Protection of Foundlings Act

Policy, purpose, and child welfare

The State guarantees full respect for human rights and protects children from neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to development. (Section 2)
The State upholds the best interests of the child, including children with distinct vulnerabilities such as the neglected, stateless, and abandoned or deserted, through proactive and diligent inquiry into facts of birth and parentage. (Section 2)
The State recognizes the generally accepted thrust of international law to reduce and prevent statelessness and protects any child with unknown parents through natural-born citizen status consistent with the Constitution and relevant international instruments. (Section 2)
The State provides support services to foundlings and penalizes acts inimical to their welfare. (Section 2)
State services relating to the protection and welfare of foundlings are placed under the National Authority for Child Care (NACC). (Section 2)

Key definitions and status

A foundling is a deserted or abandoned child or infant with unknown facts of birth and parentage. (Section 3)
A foundling also includes those duly registered as a foundling during infancy who reached the age of majority without benefitting from adoption procedures after passage of the law. (Section 3)
A finder is a person of legal age who discovered the deserted or abandoned child. (Section 4)

Finder duties and immediate reporting

The finder must report within forty-48 (48) hours upon discovery of the child to the Local Social Welfare and Development Office (LSWDO) closest to the finder, or any safe haven provider. (Section 4)
If the finder is a minor, the minor’s parent or legal guardian must assist in making the report. (Section 4)
The safe haven provider coordinates with the NACC through the Regional Alternative Child Care Office (RACCO) for appropriate care and services consistent with the foundling’s needs and best interest. (Section 4)
If the finder/s apply to become foster parent/s of the foundling, the NACC prioritizes the assessment of whether they meet qualifications under Republic Act No. 10165. (Section 4)

Citizenship presumption and legitimacy adoption

A foundling found in the Philippines and/or in Philippine embassies, consulates, and territories abroad is presumed a natural-born Filipino citizen regardless of the circumstances of birth. (Section 5)
A foundling’s natural-born status gives equivalent rights and protections at the moment of birth to those whose citizenship does not require perfection or further act. (Section 5)
The presumption of natural-born status may not be impugned in any proceeding unless substantial proof of foreign parentage is shown. (Section 5)
Natural-born status is not affected by a simulated birth certificate, absence of a legal adoption process, or inaction or delay in reporting, documenting, or registering the foundling. (Section 5)
If biological parents cannot be identified and located, the foundling is declared legally available for adoption subject to existing laws, rules, and regulations, with the best interest of the child as a guide. (Section 6)
Adoption of foundlings is governed by the relevant provisions of Republic Act No. 11642 (Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act). (Section 6)
Once adoption is finalized, the adopted foundling becomes the legitimate child of the adopter for all intents and purposes and is entitled to rights and obligations of legitimate children without discrimination. (Section 6)
The legitimate filiation created extends to the adopter’s parents, legitimate siblings, and legitimate descendants. (Section 6)
The adopter has the right to choose the name by which the adopted foundling is to be known, consistent with the best interest of the child. (Section 6)
The NACC, LSWDO, and any accredited child-caring or child-placing agency must ensure foundlings receive alternative child care options, including kinship care, foster care, or residential care, while search and inquiry into birth and parentage is ongoing. (Section 7)
A foundling is entitled as a matter of right to government programs and services including registration, facilitation of documents for adoption, education, legal and police protection, proper nourishment and medical care for survival and development, and admission to safe and secure child centers. (Section 8)
The NACC (through RACCOs), all relevant government agencies, concerned LGUs, police authority, and the finder must always consider the child’s best interest in all actions or support services for a foundling. (Section 8)

Search, inquiry, and registration framework

Within fifteen (15) days after commitment, or submission of the affidavit of the finder or other concerned person, or information that a probable foundling was brought to the attention of the NACC, the NACC through RACCOs must conduct proactive and diligent search and inquiry into birth and parentage facts, unless more time is needed due to significant developments. (Section 9)
The NACC through RACCOs must seek assistance from the finder, LGUs, LSWDOs, local or rural health units, PNP women and child protection desks, DOH, public or private hospitals, and other concerned individuals. (Section 9)
The official report of the inquiry is used for application for and issuance of the Certificate of Live Birth. (Section 9)
Television, radio, print media/tri-media, and other social media platforms may be used to conduct the search or locate parents without compromising confidentiality of identity. (Section 9)

Documents for foundling registration

Foundling registration with the local Civil Registrar requires: (a) affidavit of the finder; (b) certification of the barangay captain or police authority on the circumstances of discovery, with notice to both barangay captains if the child is found in a different barangay from the finder’s residence; and (c) the NACC report duly signed by an authorized officer. (Section 10)
The NACC report must attest that birth and parentage are unknown despite proactive and diligent search and inquiry and must be exhaustive, including all facts gathered regarding parents and birth of the foundling. (Section 10)
For adult foundlings with no foundling certificate, no exhaustive social case study report by RACCO is required; the LSWDO issues a report on background and qualifications as a foundling under the Act. (Section 10)
The NACC fills out and submits the application for registration to the Local Civil Registrar, which issues the Certificate of Live Birth after receiving the required documents. (Section 10)
If a person has an existing certificate of foundling or similar official document issued before implementation, the Local Civil Registrar must issue a Certificate of Live Birth immediately without cost based on such document alone. (Section 10)
A certificate of foundling or similar official document issued before implementation continues to have the same legal effect as a Certificate of Live Birth. (Section 10)
Agencies must streamline the registration process for a foundling, regardless of age and circumstances, to expedite issuance of a Certificate of Live Birth and without placing unnecessary burden on the foundling. (Section 10)
A foundling has the right to access all documentary requirements submitted for registration. (Section 10)
In the Certificate of Live Birth and succeeding public documents, the foundling shall not be referred to as such, or in any discriminatory manner. (Section 10)
A foundling is not considered stateless between the period of finding or discovery and the issuance of the order of confirmation of citizenship. (Section 10)
Privacy and best interest of the child are protected at all times. (Section 10)

Revocation, custody recovery, and legitimacy effects

Biological parent/s, the NACC, or the LSWDO may petition for revocation of a Certificate of Live Birth before the Local Civil Registrar based on: (a) percentage of the foundling established; or (b) fraud to conceal material facts of birth or parentage that would otherwise not render the person as a foundling. (Section 11)
If parentage of a foundling is established and parent citizenship would result in statelessness, the foundling retains Philippine citizenship until it is established that the foundling can benefit from the citizenship of either parent. (Section 11)
Biological parent/s or legal guardian may petition the NACC to recover legal custody and restore parental authority. (Section 12)
Recovery is subject to these provisos: if the child was voluntarily committed, or if any of the following is pending with the NACC—(a) petition for issuance of Certificate Declaring a Child Legally Available for Adoption (CDCLAA), (b) supervised trial custody, or (c) petition for adoption—Republic Act No. 11642 governs. (Section 12)
In deciding all cases, the NACC must treat the best interest of the child as the paramount consideration. (Section 12)
If the child is already adopted, all legal ties between the biological parents or legal guardian and the child are severed and vested on the adopters. (Section 12)
The NACC or LSWDO must provide necessary counseling and other programs and services to biological parents, and necessary assistance to authorities when biological parents are identified and express desire to reclaim or exercise parental authority. (Section 12)

Safe haven relinquishment and provider duties

Despite Articles 276 and 277 of the Revised Penal Code and Republic Act No. 7610, a parent who relinquishes an infant thirty (30) days old and younger to qualified safe haven persons or entities is exempt from criminal liability. (Section 13)
Safe haven recipients are: (a) a licensed child-caring agency; (b) a licensed child-placing agency; (c) a church defined as a place devoted to religious worship held with regularity; (d) DOH-accredited health facilities including hospitals, infirmaries, city health offices, birthing homes, rural health units and barangay health stations; (e) an LSWDO; and (f) DSWD-managed and LGU-managed residential care facilities. (Section 13)
The safe haven provider must: (a) act appropriately to take care of the infant; (b) inform the parent that the parent may but is not required to answer questions regarding identity and medical history of the infant; (c) confirm, if practicable, that the parent wishes to permanently relinquish parental rights and release the infant for adoption; and (d) within forty-eight (48) hours from relinquishment or from the report by a finder that a foundling was discovered, inform the NACC through the RACCO that a child has been relinquished in its custody, including information on identity and circumstances of abandonment. (Section 14)
Infants relinquished under safe haven provisions are considered foundlings. (Section 15)
A safe haven provider who receives an infant under this Act is not liable for civil damages for any act or omission in maintaining custody of the infant, provided the provider acts in good faith without gross negligence. (Section 16)

Penalties and sanctions for non-compliance

A person who falsifies or is involved in falsification of foundling registration, including required documents, faces imprisonment of not less than six (6) months but not more than six (6) years. (Section 17(a))
A public officer involved in such falsification is punished by the penalty next higher in degree. (Section 17(a))
The finder, concerned NACC or RACCO employees, staff of child-caring/child-placing facilities, safe haven providers, police officers, city, municipal and barangay officers, health employees, hospital staff, and any other concerned person who refuses, delays, or obstructs search and inquiry faces imprisonment of not less than six (6) months but not more than five (5) years. (Section 17(b))
A safe haven provider that does not report within forty-eight (48) hours faces a fine ranging from PHP 500,000.00 to PHP 1,000,000.00. (Section 17(c))
Without prejudice to criminal liability under other laws, a person who falsifies or is involved in falsification of foundling registration to facilitate kidnapping or trafficking in persons faces a fine ranging from PHP 1,000,000.00 to PHP 5,000,000.00 or imprisonment of not less than three (3) months but not more than two (2) years, or both. (Section 17(d))
A public officer involved in kidnapping/trafficking-facilitating falsification is punished by the penalty next higher in degree and is perpetually disqualified from office. (Section 17(d))
Penalties under the section are without prejudice to other liabilities under existing civil, administrative, and criminal laws for the same act or violation. (Section 17)

Advocacy, data, and implementation rules

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and NACC, with LSWDOs, LCPC, DILG, and other stakeholders, must conceptualize, conduct, and coordinate information dissemination and advocacy campaigns on the Act, its implementation, and issues affecting foundlings. (Section 18)
LGUs must conduct regular and synchronized data collection in coordination with PSA, NACC, and other stakeholders, and data collection, preservation, and sharing must comply with Republic Act No. 10173 (Data Privacy Act of 2012). (Section 19)
The Act applies retroactively for any foundling insofar as it does not prejudice or impair vested or acquired rights under existing laws. (Section 20)
Within ninety (90) days from approval, the Secretary of Social Welfare and Development and the Executive Director of the Inter-Country Adoption Board must formulate implementing rules in consultation with the Secretary of Justice, Secretary of the Interior and Local Government, PSA, CWC, and two (2) representatives from child-caring agencies catering to abandoned children and foundlings. (Section 21)

Transitory coverage, NACC transition, and integration

Benefits of the Act apply to foundlings duly registered during childhood who reached maturity without benefitting from adoption procedures, subject to procedures and requirements under the IRR within ten (10) years from effectivity. (Section 22)
Before establishment of the NACC under Section 56 of Republic Act No. 11642, functions of the NACC relating to foundlings remain with the DSWD. (Section 22)
During the three (3)-year period, RACCO functions are performed by DSWD field offices in coordination with LSWDOs. (Section 22)

Repeals, separability, and suppletory law

All laws, decrees, executive orders, issuances, rules and regulations, or parts inconsistent with the Act are repealed or amended accordingly. (Section 23)
If any section or provision is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the remaining provisions continue in full force and effect. (Section 24)
Republic Act No. 11642, Republic Act No. 11222 (Simulated Birth Rectification Act), Executive Order No. 209, s. 1987 (Family Code of the Philippines), and other existing and applicable adoption and child welfare/care/protection laws have suppletory application to the Act. (Section 25)