Implementing Rules of RA 11642 Adoption Act

Declaration of State policy and objectives

Section 2 declares State policy to ensure that every child remains under the care and custody of the parents and is provided with love, care, understanding, and security for the full and harmonious development of the child's personality.
Section 2 requires that adoption by an unrelated person shall be considered only when efforts within the child’s extended family prove insufficient and no appropriate placement or adoption within the extended family is available.
Section 2 makes the best interest of the child the paramount consideration in enactment of alternative child care, custody, and adoption policies.
Section 2 directs that child welfare and adoption policies align with Article 3 of Presidential Decree No. 603, the UNCRC, the UN Guidelines on Alternative Care of Children, the UN Declaration on Social and Legal Principles on the Protection and Welfare of Children with Special Reference to Foster Placement and Adoption, and the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption.
Section 2 mandates key State undertakings, including: protecting children without parental care; establishing alternative child care standards; preventing hasty relinquishment of parental authority; preventing unnecessary separation; safeguarding adoptive parental authority; conducting public information and educational campaigns; ensuring capacity for adoption inquiries and services; encouraging domestic adoption before intercountry adoption; and establishing cooperation with IACAT to prevent sale, trafficking, and abduction of children and to protect Filipino children abandoned overseas.
Section 2 prohibits a child from being subject of administrative adoption unless the child’s status is declared legally available for adoption, except in cases of relative, adult adoption, or step-parent adoption where such declaration is not required.
Section 3 provides that the IRR shall provide simpler and inexpensive domestic administrative adoption proceedings and shall streamline services for alternative child care through creation of the National Authority for Child Care (NACC) with powers to declare children legally available for both domestic administrative adoption and intercountry adoption and for foster care, kinship care, family-like care, or residential care.

Core definitions established

Section 4 defines Act as Republic Act No. 11642 (Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act).
Section 4 defines Abandoned child as a child with no proper parental care or guardianship for at least three (3) continuous months and declared as such by the NACC, or a foundling/deserted/abandoned child or infant with unknown birth facts and parentage found in the Philippines and/or Philippine embassies, consulates, and territories abroad.
Section 4 defines Certificate Declaring a Child Legally Available for Adoption (CDCLAA) as the final written administrative order issued by the NACC declaring the child legally available for adoption, with biological parental authority ceasing upon issuance.
Section 4 defines Child as a person below eighteen (18) years of age, or eighteen (18) years of age or over but unable to fully protect himself/herself from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation, or discrimination due to physical or psychosocial disability or condition; it also provides that for purposes of the Act, where relevant, a child refers to an adult son, daughter, or offspring.
Section 4 defines Domestic adoption as an administrative adoption proceeding where the Order of Adoption is issued within the Philippines between a Filipino child and eligible adoptive parents.
Section 4 defines Intercountry adoption as the socio-legal process of adopting a child by a foreign national or a Filipino citizen habitually residing outside Philippine territory complying with the principles of the Hague Convention of 1993.
Section 4 defines NACC as a one-stop quasi-judicial agency on domestic and alternative child care attached to DSWD, acting as the Central Authority for alternative child care programs including domestic and intercountry adoption, composed of a Council and a Secretariat headed by an Executive Director.
Section 4 defines Pre-Adoption Placement Authority (PAPA) as a document issued by the NACC or the RACCO authorizing/confirming placement of a child with adoptive applicants.
Section 4 defines Placement as physical entrustment of the child to foster or adoptive parents after preparation of both child and prospective parents by a social worker, supported by a PAPA or FPA.
Section 4 defines Independent placement as entrustment of a child by birth parents to a relative or person without seeking intervention from government/NGOs/social workers; it declares independent placement contrary to the best interest of the child as a policy matter.
Section 4 defines Adoption social worker as a registered and licensed social worker by PRC and duly accredited by the NACC, and allows adoption para-social worker in the absence of an adoption social worker, while requiring that only duly registered and licensed social workers shall sign and submit pertinent documents.

National Authority for Child Care structure and jurisdiction

Section 5 reorganizes the Inter-Country Adoption Board (ICAB) into the NACC as a one-stop quasi-judicial agency on alternative child care attached to DSWD.
Section 5 transfers to the NACC all duties, functions, and responsibilities of the ICAB, DSWD, and other government agencies relating to alternative child care and adoption.
Section 5 requires DBM, in coordination with ICAB and DSWD, to formulate a cohesive organizational structure with plantilla positions responsive to functions and divisions of the NACC under R.A. No. 11642 and these IRR.
Section 6 grants the NACC original and exclusive jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to alternative child care, including declaring a child legally available for adoption; domestic administrative adoption; foster care under R.A. No. 10165; adoptions under R.A. No. 11222; and intercountry adoption under R.A. No. 8043.
Section 6 authorizes the NACC to impose penalties for any violation of R.A. No. 11642 and these IRR.
Section 7 establishes that the NACC has a Council and a Secretariat.
Section 7 provides that the Council is chaired by the Secretary of the DSWD ex officio and has six (6) appointed members for a non-renewable term of six (6) years, including one (1) psychiatrist or psychologist, two (2) lawyers with qualifications of an RTC judge, one (1) registered social worker, and two (2) NGO representatives engaged in child-caring or child-placing activities; Council members receive a reasonable per diem allowance per meeting.
Section 7 makes the Council the policy-making body and, en banc, the Appeals Committee for contested denials of petitions issued by the Executive Director or the Deputy Director for Services.
Section 7 provides that the Secretariat implements and executes policies, headed by an Executive Director with the rank of Undersecretary assisted by two deputy directors: one (1) for services (Assistant Secretary rank) and one (1) for administration and finance (Assistant Secretary rank).
Section 7 provides that the Deputy Director for Services supervises and monitors the overall alternative child care process, including declaring a child legally available for adoption and supervising domestic and intercountry adoption, foster care, residential care, family-like care, and kinship care, and providing child and family welfare services.

NACC functions and regional offices

Section 8 mandates that the NACC ensures petitions and all matters involving alternative child care, including issuance of CDCLAA and processes for adoption and alternative care, are simple, expeditious, and inexpensive and redound to the best interest of the child.
Section 8 requires the Council to act as policy-making body and, when convened, as an en banc appeals committee for contested denials issued by the Executive Director or Deputy Director for Services.
Section 8 assigns the Secretariat functions including resolving petitions for CDCLAA; facilitating domestic administrative adoption (including court-filed adoptions later withdrawn to avail of R.A. No. 11642); facilitating intercountry adoption; and facilitating foster care and rectification of simulated birth.
Section 8 empowers the NACC Secretariat to supervise RACCO acts, act on adoption/foster care petitions processed by RACCOs, and issue travel clearance for cases under its jurisdiction.
Section 8 requires the NACC to set standards and guidelines on adoption including pre- and post-legal adoption services, and to convene independent appeals committees when necessary from CPC professionals to study appeals from RACCO denials.
Section 8 requires the NACC to act as Central Authority for domestic and intercountry adoption matters, and to coordinate with OSWA and DFA and other agencies for Central Authority functions.
Section 8 requires NACC to ensure intercountry adoption is not pursued until all possible domestic placement of the child has been exhausted.
Section 8 requires the NACC to keep records of all adoption, foster care, and other alternative child care cases and provide periodic information and reports, and to conduct research and provide technical assistance and training.
Section 8 empowers the NACC to determine and impose administrative fees and to impose fines or penalties for non-compliance with R.A. No. 11642, these IRR, and rules it promulgates or administers.
Section 9 creates a Regional Alternative Child Care Office (RACCO) for each region, headed by a Regional Alternative Child Care Officer (RACC Officer).
Section 9 requires RACCOs to ensure a well-functioning system for receiving local petitions for CDCLAA and adoption, foster care applications, and other requests regarding alternative placement and the well-being of children.
Section 9 requires dedicated RACCO personnel exclusively handling: petitions for CDCLAA; domestic administrative adoption; intercountry adoption; foster care including kinship care; other alternative child care including family-like care and residential care; and rectification of simulated birth under R.A. No. 11222.
Section 9 creates a Regional Child Placement Committee (RCPC) in each RACCO supervised by the RACC Officer, composed of a multidisciplinary group including a child psychiatrist or psychologist, a medical doctor, a member of the Philippine Bar, an adoption social worker, and an NGO representative; it prohibits any RCPC member from having relations with the child or adoptive/foster applicants or parents being matched.
Section 9 provides that RCPC members serve for two (2) years, renewable twice at the discretion and approval of the Executive Director, and receive a reasonable honorarium per meeting.
Section 10 provides that DBM, in coordination with ICAB and DSWD, shall create the organizational structure and staffing patterns for NACC functions, with preference for appointment of officers and employees holding permanent appointments into comparable new positions.
Section 10 provides that existing plantilla items dedicated to alternative child care and adoption in ICAB and DSWD shall be transferred to the NACC.
Section 10 prohibits hiring new employees until permanent officers and employees are appointed, except for policy-determining, primarily confidential, or highly technical positions; the ARRU of DSWD shall function as the RACCO for each region under the NACC.

CDCLAA: declaration of child availability

Section 11 states that a CDCLAA is issued for involuntarily committed children under Article 141, paragraph 4(a) and Article 142 of P.D. No. 603, and for voluntarily committed children under Article 154 of P.D. No. 603, and for abandoned and foundling children.
Section 12 imposes the duty on the NACC, LGU, and child-placing or child-caring agency with custody of a child to exert all efforts using media and other possible means to locate biological parents and seek consent.
Section 12 provides that if efforts fail, the child shall be registered as a foundling or child with no known parents and within three (3) months from being found be subject of proceedings for declaration as legally available for adoption.
Section 12 provides that if the adoptee is an adult, biological parent search is at the discretion of the adoptee.
Section 13 provides that the following constitute proof of efforts to locate biological parents/guardians/relatives: certification from radio and/or TV stations aired on three (3) different occasions; publication in newspapers of general circulation appropriate to the circumstance; police report or barangay certification; returned registered mail to the last known address; and for voluntarily committed children, the DVC.
Section 14 provides that if biological parents are located, they are assessed for willingness to keep the child and parenting capability.
Section 14 requires that if reunification is not favorable, parents execute a Deed of Voluntary Commitment (DVC); it requires both mother and father signatures for a marital child and only the mother’s DVC for a non-marital child.
Section 14 provides that if reunification is for the child’s best interest, parents and child undergo counseling and after-care services are provided by the LGU social worker.
Section 15 requires that if biological parents are not located, the adoption social worker facilitates registration of the child’s birth certificate if name and information are known and verified; if no information is known, registration proceeds under PSA guidelines for birth certificate of persons with no known parents.

CDCLAA filing, timing, posting, and issuance

Section 16 provides that the head or executive director of a licensed or accredited child-caring or child-placing agency/institution managed by government, LGU, NGO, or provincial/city/municipal SWDO with actual custody may file a petition before the NACC through the RACCO for issuance of a CDCLAA.
Section 16 requires that if the child is under custody of another individual, the child-caring/child-placing agency/institution must file with the consent of the custodian.
Section 17 requires that for involuntarily committed children, the NACC issues the CDCLAA within three (3) months following involuntary commitment.
Section 18 requires that a petition for involuntarily committed children be supported by the child case study report; the original order directing involuntary commitment; authenticated LCR or PSA copy of certificate of live birth; and recent photographs of the child and upon admission, and be filed as an affidavit subscribed and sworn before an authorized person.
Section 19 requires issuance of CDCLAA for abandoned or foundling children within three (3) months following issuance of the child’s certificate of live birth.
Section 20 requires that petitions for abandoned or foundling children be supported by a child case study report; proof of efforts to locate biological parents/relatives and media certifications; authenticated LCR or PSA copy of certificate of live birth or certificate of foundling (if available) or certificate of live birth with no known parents; and recent photographs including upon abandonment/admission; and be filed as an affidavit subscribed and sworn.
Section 21 requires that for voluntarily committed children, CDCLAA be issued by the Executive Director within three (3) months following filing of the petition with attached DVC signed by the parents.
Section 21 provides that parents/legal guardians may recover legal custody and parental authority if NACC is satisfied they can adequately provide for the child, but requires that the restoration petition be filed within three (3) months after signing the DVC.
Section 22 requires that petitions for voluntarily committed children be supported by a child case study report; PSA/LCR certificate of live birth; recent photographs including upon admission; and original DVC, and be filed as an affidavit subscribed and sworn.
Section 23 requires filing of the petition in the RACCO where the child was involuntarily committed, abandoned, or voluntarily committed, or where the child-caring/child-placing agency with custody is located.
Section 23 requires the RACCO to immediately examine the petition and supporting documents; if sufficient, it must authorize posting of notice of the petition for five (5) consecutive days in the locality of abandonment/voluntary commitment, the locality of the agency with custody, and in social media or other online platforms of CCAs/CPAs or the concerned LGU.
Section 23 provides that if the RACCO finds the petition insufficient, it must be put on hold and returned to the petitioner for compliance with requested additional information or documents.
Section 23 requires the RACCO to render a recommendation within fifteen (15) working days after completion of posting and receipt of additional information/documents, and to transmit a copy of the recommendation and supporting documents to the Executive Director.
Section 24 requires that upon finding merit, the Executive Director issues the CDCLAA within seven (7) working days from receipt of the recommendation, unless further investigation or additional information/documents are needed.
Section 24 requires transmittal of a copy of the CDCLAA to the petitioner and all interested parties known to the Executive Director.

Opposition, appeals, and cancellation of CDCLAA

Section 25 provides that in cases of abandoned, abused, or neglected children, if biological parents/relatives/legal guardian appear and oppose issuance of CDCLAA prior to its issuance, the case is put on hold and the pending decision-maker (RACCO, Deputy Director for Services, or Executive Director depending on where the case is pending) directs the adoption social worker to immediately investigate and request a Parenting Capability Assessment Report (PCAR) from the LGU where the biological parents/relatives/guardian reside.
Section 25 requires that within fifteen (15) working days after issuance of the PCAR, the adoption social worker recommends whether to grant or deny the opposition.
Section 25 requires that within fifteen (15) working days after receipt of the recommendation, the RACCO, Deputy Director for Services, or Executive Director decides on the merits of the petition.
Section 26 provides that a Motion for Reconsideration may be filed within fifteen (15) calendar days from receipt of the decision to the NACC Council through the Executive Director.
Section 26 provides that if the Motion for Reconsideration is denied, an appeal to the Court of Appeals must be filed within ten (10) working days from receipt of the order; otherwise the decision becomes final and executory.
Section 27 provides that biological parents, a relative, or legal guardian of a child with CDCLAA who has not been adopted may file a petition for cancellation of the CDCLAA with the RACCO where the petition for CDCLAA was filed, supported by documentary requirements.
Section 27 requires that the RACCO render a recommendation within fifteen (15) working days and transmit it to the NACC.
Section 27 requires that within fifteen (15) working days after receipt of the recommendation, the Executive Director decides the petition for cancellation.
Section 27 provides that if the Executive Director finds merit, CDCLAA is canceled except when further investigation or additional information/documents are needed; it also requires transmission of the cancellation copy to the petitioner and all interested parties known to the Executive Director and restoration of biological parental authority over the child.
Section 28 declares that the CDCLAA issued by the Executive Director is, for all intents and purposes, the best evidence that the child is legally available in a domestic adoption and in an intercountry adoption proceeding.

Pre-adoption services and counseling

Section 29 imposes a duty on the NACC through RACCO, child-caring or child-placing agencies, and city/municipal/barangay social workers when appropriate, to provide necessary counseling services to inculcate positive aspects of adoption.
Section 29 requires counseling for biological parents before and after the birth of the child, including counseling on programs and services to strengthen the family to keep the child, such as temporary child care arrangements like foster care, or relinquishment for adoption.
Section 29 prohibits any binding commitment to an adoption plan before the birth of the child.
Section 29 requires the NACC in adoption proceedings to require proof that biological parents were properly counseled to prevent hurried decisions caused by strain or anxiety, and to ensure that measures to strengthen the family have been exhausted and that prolonged stay in the home will be inimical to child welfare and interest.
Section 29 requires a series of counseling in a language and manner understandable to biological parents/legal guardian, covering the loss of parental rights (including rule of no further contact), the importance of relevant information including medical history and family background, possibilities of domestic or foreign placement, the possibility of future communication at the adoptee’s initiative, the right to reconsider within three (3) months from signing the DVC subject to NACC assessment, and the process of restoration of parental authority.
Section 29 provides a three (3) months period for biological parents to reconsider decisions to relinquish before the decision becomes irrevocable.
Section 29 requires counseling and appropriate social service interventions after relinquishment to help biological parents cope and to offer reintegration into the community.
Section 29 requires counseling, forums, and seminars for prospective adoptive parents to resolve adoption issues and prepare them for effective parenting, including dissemination of basic adoption information and effects of adoption, information about children needing homes including special needs, respect for the child’s biological origin, and support group access.
Section 29 requires adoption telling as a central theme of sessions to equip PAPs to divulge adoption to the adoptee in a manner that strengthens the parent-child relationship.
Section 29 provides that adoption disclosure is mandatory before the adoptee reaches age thirteen (13) years old, and requires an adoption social worker to conduct adoption-themed activities for such children.
Section 29 requires the issuance of a certificate by the NACC or authorized agencies attesting that PAPs underwent counseling services, and provides that the certificate is a prerequisite for the home study.
Section 29 requires counseling and support services for prospective adoptees appropriate to age and maturity, ensuring comprehension of why the child was relinquished, with consideration of special needs.
Section 29 requires, where necessary for consent regarding content to their own adoption, that the adoption social worker/counselor consider the child/adoptee’s wishes and opinion, ensure consent is voluntary, and inform the effects of such content.

Who may adopt and who may be adopted

Section 30 allows adoption by any Filipino citizen at least twenty-five (25) years of age with full civil capacity and legal rights, not convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude, of good moral character, at least sixteen (16) years older than the adoptee, and able to support and care for adopted children according to the means of the family.
Section 30 allows waiver of the sixteen (16) years difference when the adopter is the biological parent or is the spouse of the adoptee’s parent.
Section 30 allows the legal guardian after termination of guardianship and clearance of financial accountabilities to adopt the ward.
Section 30 allows foster parents to adopt with respect to the foster child.
Section 30 allows Philippine government officials and employees deployed or stationed abroad to adopt, provided they can bring the child with them.
Section 30 allows foreign nationals who are permanent or habitual residents of the Philippines for at least five (5) years to adopt if they have the same qualifications as Filipino nationals prior to filing, provided diplomatic relations exist and the laws of the adopter’s country acknowledge the Order of Adoption as valid, acknowledge the child as a legal child of the adopters, and allow entry of the child as an adoptee.
Section 30 allows proof of foreign-country recognition via a duly authenticated copy of foreign domestic law on adoption or a certification from the relevant central authority that the NACC-issued Order of Adoption is Hague compliant.
Section 30 allows waiver of residency requirements for: (1) a former Filipino citizen habitually residing in the Philippines seeking to adopt a relative within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity; (2) a person seeking to adopt the marital child of the Filipino spouse; and (3) a person married to a Filipino citizen seeking to adopt jointly with the spouse a relative within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity of the Filipino spouse.
Section 30 requires spouses to jointly adopt, except when one spouse seeks to adopt the legitimate child of the other, when one spouse seeks to adopt own illegitimate child subject to the other spouse’s consent, or when spouses are legally separated.
Section 31 allows adoption of: a child issued a CDCLAA; the marital child of one spouse by the other spouse; a non-marital child by a qualified adopter to improve status to legitimacy; a Filipino of legal age treated consistently as their own child by adopters for at least three (3) years prior to filing; a foster child declared legally available for adoption; a child whose adoption has been previously rescinded; a child whose biological or adoptive parent died subject to no proceedings within six (6) months from the parent’s death; and a relative of the adopter under conditions stated in the section.

Documentary requirements and filing for adoption proceedings

Section 32 requires applicants to submit: an undertaking and application form; PSA copies of the applicants’ birth record; and, as applicable, PSA copies of marriage certificate or CENOMAR or authenticated divorce papers with copy of court decision and certificate of finality by consulate for foreign applicants, or decree of annulment/nullity/legal separation or PSA marriage certificate with annotations for Filipino applicants.
Section 32 requires other documentary requirements from applicants, as prescribed under the section’s list and related requirements in the IRR’s adoption procedure framework.