Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday sponsored a bill that will simplify and fast-track the domestic adoption process in the country.
The Domestic Administrative Adoption Act, according to Hontiveros, seeks to address the problem of tedious and expensive adoption proceedings. It also proposes a simpler and less costly process without compromising the safety and integrity of the child.
“This bill will allow domestic adoptions to be undertaken through an administrative process within the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). This will dispense with the lengthy process associated with judicial adoption and will abbreviate the waiting time of adoptive parents to 6-9 months. Matatapatan nito ang panahon ng pagdadalang-tao ng isang ina,” she said during her sponsorship speech.
Hontiveros, who chairs the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, said that right now, it usually takes 2-3 years or even more before the adoption can be finalized. At least 60% of adoption cases are completed within 1-3 years, according to statistics. This lengthy process, according to the senator, could also mean higher costs for the parents, reaching hundreds of thousands of pesos.
The Senator also emphasized that the existing process discourages parents from undergoing the legal process of adopting a child. Only around 2,000 children were placed for domestic adoption from 2010 to 2018, according to DSWD.
“This situation pushes individuals to circumvent the law and forces them to undertake informal adoptions that put the welfare of both adopted child and adoptive parents at risk as it provides little to no legal protection at all,” she said.
“It is my fervent desire as Chair of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality in the Senate that this legislative measure will encourage more parents to adopt children who need loving homes and caring families. Ang bawat bata ay mahalaga, ang bawat bata ay nangangailangan ng tahanan,” Hontiveros furthered.
Hontiveros concluded her speech through a short reflection — highlighting Christmas as a story of adoption and how it mirrors stories of families created by love and the conscious decision to love through adoption.
“Ang kwento ng Pasko ay di lang kwento ng sanggol sa sabsaban. Ito ay kwento rin ni Jose na buong-pusong at buong ligayang tinanggap ang anak na di galing sa kanya. Jesus was not his biological child, but he cared for him with all of himself, with all he could give. Each adoption story, therefore, each story of a family created by love and the conscious decision to love, is a story that reflects all that is beautiful and true about Christmas,” she said.
