Press Release
December 7, 2020

SPONSORSHIP SPEECH OF SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS ON DOMESTIC ADMINISTRATIVE ADOPTION ACT
December 07, 2020

Mr. President, it is my honor to sponsor today Committee Report 147 or the Domestic Administrative Adoption Act. This Committee Report consolidates Senate Bill 1070 and 1337 filed by Senator Grace Poe and Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., respectively.

Mr. President, noong Committee hearing para sa bill na ito, nadinig ko mismo ang hirap at sakit na pinagdadaanan ng mga adoptive parents sa ilalim ng kasalukuyang pamamaraan ng pag-aampon. Ang average na panahon ng pag-aantay para maging final ang adoption ay 2-3 years at may iba pa na umaabot ng 4 years pataas. According to the statistics, only 60% of adoption cases were finalized within 1-3 years. Ang nagagastos ay daan daan libo kung isusuma ang lahat ng babayaran.

The process itself, Mr. President, disincentivizes undergoing the legal process of adopting a child - so much so that according to the Department of Social Work and Development, only around 2000 children have been placed for domestic adoption from 2010-2018. Desperate individuals are pushed to circumvent the law and undertake informal adoptions. These informal adoptions however, offer scant protections to both the adopted child and the adoptive parents. To quote the poignant words of one parent, "why does an act of goodness done in the legally correct way have to be so prohibitive and expensive?"

Sinisikap tugunan ng panukalang batas na ito ang ganitong suliranin. This bill will allow domestic adoptions to be undertaken via an administrative process within the DSWD. This will dispense with the lengthy process associated with judicial adoption, and will abbreviate the waiting time of adoptive parents to 6-9 months. Matatapatan nito ang panahon ng pagdadalang-tao ng isang ina.

It is my fervent desire as Chair of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality in the Senate that this legislative measure will encourage more parents to adopt children who need loving homes and caring families. Ang bawat bata ay mahalaga, ang bawat bata ay nangangailangan ng tahanan.

Mr. President, let me end this by a short Christmas reflection. A few days ago, I read somewhere that the story of Christmas is not just a story of salvation, it is also a story of adoption. Ang kwento ng pasko ay di lang kwento ng sanggol sa sabsaban. ito ay kwento din ng isang karpinterong si Jose na buong-pusong at buong ligayang tinanggap ang anak na di galing sa kanya, bilang pagtatalima sa Diyos Ama. Jesus was Joseph's non-biological child, but he cared for him with all of himself, with all he can give. Each adoption story, therefore, each story of a family created by love and the conscious decision to love, is a story that reflects all that is beautiful and true about Christmas.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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