The Manila Times
THE National Authority for Child Care (NACC) has appealed to parents facing extreme personal, social, or economic difficulties to choose the legal process of voluntarily surrendering their children rather than abandoning them. NACC Executive Director Janella Ejercito Estrada said abandoning a child endangers its life and deprives it of the right to identity, protection and belonging. “Biological family remains the foremost and natural carer of children. However, when parents are driven by extreme circumstances and believe they can no longer provide proper care, the government has established a humane, legal and protective system that safeguards the child’s welfare and future,” Estrada said. The process can be made possible through the execution of the Deed of Voluntary Commitment after thorough counseling and provision of needed interventions, she said. Estrada cited cases where parents or guardians were arrested for selling children. Republic Act 11767, or the Foundling Recognition and Protection Law, strengthened the protection of foundlings by automatically recognizing them as natural-born Filipino citizens and ensuring them access to government protection and assistance. A foundling is an abandoned child, infant, or individual with no known parentage or facts on the circumstances of the child’s birth, according to NACC, an attached agency of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. It said the law provides services that include urgent health remedies, searching for biological parents, and issuance of a Certificate of Live Birth. Since 2023, the NACC has provided alternative child care programs and services for hundreds of foundlings nationwide, Estrada said. Of the 308 children declared legally available for adoption, 157 were issued Order of Adoption under the Domestic Administrative Adoption, 34 received Decrees of Adoption under the Inter-Country Adoption program, and 160 foundlings were placed under the care of licensed foster families, the agency said. Parents may surrender their children to municipal or city social workers or to safe haven providers like the residential care facilities at the local government units (LGUs), private child caring agencies or child placing agencies, Department of Health-accredited medical facilities, or at NACC’s Regional Alternative Child Care Offices. The NACC warned against the spread of misinformation and sensationalized social media content involving foundlings. Only authorities can publicly post a child’s image as part of the diligent search process for biological parents and birth information, according to the former San Juan City vice mayor
Go to News Site