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Adoption in the Philippines

Philippine Legislation on Adoption

Old Civil Code

The first laws about adoption in the Philippines were written in the Spanish Civil Code of 1889 which was put into effect through a Royal Decree by the Spanish Government. Most of the provisions here were adopted by the Philippines during their formulation of their own Civil Code in 1993. The provisions during this time placed importance on the adopter since the process back then was seen as something beneficial for said adopter. Civil Law expert and former Senator Arturo Tolentino states that “persons who had no children were allowed to adopt so that they may experience the joys of paternity and have an object of their instincts of parenthood”. Most articles concerned with adoption in this Civil Law prioritized the adopter and his interests over the adoptee. This can be see in how one article stated that those who already had natural, legitimate and legitimated children were not allowed to adopt. The Spanish Civil Code and its provisions on adoption continued to take effect in the Philippines up until the end of the American Occupation on June 4, 1946.

New Civil Code

On August 30, 1950 the Civil Code of the Philippines was enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives under Republic Act No. 386. Articles 334 through 347, which can be seen in the first Book of the Civil Code which is concerned with the Person and Family Relations , contain the provisions with regard to adoption. Some provisions from the Spanish Civil Code were carried over to this such as the individuals prohibited from adopting. Aside from those who already had natural children or natural children by legal fiction, prohibitions for “the guardian, with respect to the ward, before the approval of his accounts”, individuals who have yet to receive approval from spouses, foreign nationals who are not residents of the Philippines, and citizens who have committed a crime which was penalized with six months imprisonment or more were added in this new iteration of the Civil Code. However, the view on adoption had begun to change by this time with Tolentino stating that adoption was “now being given a social and moral purpose”, which was to provide to the adoptee “the protection of society in the person of the adopter”. The provisions which reflect these views would not be seen until the release of the New Civil Code. The logic behind restricting adoption to those who had no natural children was that the purpose of adoption was to “afford to persons who have no child of their own the consolation of having one by creating, through legal fiction, the relation of paternity and filiation where none exists by blood relationship”. It was also to prevent conflicts arising from the introduction of a foreign element into a family which already had children. The requirements for adoption were also made clear in article 334 which stated that adoption may be requested by “[e]very person of age, who is in full possession of his civil rights”. Aside from these, provisions about who may and may not be adopted, as well as the list of individuals from whom a written consent must be obtained are also present. The rights and duties of the adopted individual, as well as the cases wherein adoption may be revoked are also listed in this chapter.

PD 603

On June 10, 1975, President Ferdinand E. Marcos enacted Presidential Decree No. 603 also known as the Child and Youth Welfare Code. In here, the old provisions regarding who were allowed to adopt were repealed by Article 27. The adopter still had to be in full possession of his civil rights before he could adopt but now, even those who already had natural children or natural children by legal fiction were allowed to adopt as long as they could provide support and care for all the children. Among the new provisions added were those requiring the Department of Social Welfare and Development to make a case study of the adoptee, his natural parents, and the prospective adoptive parents before an adoption petition may be granted. A trial custody of at least six months is also required from the prospective adoptive parents so that their “adjustment and emotional readiness for the legal union” may be determined. Once the court is satisfied with the results of the trial custody and the report of the DSWD, a decree of adoption, which states the name that the adopted child will be known from then on, is issued.

Family Code

Through Executive Order No. 209, which was enacted on August 3, 1988 by President Corazon C. Aquino, the Family Code of the Philippines added some new provisions with regard to adoption. Here, importance was placed on the welfare of the adoptee, unlike past provisions which prioritized the adopter. The provisions of the Civil Code of the Philippines with regard to adoption were also repealed. Here, as opposed to the Civil Code wherein a person of any age may be adopted, only minors were allowed to be adopted with those older only being adoptable under certain conditions. (Other changes)

Domestic Adoption Act of 1998 and Amendments

After the Inter-Country Adoption Law was passed in in 1995, the DSWD felt that it was also time to make amendments with regard to Domestic Adoption Laws which led RA 8552, also known as the Domestic Adoption Act of 1998. Here, the old provisions in the Family Code were repealed and more provisions with regard to who can adopt, particularly those concerned with aliens or foreign nationals, were listed. It was also stated here that the petition for adoption may only be filed in the “Family Court of the province or city where the prospective adoptive parents reside.

RA 9523

Further amendments to this were made through RA 9523, which tackled issues about abandoned children whose parents did not leave signed documents entrusting them to the DSWD. The time of declaring the individual available for adoption, up until the certification was shortened from a year to just over a month with the decision to make it an administrative process instead of a judicial process. Now, one would only need a certification signed by the DSWD secretary instead of a judicial order for the declaration of the abandonment of a child.

Foster Care Act of 2012

On June 11, 2012, Republic Act No. 10165, also known as the Foster Care Act of 2012 was approved by Congress. Here, provisions were made regarding the procedure on how a foster parent may become the adoptive parents of a child under his care.

Eligibility and Requirements

Who may adopt

The latest eligibility requirements for those who may adopt and may be adopted can be seen in the Domestic Adoption Act of 1998. According to Article III section 7, “[a]ny Filipino citizen of legal age, in possession of full civil capacity and legal rights, of good moral character, has not been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude, emotionally and psychologically capable of caring for children, at least sixteen years older than the adoptee, and who is in a position to support and care for his / her children in keeping with the means of the family” may adopt. Also the age gap requirement may be waived “when the adopter is the biological parent of the adoptee, or is the spouse of the adoptee’s parent.” Also “[a]ny alien possessing the same qualifications as above stated for Filipino nationals: Provided, That his / her country has diplomatic relations with the Republic of the Philippines, that he / she has been living in the Philippines for at least three continuous years prior to the filing of the application for adoption and maintains such residence until the adoption decree is entered, that he / she has been certified by his / her diplomatic or consular office or any appropriate government agency that he / she has the legal capacity to adopt in his / her country, and that his / her government allows the adoptee to enter his / her country as his / her adopted son / daughter” may adopt. “The guardian with respect to the wad after the termination of the guardianship and clearance of his / her financial accountabilities” is allowed to adopt.

Who may be adopted

As mandated in Section 8 of the Domestic Adoption Act of 1998, the following may be adopted: “Any person below eighteen years of age who has been administratively or judicially declared available for adoption; the legitimate son / daughter of one spouse by the other spouse; an illegitimate son / daughter by a qualified adopter to improve his / her status to that of legitimacy; a person of legal age if, prior to the adoption, said person has been consistently considered and treated by the adopter(s) as his / her own child since minority; a child whose adoption has been previously rescinded; and a child whose biological or adoptive parent(s) has died: Provided, That no proceedings shall be initiated within six months from the time of death of said parent(s).”

Joint Adoption Applications

The provisions with regard to joint adoptions by husband and wife, which were repealed in the Family Code, were retained in the Domestic Adoption Act of 1998. This is required for all married couples which want to adopt except in the following cases: “If one spouse seeks to adopt the legitimate son / daughter of the other; or if one spouse seeks to adopt his / her own illegitimate son / daughter: Provided, however, That the other spouse has signified his / her consent thereto; or if the spouses are legally separated from each other. The process is similar to normal adoptions. In cases where there is a conflict between husband and wife, “the father’s decision shall prevail unless there is a judicial order to the contrary” according to Article 211 of the Family Code.