A GOVERNMENT official warned that online adoption is illegal.

Department of Justice (DOJ) Deputy Regional Prosecutor Barbara Mae Flores said in an interview with Sunstar Davao Tuesday, November 20, that earlier this year, they received one complaint from a mother about online adoption through Facebook.

Flores added that the person who attempted to adopt the child was merely the middle man. He allegedly gave the child to a couple.

"The law enforcers and DSWD interceded and they were able to get the child from the couple," Flores said. However, the infant was not returned immediately to the biological mother.

Senior Assistant Regional Prosecutor Robert Michael Razon said an adoption can be considered legal if it undergoes court proceedings.

The DSWD has to determine whether the persons who intend to adopt the child have the capability to sustain the child's needs. The DSWD also has to assess the background of the child.

Razon added that if the potential adoptive parents are foreigners, they will go through a process called matching between the adoptive parents as well as a court proceeding and further assessments.