AFTER years away from the newsroom, I return to a familiar space, writing once again for SunStar Davao. But I do not return with nostalgia. I return with urgency. Before entering government service, I spent many formative years here as a reporter and later as a news editor, where I learned to pay close attention to stories that matter, especially those that affect the most vulnerable members of our society.
Today, I write about an issue that continues to disturb and alarm child protection advocates across the country: the deeply troubling issue of online baby selling.
In recent years, law enforcement authorities have documented a troubling trend: the buying and selling of infants and young children through social media and online platforms. These transactions often take place in private chat groups, messaging apps, or informal networks disguised as adoption arrangements.
But make no mistake: this is not adoption.
This is child trafficking, and illegal adoption.
Recent reported police operations conducted show just how alarming the situation has become.
Just last February 26, operatives of the Philippine National Police – Women and Children Protection Center (PNP-WCPC), through its Luzon Field Unit (LFU), conducted an entrapment operation in San Pedro, Laguna, rescuing a five-day-old infant. The arrested suspect offered the baby for sale while the child was still in her mom’s womb in exchange for P35,000.
At five days old, a child should be held and protected, not priced and negotiated online. The suspects allegedly acted as intermediaries, connecting biological mothers with prospective buyers through online platforms. Authorities also rescued several other children at risk found in the suspects’ custody during the operation.
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident.
Across the country, babies have been offered for sale online for amounts ranging from ₱30,000 to as high as ₱100,000. In some instances, desperate parents cite poverty, medical emergencies, or family crises as reasons for offering their children to strangers.
As of this writing, the Philippine National Police - Women and Children Protection Center (PNP-WCPC) said that in the first quarter of 2026 alone, they have already conducted at least 8 entrapment operations, which have resulted in multiple arrests involved in online baby selling, and the rescue of babies and minor children.
And these are only the cases we see. The true scale of this problem likely remains hidden in online groups, messages, closed groups, and encrypted conversations beyond the reach of immediate detection of law enforcement agencies.
What makes this situation even more troubling is that a legal and humane process already exists for parents who are unable to care for their biological children.
The Republic Act No. 11642, or the Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act of 2022 created the National Authority for Child Care (NACC), which serves as the Philippine central authority on all matters relating to domestic administrative adoption, inter-country adoption and other forms of alternative child care such as kinship care, foster care, family-like care and residential care. It was designed precisely to make adoption faster, more accessible, and inexpensive, firmly anchored on the best interests of the child, shifting the process from a lengthy judicial system to an administrative one handled by licensed social workers.
Also under this law, biological parents may voluntarily relinquish their parental authority through proper and lawful channels.
Simply put: there is no such thing as “online adoption.”
Any attempt to transfer custody of a child in exchange for money, especially through social media, is illegal.
It’s considered as illegal More importantly, it places children at grave risks: trafficking, exploitation, abuse, and lifelong identity issues.
Children are not commodities.
Every child has the fundamental right to protection, identity, family care, and dignity.
For those who may be struggling and feel they have no other option, there is a lawful and compassionate path. Parents who wish to voluntarily place their child for adoption may seek guidance and assistance from the NACC or its regional offices. Likewise, individuals and couples who wish to adopt must undergo the proper legal process through the NACC to ensure that the child's rights and welfare are fully protected.
For more information about adoption and alternative child care services, the public may visit the NACC website at www.nacc.gov.ph , the official Facebook page at National Authority for Child Care, or contact its regional offices nationwide.
Children deserve families, not transactions, not negotiations, and never a price tag.
This conversation, however, does not end here.
In the next part of this column series, we will take a closer look at the penalties for those involved in this illegal activity.
For reactions or comments, you may email me at pates.karlo@gmail.com.