Adoption

Preliminary proceedings the provisions of the rules of court on adoption have been amended by r a 85
82 the domestic adoption act of 1998; r a 80 43, the inter-country adoption act of 1995; a m 2-6-2, the
rule of domestic and inter country adoption, a m 2-1-19; regarding proposed rule on commitment of
children; and a m 3-4-4, the rule on custody of minors and writ of habeas corpus in relation to custody
of minors.
Nature and concept: adoption is a juridical act, a proceeding in rem, which creates between two persons
a relationship similar to that which results from legitimate paternity and filiation.
Adoption is a privilege, not innate or fundamental, but rather a right created by statute. It is a privilege
which is governed by the states determination of what is for the best welfare of the child.
Only an adoption made in pursuance with the procedures laid down under the rules on domestic and
inter country adoption is valid in this jurisdiction.
A child by adoption cannot inherit from the parent creditor unless the act of adoption has been done in
the strict accord with the statute. Until, this is done, no rights are acquired by the child and neither the
supposed adopting parent not adopted child could be bound thereby. The burden of proof in
establishing adoption is upon the person claiming such relationship. He must prove compliance with the
statues relating to adoption in the jurisdiction where the adoption occurred.
Adoption is not an adversarial proceeding. There is no particular defendant since the proceeding
involves the status of a person it being an action in rem.
Adoption is strictly personal between the adopter and the adopted.
Purpose of adoption: adoption statutes, being humane and salutary, hold the interest and welfare of the
child to be of paramount consideration and education for unfortunate, needy or orphaned children and
give them the protection of society and family in the person of the adopter as well as to allow childless
couples or persons to experience the joys of parenthood and give them legally a child in the person of
the adopted for the manifestation of their natural parental instincts. Every reasonable intendment
should be sustained to promote and fulfill this noble and compassionate objective of the law.
Effects of adoption
1. Adopter will exercise parental authority.
2. All legal ties between the biological parents and the adoptee will be severed, except when the
biological spouse is spouse of adopter.
3. Adoptee shall be considered a legitimate child for all intents and purposes; and
4. Adopters shall have reciprocal rights of succession without distinction from legitimate filiation.
The decree of adoption shall have retroactive effect from the time of the petition A M 2-6-2 section 16

Construction of adoption statutes: all the sections are designed to protect the best interest of the
adoptee.
Procedure: the whole adoption process involves two phases. The first is the administrative phase which
is done by the D S W D. the second phase is the judicial phase which is done by the proper family court
which will finally issue the decree.
The administrative phase ends when the D S W D issues a certification that a child is legally available for
adoption. This phase is governed by the provision of R A 95 23
Who may adopt:
a. Any Filipino citizen
1. Of legal age;
2. In possession of full civil capacity and rights;
3. Of good moral character;
4. Has not been convicted of moral turpitude;
5. Emotionally and psychologically capable of caring for children;
6. At least 16 years older than the adoptee;
7. In a position to support and care for his children in keeping with the means of the family.
b. Any alien possessing the same qualifications as above, provided:
1. That his country has diplomatic relations with the Philippines;
2. That he has resided in the Philippines at least 3 consecutive years prior to the filing of the
application of adoption and maintains such residence until the adoption decree has been
entered;
3. Certified by his consular or diplomatic office or any appropriate government agency to have
legal capacity to adopt by his country, and that his government allows the adoptee to enter
his country as his adopted child.
The requirements on residency and certification of the aliens qualification to adopt in his country may
be waived for the following:
1. A former Filipino citizen which wish to adopt a relative up to the 4th degree of consanguinity or
affinity;
2. One who wishes to adopt a child of a Filipino spouse;
3. One who is married to a Filipino citizen and would wish to adopt jointly with his spouse a
relative within the 4th degree of consanguinity or affinity of the Filipino spouse.
c. The guardian with respect to the ward after the termination of the guardianship and clearance
of his financial accountabilities.
Joint adoption of spouses: general rule: husband and wife shall jointly adopt

This is in consonance with the concept of joint parental authority over the child, which is the ideal
situation. As the child to be adopted is elevated to the level of a legitimate child, it is but natural to
require the spouses to adopt jointly. The rule also insures harmony between the spouses.
Exceptions:
1. If one spouse seeks to adopt the legitimate child of the other;
2. If one spouse seeks to adopt his own illegitimate child, provided that the other spouse has
signified his consent thereto; or
3. If the spouses are legally separated from each other.
Section 5. who may be adopted
1. Any person below 18 years of age who has been judicially declared available for adoption or
voluntarily committed to d s w d;
2. The legitimate child of one spouse , by another spouse;
3. And illegitimate child, by a qualified adopter to raise the status of the former to that of
legitimacy;
4. A person of legal age regardless of civil status, if, prior to the adoption, the said person has been
consistently considered and treated by the adopters as their own child since minority;
5. A child whose adoption has previously been rescinded;
6. A child whose adoptive or biological parents have died, not proceedings shall be initiated within
6 months from the time of death of said parents; and
7. A child not disqualified by law or these rules.
It refers to c child who has been voluntarily or involuntarily committed to the d s w d or to a duly
licensed and accredited child placing or child caring agency, freed of the parental authority of his
biological parents, or in case of rescission of adoption, his guardian or adopters.
Two ways to commit a child:
1. Administrative/voluntary in this case, the parent or guardian of the child voluntarily
committed him to the d s w d or any duly licensed child placement or child caring agency. The
child must be surrendered in writing. Such written instrument must be notarized and signed in
the presence of an authorized representative of the department after counseling has been
made to encourage the parents to keep the child;
2. Judicial/involuntary the parents, known or unknown, have been permanently and judicially
deprived of parental authority of the child due to abandonment; substantial, repeated or
continues neglect or abuse; incompetence to discharge parental responsibilities. As provided in
the procedure under a m 2-1-19 commitment of children.
Section 6 venue family court where the prospective adopted parents resides.
Section 7 contents of the petition

All petitions shall allege:

1. The first name, surname or names, age and residence of the adoptee as shown by his record of
birth, baptismal or foundling certificate and school records;
2. That the adoptee is not disqualified by law to be adopted;
3. The probable value and character of the estate of the adoptee;
4. The first name, surname or names by which the adoptee is to be known and registered in the
civil registry.
The petition shall be verified with a certificate of non-forum shopping and shall specifically state at the
heading of the initiatory pleading whether the petition contains an application for a change of name,
rectification of simulated birth, voluntary or involuntary commitment of children, or declaration of child
as abandoned, dependent or neglected.
a. If the adopter is a Filipino citizen:
1. The petition shall allege the jurisdictional facts and
2. That the petitioner is of legal age, in possession of full civil capacity and legal rights; is of
good moral character; has not been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude; is
emotionally and psychologically capable of caring for children; is at least 16 years older than
the adoptee, unless the adopter is the biological parent of the adoptee or is the spouse of
the adoptees parent; and is in the position to support and care for his children in keeping
with the means of the family and has undergone pre-adoption services as required by
section 2 of r a 8552
b. If an adopter is an alien:
1. The petition shall allege the jurisdictional facts;
2. That the petitioner is of legal age, in possession of full civil capacity and legal rights; is of
good moral character; has not been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude; is
emotionally and psychologically capable of caring for children; is at least 16 years older than
the adoptee, unless the adopter is the biological parent of the adoptee or is the spouse of
the adoptees parent; and is in the position to support and care for his children in keeping
with the means of the family and has undergone pre-adoption services as required by
section 2 of r a 8552
3. That the country has diplomatic relationship with the Philippines;
4. That he has been certified by his diplomatic or consular office or any appropriate
government agency to have the legal capacity to adopt in his country and his government
allows the adoptee to enter his country as his adopted child and reside there permanently
as an adopted child; and
5. That he has been living in the Philippines for at least 3 continuous years prior to the filing of
the petition and he maintains such residence until the adoption decree is entered;
The requirements of certification of the aliens qualification to adopt in his country and of
residency may be waived under section 4[2].
c. If the adopter is the legal guardian of the adoptee: the petition shall allege the guardianship had
been terminated and the guardian had cleared all his accountabilities.

d. If the adopter is married: the spouse shall be joint petitioner for joint adoption with exceptions
under section 4.
e. If the adoptee is a foundling: the petition shall allege the entries which should appear in his birth
certificate, such as name of child, date of birth, place of birth, if known, sec, name and
citizenship of adoptive mother and father, and the date and place of their marriage.
Under section 9 the petition shall also allege:
1. The facts showing that the child is a foundling, abandoned, neglected or dependent;
2. The names of the parents and residence, if known. If the child has no known or living
parents, then the name and residence of guardian, if any;
3. The name of the duly licensed child-placement agency or individual under whose care the
child is in custody; and
4. That the department, child-placement or child caring agency is authorized to give its
consent.
Note: foundling refers to a deserted or abandoned infant or child whose parents, guardian or relatives
are unknown; or a child committed to an orphanage or charitable or similar institution with unknown
facts of birth and parentage and registered in the civil registry as a foundling.
Abandoned child refers to one who has no proper paternal care or guardianship or whose parents have
deserted him for a period of at least 6 continuous months and has been judicially declared as such.
Abandonment in its ordinary sense, it means to forsake entirely, to renounce utterly.
In reference to abandonment of a child by his parent, the act of abandonment imports any conduct of
the parent which evinces a settled purpose to forgo all parental duties and relinquish all parental claims
to the child. It means neglect or refusal to perform the natural and legal obligations of care and
support which parents owe their children.
Physical estrangement alone, without financial and moral desertion, is not tantamount to
abandonment.
Dependent child refers to the one who is without a parent, guardian or custodian or one whose parents,
guardian or other custodian for good desires to be relieved of his care and custody and is dependent
upon the public for support.
Neglected child is one whose basic needs have been deliberately not attended or inadequately attended
to, physically or emotionally, by his parents or guardian section 3.
f.

If the petition prays for the change of name:

The petition shall state the cause or reason for the change of name.

Under section 10, the title or caption must contain:

1. The registered name of the child;
2. Aliases or other names by which the child has been known; and

3. The full name by which the child is to ne known.

Section 8. rectification of simulated birth
The petition shall allege that:
1. Petitioner is applying for rectification of a simulated birth;
2. The simulation of birth was made prior to the date of effectivity of r a 85 52, and the application
for rectification of the birth registration and the petition for adoption were filed within five
years from said date;
3. The petitioner made the simulation of birth for the best interest of the adoptee; and
4. The adoptee has been consistently considered and treated by petitioner as his own child section
8.
5. Note: the simulation of birth is the tampering of the civil registry to make it appear in the birth
records that a certain child was born to a person who is not his biological mother thus causing
such child to lose his true identity and status section 3
Section 11. annexes to the petition
a. Birth baptismal foundling certificate as the case may be, and school records showing the
name age and residence of the adoptee;
b. Affidavit of consent of the following:
1. The adoptee, if 10 years of age or over;
2. The biological parents of the child, if known, or the legal guardian , or the child-placement
agency, child-caring agency, or the other proper government instrumentality which has legal
custody of the child;
3. The legitimate and adopted children of the adopter and of the adoptee, if any, who are ten
years of age or over;
4. The illegitimate children of the adopter living with him who are 10 years fo age or over;
5. The spouse, if any, of the adoptee or adopter.
Note: parental consent required by law in adoption refers to the parents who have not abandoned their
child. Accordingly, one whom such child was given by his mother, who does not wish to be identified, is
considered the guardian of child and can give valid consent to the childs adoption, as said child is
considered as abandoned.
Nevertheless, the requirement of written consent can be dispensed with if the parent has abandoned
the child of that such parent is insane or hopelessly intemperate, provided that sufficient facts are
alleged in the petition in order to warrant exemption.
c. Child study report on the adoptee and his biological parents;
note: child study report refers to as tudy made by the court social worker of the childs legal status,
placement history, psychological, social, spiritual, medical, ethno-cultural background and that of his
biological family needed in determining the most appropriate placement for him.

d. If the petitioner is an alien, certification by his diplomatic or consular office or any appropriate
government agency that he has the legal capacity to adopt in his country and that his
government allows the adoptee to enter his country as his own adopted child unless exempted
under section 4 paragraph 2.
e. Home study report on the adopters. If the adopter is an alien or residing abroad but qualified to
adopt, the home study report by a foreign adoption agency duly accredited by the inter-country
adoption board; and
Note: home study report refers to a study made by the court social worker of the motivation and
capacity of the prospective adoptive parents to provide a home that meets the needs of a child section
3.
f.

Decree of annulment, nullity or legal separation of the adopter as well as that of the biological
parents of the adoptee, if any.

Sections 12-16 procedure

1. Order of hearing
A. if the petition and attachments are sufficient in form and substance, the court shall issue an
order;
It must be published at least once a week for 3 consecutive weeks;
If a change of name of the adoptee is prayed for in the petition notice of the solicitor general
shall be mandatory.
Contents of order:
1. Adoptees registered name in the birth certificate, and the names by which the adoptee has
been known
2. Petitions purpose;
3. Complete name which the adoptee will use if the petition is granted;
4. Date and place of hearing 6 months from the date of the orders issuance, exceot in case of the
application for change of name which hearing must not be within four months after last
publication nor within 30 days prior to election.
5. Directive to the social worker to prepare and submit child and home study reports before the
hearing, if such reports were not attached to the petition due to unavailability at the time of the
filing;
6. Directive to the social worker to conduct counseling sessions with the biological parents and to
submit a report before the hearing section 12
The necessary jurisdictional requirements should be indicated in the petition for adopting. Thus, the
name of the person to be adopted is that appearing in the civil registry and the court does not acquire
jurisdiction if a different name is carried in the notice of publication.

Role of the solicitor general: when the petition includes a prayer for change of name, notice to the
solicitor general is mandatory to protect the interest of the state. On other matters, the courts are given
discretion to decide whether such notice would be given.
2. Child and home study reports
The social worker verifies with the civil registry the real identity and the name of adoptee and the fact
that he is legally available for adoption. If the adoptees birth was not registered, the social worker shall
register the adoptee and secure a certificate of foundling or late registration.
The social worker may make recommendation to the court if he finds some grounds to deny the
petition.
The social worker shall establish that:
a.
b.
c.
d.

The child is legally available for adoption;

The documents to support thereof and valid and authentic;
The adopter has sincere intentions towards the adoptee; and
The adoption shall inure to the best interest of the child.

In case of alien adopter, the home study report must show that:
1. The adopter has legal capacity to adopt;
2. His government allows the adoptee to enter his country as his adopted child in the absence of
the certification required under section 7[b] r a 8552 section 13
Hearing the petitioner and adoptee must personally appear in court and the former must testify in
court.
Supervised trial custody before issuance of decree of adoption the court shall give the adopter trial
custody of the adoptee for at least 6 months section 16
Note: supervised trial custody refers to the period of time during which a social worker overseas the
adjustment and emotional readiness of both adopters and adoptee in stabilizing their filial relationship
section 3.
Court may reduce or exempt partiesf rom supervised trial custody, if it finds that the same shall be for
the best interest of the adoptee.
The rial custody shall be monitored by the social worker who submitted and prepared the case studies.
General rule: alien adopter must complete the six months supervised custody.
Exception same as exemptions from requirements of residency and certification under section 4
paragraph 2.

Temporary parental authority: it is provisionally vsted in the adopting parents during the period of trial
custody, before the issuance of a decree od adoption precisely because the adopting parents are given
actual custody of the child during such trial period
However, where the trial custody had not begun or had already been completed at the time when the
quasi-delict was committed by a child to be adopted, the adopting parents cannot assume any liability
therefor. The natural parents should be joined as indispensable parties to the suit for damages.
If the child to be adopted is below 7 years of age and is placed with the prospective adopter through a d
s w d pre-adoption placement authority, the court shall order that the prospective adopter shall enjoy
all the benefits from the date the adoptee is placed with him.