CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Following the implementation of Republic Act 11642, the Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act, 70 children in northern Mindanao have been adopted through the National Authority for Child Care (NACC).
Social welfare officer Pauline Akut said the number is part of 113 adoption petitions filed in the region through the NACC, which now manages adoption cases under a simplified and cost-effective system.
She said that since RA 11642 took effect on January 28, 2022, adoption petitions are no longer filed in court but through the NACC and its local offices, the Regional Alternative Child Care Office (RACCO).
“Sukad nga nahimong epektibo ang atong balaod, tanang petitions for adoption is dili na nato i-file sa korte, kung dili sa NACC na through its local offices, which is called the Regional Alternative Child Care Office, or RACCO,” she said during the Lambo Dyes radio program, June 3.
(Since the law took effect, all petitions for adoption are no longer filed in court but instead through the NACC via its local offices, which are called the Regional Alternative Child Care Office, or RACCO.)
Akut added that RA 11642 established the NACC as an attached agency of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), shifting the process from judicial to administrative.
“Ang adoption man isa ka socio-legal process… dili lang basta-basta ma-please ang bata ngadto sa atong adoptive parents kung di in line gyud siya sa mandato sa atong balaod,” she said.
(Adoption is a socio-legal process; children cannot just be placed with any adoptive parents unless it follows the proper legal mandate.)
Social welfare officer Salha Hadji Rashid stated that the new process reduces costs and speeds up proceedings, although requirements such as medical and psychological assessments, income records, police clearances, and home visits by social workers remain in place.
Al Theodore and Lorilyn Cañazares, a couple from the region, shared their experience with the process. After seven years of unsuccessful attempt to conceive, they decided to adopt.
“Di man gyud siya ingon na expensive. Kani karon is time lang gyud imong kailangan,” he said.
(It’s not costly anymore. Now, it’s just a matter of giving your time.)
His wife said the paperwork was manageable, though an error in the child’s birth certificate caused a delay.
To increase public awareness, the NACC is organizing a Pre-Adoption and Alternative Child Care Forum on June 11 at SM Uptown, starting at 1:00 p.m. Akut said the forum aims to inform and encourage more families to pursue adoption. (Recthie Paculba)
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