Adoption ADOPTION is a juridical act which creates between two persons a relationship similar to that which results from

legitimate paternity and filiation. PURPOSE OF ADOPTION - Originally: mainly for the benefit of the adopter, who are usually people who had no children, so that they may experience the joys of parenthood - Modern view: for the benefit of the children to be adopted o It has both social and moral purpose: to extend to the orphan or to the child of the indigent, the incapacitated or the sick, the protection of society in the person of the adopter o The adopted child remains an heir of his parents by nature CONSTRUCTION OF ADOPTION LAW: construed so as to encourage the adoption of unfortunate children by persons who can properly read and educate them CHILD WELFARE PARAMOUNT: In determining whether adoption shall be allowed, the welfare of the child is the primary consideration. NATURE OF PROCEEDINGS: Petition for adoption is done through proceeding in rem. No court may entertain such a petition unless it has jurisdiction over: - the subject matter of the case and over the parties - the res, which is the personal status of the person to be adopted as well as that of the petitioners ADOPTION AND LEGITIMATION similar in the sense that in both of them the child is given the status of the child born in lawful wedlock of the parents adopting or legitimizing it

WHAT DOES ONLY BY A JUDICIAL DECREE MEAN? - Only an adoption made through the court is valid. - The fact of adoption is never presumed, but must be affirmatively proved by the person claiming its existence - Proof required: judicial decree of adoption o Absence of proof of order of adoption by court cannot by substituted by oral evidence o Secondary evidence admissible where the records of adoption were actually lost or destroyed o Pedigree testimony is not admissible - Mere agreement of adoption between the adopters and the biological parents of the child is not valid - Mere fact that the child has lived with the alleged adopter who had treated him like his own child is not sufficient to establish a valid adoption (Lazatin v Campos) - Neither is the mere registration of the child in his or her birth certificate as the child of the supposed adopters a valid adoption (simulated birth)

A. Pre-adoption and Adoption procedure There are no provisions on pre-adoption procedures in FC, it is only introduced in RA 8552 (Domestic Adoption Act of 1998). FC Art. 184. The following persons may not adopt: 1. The guardian with respect to the ward prior to the approval of the final account rendered upon the termination of their guardianship relations; 2. Any person who has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude; 3. An alien, except: a. a former Filipino citizen who seeks to adopt a relative by consanguinity b. One who seeks to adopt the legitimate child of his or her Filipino spouse c. One who is married to a Filipino citizen and seeks to adopt jointly with his or her spouse a relative by consanguinity of the latter GUARDIAN: To prevent a guardian who has misused or misappropriated the funds or properties of his ward to resort to adopting his ward to avoid an accounting of such funds or properties and possible criminal prosecution. Guardianship must be terminated first in accordance with the Rules of Court and the final accounts of the guardian approved, before said guardian can be allowed to adopt his or her ward. MORAL TURPITUDE: Adoption demands that the adopter be morally qualified to do so, and a conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude shows lack of good moral character on the part of the person convicted. The disqualification is not removed by a pardon given to the offender, since the lack of necessary moral qualification remains even if criminal liability has been removed. The fact that adopter has legitimate or illegitimate children is no longer a barrier to adopting. This was prohibited by CC and removed in PD 603, FC and RA 8552. FC Art. 187. The following persons may not be adopted 1. A person of legal age, UNLESS, he or she is - A child by nature of the adopter or his or her spouse - Prior to the adoption, said person had been consistently considered and treated by the adopter as his or her own child during minority 2. An alien with whose government the Republic of the Philippines has no diplomatic relations 3. A person who has already been adopted unless such adoption has been previously revoked or rescinded ADOPTION OF ADULTS 1. No need to adopt adults because they are old enough to take care of themselves. 2. If the only reason someone wishes to adopt and adult is to share his material advantages with another, he can do so by simply giving the latter financial assistance and leaving him something in his will. 3. Rational of adoption: to give poor, orphaned, abandoned little children the advantages of having parents who would love, support, protect, rear and educate them until they are old enough to take care of themselves. 4. EXCEPTIONS a. If the adult is the parent in nature because this would raise the status of the illegitimate child b. If in the custody since childhood/minority, there is the presumption that adopter really wants to adopt the child but only neglected to do so before the latter reached majority.

PROCEDURE FOR ADOPTION ACCORDING TO RA 8552 CHILD 1. Biological parent goes to DSWD for: a. counseling (Sec 4) 4. importance of providing relevant info on the child, medical history and family background 5. possibility of child to be placed for adoption b. signs a Deed of Voluntary Commitment or DVC** c. give the parent 6 months to reconsider **But if no DVC was signed (in cases where the child was abandoned or left to strangers) i. locate unknown parents through trimedia (TV, radio or newspaper) (Sec 5) ii. after 3 months of no claiming, petition for Declaration of Abandonment (DA) now becomes a ward of the government 2. Declare the child legally available for adoption

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

PROSPECTIVE ADOPTIVE PARENTS Inquiry Attend adoption forum Application DSWD makes a case study report home study report (Sec 14) Matching Placement issuance of pre-adoption placement authority (PAPA) Supervised trial custody for 6 months or less adjustment period (Sec 12) Recommendation and consent of DSWD File a petition for adoption Lawyers only come in at this point (dahil pampagulo lang sila) Decree of adoption (Sec 13) Issuance of Travel Authority if foreign adoption

Preparation of Home Study Report 1. Visit to adopters home 2. Will include documents of adopter (locals) a. authenticated birth certificate b. Marriage contract c. Written consent of children d. Physical and mental evaluations e. NBI/Police clearances f. financial proofs g. character references h. pictures i. Certificate of attendance to pre-adoption fora 3. For foreigners (on top of item 2) a. certification of legal capacity to adopt b. certificate that country will allow entry of and permanent residence of adoptee into the country c. Certificate of Philippine residents from BID d. Two character references from non-relatives from home country e. Police clearances from all places where adopter lived BIOLOGICAL PARENT: Does not provide exception for age. This means that a minor mother does not need the consent of her parents to give up her child for adoption. Even if the parents are against the adoption of their grandchild, they cannot prevent the biological parent from doing so. GRACE PERIOD: This is an innovation of RA 8552. The biological parent is given the right to reconsider his/her decision to relinquish his/her child within six months from signing the Deed of Voluntary Commitment - This grace period is what makes it impossible to adopt a newly born infant. However, if adoptive parents insist, they can be given risk placement wherein the adopters get custody of the child, subject to the biological parents change of mind within 6 months.

MATCHING: The adoptive parents are allowed for certain preference, for instance, they could specify sex. - Females are generally more adoptible because they are easier to take care of. The notion is adopting a boy is like bringing in a male stranger. - The peak season for adoption is during Christmas. - Parents prefer younger children because they have no values yet. They are relatively more convenient to shape and rear in a way the adoptive parents want to. Not much mannerisms or habits yet. Regarding physical attributes, Maam Beth noticed that the adoptive parents want the child to have a resemblance with the husband. B. Who may adopt/be adopted FC Art. 183. A person of age, and in possession of full civil capacity and legal rights may adopt, provided he is in a position to support and care for his children, legitimate or illegitimate in keeping with means of the family. Only minors may be adopted, except in the cases when the adoption of a person of majority age is allowed in this Title. In addition, the adopter must be at least sixteen years older than the person to be adopted unless the adopter is the parent by nature of the adopted or is the spouse of the legitimate parent of the person to be adopted. The age gap ensures that the relationship between the adopter and the adoptee will be a parent child relationship (approximate natural filiation) and that the adopter has sufficient maturity to fulfill the role of a parent to the adopted child. A person may legally adopt two or more children. FC Art. 185. Husband and wife must jointly adopt, except in the following cases: 1. When one spouse seeks to adopt his own illegitimate child 2. When one spouse seeks to adopt the legitimate child of the other Under CC and PD 603, spouses can adopt solely. But what if one spouse seeks to adopt the illegitimate child of the other? FC Art. 186. In case husband and wife jointly adopt or one spouse adopts legitimate child of the other, joint parental authority shall be exercised by the spouses in accordance with this Code. Consent not required in case of legal separation because it terminates the common life between the spouses and the reason for requiring the consent of one spouse for the adoption made by the other no longer exists this was made explicit in RA 8552 RA 8552 Art. III Sec. 7. Amended FC Art. 183 (who may adopt), Art. 184 (who may not adopt), Art. 185 (joint adoption of spouses) and Art. 186 (parental authority) WHO MAY ADOPT I. For Filipino citizens 1. of legal age 2. full capacity and legal rights 3. good moral character, no conviction for crime involving moral turpitude 4. emotionally and psychologically capable of caring for children 5. at least 16 years older than the adoptee UNLESS biological parent of the adoptee or the spouses of the adoptees parent II. For aliens 1. qualifications for Filipino citizens 2. the country has diplomatic relations with the Philippines 3. has been living in the Philippines for at least 3 years prior to the filing of application 4. 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 5. his/her government allows the adoptee to enter the country as his/her adopted son/daughter 6. requirements for residency and certification of qualification is waived for the following a. former Filipino citizen who seeks to adopt a relative within the 4th civil degree of consanguinity OR affinity

b. seeks to adopt the legitimate son/daughter of his/her Filipino spouse c. married to a Filipino citizen and seeks to adopt jointly with his/her spouse a relative within the 4 th degree of consanguinity OR affinity of the Filipino spouse III. Guardian with respect to the ward after the termination of the guardianship and clearance of his/her financial accountabilities IV. Husband and wife shall jointly adopt, except in the following cases: a. if one spouse seeks to adopt the legitimate son/daughter of the other b. if one spouse seeks to adopt his/her own illegitimate son/daughter PROVIDED that the other spouse has signified his/her consent thereto c. if the spouses are legally separated from each other If spouses jointly adopted or one spouse adopted the illegitimate child of the other, Joint parental authority shall be exercised by parents. Qualifications for exemption in residency requirements of RA 8552 (Number 6 in box above) is the exemption to the general rules for adoption by aliens in Art 184 Par 3. One difference is that RA 8552 allowed for adoption of relatives by affinity RA 8552 Art. III Sec. 8. Who may be adopted. Any person: 1. below 18 years of age who has been administratively or judicially declared available for adoption 2. legitimate son/daughter of one spouse by the other spouse 3. illegitimate son/daughter by a qualified adopter to improve his/her status to that of legitimacy 4. 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 5. a child whose adoption has been previously rescinded 6. a child whose biological or adoptive parent(s) has died PROVIDED that no proceedings shall be initiated within 6 months from the time of death of said parent