children awaiting permanent placement in adoptive homes. The law also covers the cases of relative adoption and adoption of adults.
Furthermore, the Department believes that through RA 11642, more Filipino families will be encouraged to legally adopt children because of the streamlined legal adoption process. This will ultimately help in alleviating the crime of birth simulation and child trafficking facilitated through the social media platform.
Under the law, any person involved in fictitious registration of the birth of a child under the name of a person who is not the child’s biological parent will also be held guilty of the crime of birth simulation and will be penalized with imprisonment ranging from eight years and one day to ten years and a fine not exceeding P50,000. In addition, any physician, midwife, nurse or hospital personnel involved in the simulation of birth will also face the same penalties and will be permanently disqualified from the practice of their profession, if proven guilty under the law.
RA 11642 also designates the second week of June of every year as Adoption and Alternative Child Care Week.
There shall be a three year transition period. Meanwhile, ICAB and DSWD shall jointly facilitate the crafting of the implementing rules and regulations. The DSWD pledges to continue to support and advocate for the best interest of abandoned, neglected, orphaned, and surrendered Filipino children through its existing programs and services on alternative child care.
The law also created the National Authority for Child Care (NACC), which will reorganize the Inter-Country Adoption Board (ICAB), an attached government agency of the DSWD. The NACC will be responsible in handling applications, petitions, and other matters related to alternative child care. ###
