"x x x.
Republic Act No. 8043
An act establishing the rules to govern inter-country
adoption of Filipino children, and for other purposes
Article III
Procedure
Sec. 7. Inter-Country
Adoption as the Last Resort.- The Board shall ensure that all
possibilities for adoption of the child under the Family Code have been
exhausted and that inter-country adoption is in the best interest of the child.
Towards this end, the Board shall set up the guidelines to ensure that steps
will be taken to place the child in the Philippines before the child is placed
for inter-country adoption: Provided,
however, That the maximum number that may be allowed for foreign adoption
shall not exceed six hundred (600) a year for the first five (5) years.
Sec. 8. Who May be
Adopted.- Only a legally free child may be the subject of inter-country
adoption. In order that such child may be considered for placement, the
following documents must be submitted to the Board:
a) Child study;
b) Birth certificate/founding certificate;
c) Deed of voluntary commitment/decree of
abandonment/death certificate of parents;
d) Medical evaluation/history;
e) Psychological evaluation, as necessary; and
f)
Recent photo of the child.
Sec. 9. Who May Adopt.-
Any alien or a Filipino citizen permanently residing abroad may file an
application for inter-country adoption of a Filipino child if he/she;
a) is at least
twenty-seven (27) years of age and at least sixteen (16) years older than the
child to be adopted, at the time of application unless the adaptor is the
parent by nature of the child to be adopted or the spouse of such parent;
b) if married, his/her
spouse must jointly file for the adoption;
c) has the capacity to
act and assume all rights and responsibilities of parental authority under his
national laws, and has undergone the appropriate counselling from an accredited
counsellor in his/her country;
d) has not been convicted
of a crime involving moral turpitude;
e) is eligible to adopt
under his/her nation law;
f) is in a position to
provide the proper care and support and to give the necessary moral values and
example to all his children, including the child to be adopted;
g) agrees to uphold the
basic rights of the child as embodied under Philippine laws, the U.N.
Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to abide by the rules and
regulations issued to implement the provisions of this Act;
h) comes from a country
with whom the Philippines has diplomatic relations and whose government
maintains a similarly authorized and accredited agency and that adoption is
allowed under his/her national laws; and
i) possesses all the
qualifications and none of the disqualifications provided herein and in other
applicable Philippine laws.
Sec. 10. Where to File
Application.- An application to adopt a Filipino child shall be field
either with the Philippine Regional Trial Court having jurisdiction over the
child, or with the Board, through an intermediate agency, whether governmental
or an authorized and accredited agency, in the country of the prospective
adoptive parents, which application shall be in accordance with the
requirements as set forth in the implementing rules and regulations to be
promulgated by the Board.
The application shall be supported by the following documents
written and officially translated in English:
a) Birth certificate of
applicant(s);
b) Marriage contract, if
married, and divorce decree, if applicable;
c) Written consent of
their biological or adopted children above ten (10) years of age, in the form
of sworn statement;
d) Physical, medical and
psychological evaluation by a duly licensed physician and psychologist;
e) Income tax returns or
any document showing the financial capability of the applicant(s);
f) Police clearance of
applicant(s);
g) Character reference
from the local church/minister, the applicant's employer and a member of the
immediate community who have known the applicant(s) for at least five (5)
years; and
h) Recent postcard-size
pictures of the applicant(s) and his immediate family;
The Rules of Court shall apply in case of adoption by judicial
proceedings.
Sec. 11. Family
Selection/Matching.- No child shall be matched to a foreign adoptive
family unless it is satisfactorily shown that the child cannot be adopted
locally. The clearance, as issued by the Board, with the copy of the minutes of
the meetings, shall form part of the records of the child to be adopted. When
the Board is ready to transmit the Placement Authority to the authorized and
accredited inter-country adoption agency and all the travel documents of the
child are ready, the adoptive parents, or any one of them, shall personally
fetch the child in the Philippines.
Sec. 12. Pre-adoptive
Placement Costs.- The applicant(s) shall bear the following costs
incidental to the placement of the child;
a) The cost of bringing
the child from the Philippines to the residence of the applicant(s) abroad,
including all travel expenses within the Philippines and abroad: and
b) The cost of passport,
visa, medical examination and psychological evaluation required, and other
related expenses.
Sec. 13. Fees, Charges
and Assessments.- Fees, charges, and assessments collected by the Board
in the exercise of its functions shall be used solely to process applications
for inter-country adoption and to support the activities of the Board.
Sec. 14. Supervision of
Trial Custody.- The governmental agency or the authorized and accredited
agency in the country of the adoptive parents which filed the application for
inter-country adoption shall be responsible for the trial custody and the care
of the child. It shall also provide family counselling and other related
services. The trial custody shall be for a period of six (6) months from the
time of placement. Only after the lapse of the period of trial custody shall a
decree of adoption be issued in the said country, a copy of which shall be sent
to the Board to form part of the records of the child.
During the trial custody, the adopting parent(s) shall submit to
the governmental agency or the authorized and accredited agency, which shall in
turn transmit a copy to the Board, a progress report of the child's adjustment.
The progress report shall be taken into consideration in deciding whether or
not to issue the decree of adoption.
The department of Foreign Affairs shall set-up a system by which
Filipino children sent abroad for trial custody are monitored and checked as
reported by the authorized and accredited inter-country adoption agency as well
as the repatriation to the Philippines of a Filipino child whose adoption has
not been approved.
Sec. 15. Executive
Agreements.- The Department of Foreign Affairs, upon representation of
the Board, shall cause the preparation of Executive Agreements with countries
of the foreign adoption agencies to
ensure the legitimate concurrence of said countries in upholding the safeguards
provided by this Act.
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