Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Monday, May 20, said poverty should never be used as a justification for mothers to sell their babies, following the rescue of a newborn in Cavite that was sold online.

He explained that the DSWD has various initiatives to support low-income households and individuals going through difficult times.

“We know that poverty is real. We know that many mothers struggle day to day in rearing their children. But then again, many mothers succeed through hardship and perseverance, they get their children to study well and we have many stories of success who rise from poverty to poverty. That is why the DSWD continues to implement programs to help our poor families,” Gatchalian said in Filipino in a press conference.

The DSWD chief cited the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) as the agency’s anti-poverty flagship program, which poor households under the Listahanan can benefit from.

He added that those going through a crisis and in need of financial assistance for medications, hospitalization, transportation, and education can apply for the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS). 

“Poverty is not a reason for you to sell your child because Facebook is a marketplace for products, not for individuals. That's common sense or basic morals. We value that family is important. The child is important. So poverty is still not a reason for you to resort to illegal acts,” Gatchalian stressed.

He said the illegal selling of babies, such as what happened to an eight-day-old baby boy who was rescued in Cavite on May 15, is very concerning, especially since the illegal selling of babies has become sophisticated through Facebook and other social media providers.

“It is worrisome because it is becoming rampant and this is a cruel form of child exploitation and at the same time cruel form of human trafficking. Remember in the Expanded Anti-Human Trafficking Act, this act is already covered by the unauthorized adoption or child laundering,” he said.

The DSWD chief explained that any form of adoption conducted outside the rules and guidelines of the National Authority on Child Care (NACC) is considered human trafficking and child laundering, which is a clear violation of the law prohibiting child exploitation.

Undersecretary Janella Estrada said the NACC's top priority right now is keeping an eye on 20 to 40 Facebook profiles that are being used to illegally adopt babies for a fee.

“Our priority is to stop the proliferation of social media sites that sell children under the guise of adoption. We are actively focusing on the sale of babies online, since last year, and this February, we have helped the PNP to catch the people involved in these Facebook pages,” Estrada said in Filipino.