National Authority for Child Care pushed at House
Published Nov 27, 2019 12:00 am
By Charissa M. Luci-Atienza
Lamenting that there are 1.8 million “abandoned and neglected” children in the country, leaders of the House of the Representatives are seeking the creation of the National Authority for Child Care (NACC), which will serve as one-stop-shop on alternative childcare.
House of the Representatives (Manila Bulletin File Photo)
Tingog Sinirangan party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez, chairman of the House Committee on the Welfare of Children, and her husband, Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, jointly filed House Bill No. 5581 or the Alternative Child Care Code of the Philippines to improve and expedite the process of adoption, foster care, and other modes of alternative childcare.
“There are not enough institutions to attend to the needs of abandoned and neglected Filipino children, not to mention the fact that these institutions cannot give the warmth and affection that a family could provide,” they said.
“This measure, which is based on the substitute bill from the technical working group headed by Batangas Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto in the 17th Congress, seeks to address this by codifying laws, and simplifying the processes involved in providing these children a second chance at having the family care and love they deserve. Out-of-home care such as that provided by residential facilities shall be the last resort,” they stressed.
Citing the United Nations’ Children’s Right and Emergency Relief Organization, the couple lawmakers said 1.8 million children in the country or more than 1 percent of the entire population are "abandoned and neglected."
“These children are either victims of extreme poverty, natural disasters, or armed conflicts; or unfortunately, do not have parents who are willing and able to take care of them. They are usually placed under institutional care through state-run or accredited residential care facilities while others end up on the streets,” they said.
The Romualdezes said their bill also "makes adoption administrative in nature to effectively streamline adoption procedures and make formal adoption accessible."
HB 5581 calls for the reorganization and transfer of the Inter Country Adoption Board (ICAB) to the proposed NACC, which shall be under the umbrella of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
All functions of the ICAB, the DSWD and those of other agencies relating to alternative childcare shall be transferred to the NACC, it provides.
Among the functions of the NACC are to formulate, develop, and implement policies on adoption, foster care, guardianship leading to adoption and other alternative childcare policies; to set standards and guidelines on adoption, including pre and post legal adoption services; to keep records of all cases of adoption, foster care and guardianship; and accredit child placing and liaison agencies involved in the process of adoption and foster care.
The NACC shall be composed of a Board of Council and a Secretariat, which shall be headed by an Executive Director, who shall be assisted by a Deputy Director.
Under the bill, the NACC is mandated to systematize and enhance foster caring in the country. The NACC shall ensure that foster families promote and motivate the foster children to relate with their biological or adoptive family, as the case may be and shall provide the wholesome atmosphere to encourage the bonding, the measure provides.
“The rights of biological children of foster families shall be protected and in no case, shall they be disadvantaged as a result of the placement of a foster child,” it said.
HB 5581 provides that the DSWD as lead agency, the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Health (DOH), the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the Council on Welfare of Children (CWC), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and other concerned government agencies are mandated to prepare and draft the implementing rules and regulations of the proposed Act within six months from its approval.
House of the Representatives (Manila Bulletin File Photo)
Tingog Sinirangan party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez, chairman of the House Committee on the Welfare of Children, and her husband, Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, jointly filed House Bill No. 5581 or the Alternative Child Care Code of the Philippines to improve and expedite the process of adoption, foster care, and other modes of alternative childcare.
“There are not enough institutions to attend to the needs of abandoned and neglected Filipino children, not to mention the fact that these institutions cannot give the warmth and affection that a family could provide,” they said.
“This measure, which is based on the substitute bill from the technical working group headed by Batangas Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto in the 17th Congress, seeks to address this by codifying laws, and simplifying the processes involved in providing these children a second chance at having the family care and love they deserve. Out-of-home care such as that provided by residential facilities shall be the last resort,” they stressed.
Citing the United Nations’ Children’s Right and Emergency Relief Organization, the couple lawmakers said 1.8 million children in the country or more than 1 percent of the entire population are "abandoned and neglected."
“These children are either victims of extreme poverty, natural disasters, or armed conflicts; or unfortunately, do not have parents who are willing and able to take care of them. They are usually placed under institutional care through state-run or accredited residential care facilities while others end up on the streets,” they said.
The Romualdezes said their bill also "makes adoption administrative in nature to effectively streamline adoption procedures and make formal adoption accessible."
HB 5581 calls for the reorganization and transfer of the Inter Country Adoption Board (ICAB) to the proposed NACC, which shall be under the umbrella of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
All functions of the ICAB, the DSWD and those of other agencies relating to alternative childcare shall be transferred to the NACC, it provides.
Among the functions of the NACC are to formulate, develop, and implement policies on adoption, foster care, guardianship leading to adoption and other alternative childcare policies; to set standards and guidelines on adoption, including pre and post legal adoption services; to keep records of all cases of adoption, foster care and guardianship; and accredit child placing and liaison agencies involved in the process of adoption and foster care.
The NACC shall be composed of a Board of Council and a Secretariat, which shall be headed by an Executive Director, who shall be assisted by a Deputy Director.
Under the bill, the NACC is mandated to systematize and enhance foster caring in the country. The NACC shall ensure that foster families promote and motivate the foster children to relate with their biological or adoptive family, as the case may be and shall provide the wholesome atmosphere to encourage the bonding, the measure provides.
“The rights of biological children of foster families shall be protected and in no case, shall they be disadvantaged as a result of the placement of a foster child,” it said.
HB 5581 provides that the DSWD as lead agency, the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Health (DOH), the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the Council on Welfare of Children (CWC), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and other concerned government agencies are mandated to prepare and draft the implementing rules and regulations of the proposed Act within six months from its approval.