MOUNTAIN PROVINCE – Families in the province are urged to undergo legal adoption, in order to protect the welfare of adopted children and ensure that their rights are same with that of biological children.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), in partnership with the provincial government including national government agencies (NGAs) and all stakeholders encourages families to undergo legal adoption of this year’s Adoption Consciousness Celebration (ACC) from February 11-19.
With the theme “Pagmamahal Palaganapin, Legal na Pag-aampon Ating Gawin! (Spread Unconditional Love through Legal Adoption),” the celebration aims to promote legal adoption as a means of providing compassion and unconditional love to abandoned, neglected and surrendered children.
Joy Adaclog of DSWD Mountain Province said they have designated Municipal Action Team to man the adoption desk in the different municipalities for adoption process and requirements needed by the prospective adaptive parents who want their prospective adoptive child to be legal.
Prior to legal adoption, Adaclog is encouraging families for a foster care service to provide temporary, planned, substitute family care for a child while his/her biological family or relatives are being prepared for the child’s return or while a more appropriate permanent placement is being worked out .
Foster Care is either short (less than six months) or long term. It has a goal which is the eventual return of the child to the biological family or preparation of placement to an adoptive home, and it does not alienate the child from his biological parents.
As embodied in the Family Code of the Philippines and one of the remarkable mandates of the DSWD is to ensure that all children, whether adopted or legitimate, have the right to have a family that will provide the protection, care and love that they need. Hence, the agency is advocating for the strengthening of the legal process of adoption to ensure that the rights of adopted children are protected and that they are justly recognized in our society.
A couple, who have undergone tedious and expensive legal adoption process and opted not to be identified, quipped and suggested the lead agency concern should provide legal assistance free of charge to those who are willing to undergo legal adoption process to ease them from the burden of financial constraints. They added this will encourage adoptive parents to avail legal adoption and discourage direct placement and simulation of birth certificates.
DSWD is providing monthly subsistence allowance worth P4,000.00 to a licensed Foster Family Care.