CHAPTER X: ADOPTION

CONFLICT OF LAWS
 Adoption defined.

• Is deemed not merely an act to establish the relationship of

paternity and filiation but one of which ma give the child a
legitimate status.
• Adoption is a juridical act which creates between two persons a
relationship similar to that which results from legitimate
paternity (Prasnick vs. Republic, 98 Phil. 669)
Inter-country Adoption

• Inter-Country Adoption refers to the socio-legal process of

adopting a Filipino child by a foreigner or a Filipino citizen
permanently residing abroad where the petition is filed, the
supervised trial custody is undertaken, and the decree of
adoption is issued in the Philippines (Sec. 3[a], RA 8043).
Jurisdiction to Grant an Adoption A state has power to exercise judicial
jurisdiction to grant an adoption if:
(a) it is the state of domicile of either the adopted child or the adoptive
parent, and
(b) the adoptive parent and either the adopted child or the parent
having legal custody of the child are subject to its personal jurisdiction.
 Distinction Between Domestic and Inter-
Country Adoption

Domestic Inter-country

• Governed by RA 8552, the Domestic Governed by RA 8043, Inter-Country Adoption

Adoption Act of 1998; procedure governed by Act of 1995; procedure governed by the
AM no. 02-06-02- SC, August 22, 2002 Amended Implementing Rules and Regulations
on ICAA.
……

Inter-country

• Applies to domestic
• Applies to adoption of a
adoption of Filipino
child in a foreign county,
children, where the entire
where the petition is filed,
adoption process beginning
the supervised trial custody
from the filing of the
is undertaken and the
petition up to the issuance
decree of adoption is issued
of the adoption decree
outside the Philippines
takes place in the
Philippines
 Domestic Inter-Country
A child legally available for Only a legally free child may
adoption. be adopted.
Requisites:
Requisites: a) Below 15 years of age;
a) Below 18 years of age; and and
b) Judicially declared available b) Has been voluntarily or
for adoption. involuntarily committed to
the DSWD in accordance
with PD 603.
 EXCEPTIONS:

a) Legitimate son/daughter of
one spouse by the other spouse;
b) Illegitimate son/daughter by
a qualified adopter;
(c) Person of legal age if, prior to the adoption said person has been consistently
considered and
treated by the adopter/s as
his/her own child since minority.
 Who may adopt under domestic adoption?
Filipino Citizens
• 1) Of legal age;
• 2) In possession of full civil capacity and legal rights;
• 3) Of good moral character;
• 4) Has not been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude;
• 5) Emotionally and psychologically capable of caring for children;
• 6) In a position to support and care for his/her children in keeping
• with the means of the family;
• 7) At least 16 years older than the adoptee but this latter requirement
• may be waived if (a) the adopter is the biological parent of the adoptee;
• or (b) the adopter is the spouse of the adoptee’s parent; and
• 8) Permanent resident of the Philippines.
Aliens..
1) Same qualifications as above, and in addition:
2) His/her country has diplomatic relations with the Republic of the
Philippines;
3) His/her government allows the adoptee to enter his/her country as his/her
adopted son/daughter;
4) Has been living in the Philippines for at least 3 continuous years prior to
the filing of the application for adoption and maintains such residence until the
adoption decree is entered; and
5) Has been certified by his/her diplomatic or consular office or any appropriate
government agency that he/she has the legal capacity to adopt in his/her
country. This requirement may be waived if (a) a former Filipino citizens
seeks to adopt a relative within the 4th degree of consanguinity or affinity; (b)
one seeks to adopt the legitimate son/daughter of his/her Filipino spouse; (c)
one who is married to a Filipino citizen and seeks to adopt a relative within the
4th degree of consanguinity or affinity of the Filipino spouse
Who may adopt under inter-country
adoption? (Filipino Citizens)
1) Permanent resident of a foreign country;
2) Has the capacity to act and assume all rights and
responsibilities of parental authority under Philippine laws;
3) Has undergone the appropriate counseling from an
accredited counselor in country of domicile;
4) Has not been convicted of a crime involving moral
turpitude;
5) Eligible to adopt under Philippine laws;
6) In a position to provide the proper care and support
and to give the necessary moral values and example to all
his children, including the child to be adopted
 7) Agrees to uphold the basic rights of the child as embodied
under Philippine laws, the UN Convention on Rights of the Child,
and to abide by the rules and regulations issued to implement the
provisions of the ICAA;
8) Residing in a country with whom the Philippines has
diplomatic relations and whose government maintains a similarly
authorized and accredited agency and that adoption is allowed in
that country;
9) Possesses all the qualifications and none of the
disqualifications provided in the ICAA and in other applicable
Philippine laws;
10) At least 27 years of age at the time of the application; and
11) At least 16 years older than the child to be adopted at the
time of application, unless (a) adopted is the parent by nature of
the child to be adopted; or (b) adopter is the spouse of the parent
by nature of the child to be adopted.
Aliens….

1) At least 27 years of age at the time of the application;

2) At least 16 years older than the child to be adopted at
the time of application unless the adopter is the parent by
nature of the child to be adopted or the spouse of such
parent;
3) Has the capacity to act and assume all rights and
responsibilities of parental authority under his national
laws;
4) Has undergone the appropriate counseling from an
accredited counselor in his/her country;
5) Has not been convicted of a crime involving moral
turpitude;
6) Eligible to adopt under his/her national law;
7) In a position to provide the proper care and support and to
give the necessary moral values and example to all his children,
including the child to be adopted;
8) Agrees to uphold the basic rights of the child as embodied
under Philippine laws, the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child, and to abide by the rules and regulations issued to
implement the provisions of the ICAA;
9) Comes from a country with whom the Philippines has
diplomatic relations and whose government maintains a
similarly authorized and accredited agency and that adoption is
allowed under his/her national laws; and
10) Possesses all the qualifications and none of the
disqualifications provided in the ICAA and in other applicable
Philippine laws.
 Domestic Inter-country

• General rule: husband and • Rule: if the adopter is

wife shall jointly adopt; married, his/her spouse must
otherwise, the adoption shall jointly file for the adoption.
not be allowed.
• Exceptions: 1) If one spouse
seeks to adopt the legitimate
son/daughter of the other; 2)
If one spouse seeks to adopt
his/her own illegitimate
son/daughter but the other
spouse must give his/her
consent; 3) If the spouses are
legally separated from each
other.
• Where to file application: In
the Family Court of the
province or city where the
prospective parents reside.
After filing: The petition shall
not be set for hearing without
a case study report by a
licensed social worker.
• Where to file application: Either in
(a) Family Court having jurisdiction
over the place where the child
resides or may be found, or (b) Inter-
Country Adoption Board (ICAB)
through an intermediate agency,
whether governmental or an
authorized and accredited agency, in
the country of the prospective
adoptive parents. After filing: (a) if
filed in the FC, court determines
sufficiency of petition in respect to
form and substance, after which,
petition is transmitted to ICAB; (b) if
petition is already with ICAB, it
conducts matching of the applicant
with an adoptive child; (c) after
matchmaking, the child is personally
fetched by the applicant for the trial
custody which takes place outside of
the Philippines.
• Supervised Trial Custody: a) Temporary
parental authority is vested in
prospective adopter; b) Period is at
least 6 months, but may be reduced by
the court motu propio or upon motion;
c) If adopter is alien, the law
mandatorily requires completion of the
6-month trial custody and may not be
reduced, except if: (1) a former Filipino
citizen seeks to adopt a relative within 4
th degree of consanguinity or affinity;
(2) one seeks to adopt the legitimate
son/daughter of his/her Filipino spouse;
(3) one who is married to a Filipino
citizen and seeks to adopt jointly with
his/her spouse a relative within the 4th
degree of consanguinity or affinity of
the Filipino spouse
• Supervised Trial Custody: a) This
process takes place outside of the
country and under the supervision
of the foreign adoption agency;
b) For a period of 6 months; c) If
unsuccessful, ICAB shall look for
another prospective applicant.
Repatriation of the child is to be
resorted only as a last resort; d)
If successful, ICAB transmits a
written consent for the adoption
to be executed by the DSWD, and
the applicant then files a petition
for adoption in his/her country.
• Consent Required: Written consent of
the following to the adoption is
required, in the form of affidavit: (1)
adoptee, if 10 years of age or over;
(2) biological parent/s of the child, if
known, or the legal guardian, or the
proper government instrumentality
which has legal custody of the child;
(3) legitimate and adopted sons or
daughters, 10 years of age or over, of
the adopter/s and adoptee, if any;
(4) illegitimate sons/daughters, 10
years of age of over, of the adopter if
living with said adopter and the
latter’s spouse, if any; (5) spouse, if
any, of the person adopting or to be
adopted.
• Consent Required: (1) Written
consent of biological or
adopted children above 10
years of age, in the form of
sworn statement is required to
be attached to the application
to be filed with the FC or
ICAB; (2) If a satisfactory pre-
adoptive relationship is formed
between the applicant and the
child, the written consent to
the adoption executed by the
DSWD is required.
 What are the instances that Adoption may be
rescinded?
The following are the instances when adoption may be rescinded:
(a) Repeated physical and verbal maltreatment by the adopter(s) despite
having undergone counseling;
(b) Attempt on the life of the adoptee;
(c) Sexual assault or violence; or
(d) Abandonment and failure to comply with parental obligations (Sec.
19).
(2) Prescriptive period:
(a) If incapacitated – within five (5) years after he reaches the age of
majority;
(b) If incompetent at the time of the adoption – within five (5) years
after recovery from such incompetency (Sec. 21, Rule on Adoption)
Is there a prescriptive period for such
rescission?

• YES. Below are the prescriptive period.

• (a) If incapacitated – within five (5) years after
he reaches the age of majority;
• (b) If incompetent at the time of the adoption –
within five (5) years after recovery from such
incompetency (Sec. 21, Rule on Adoption).
 What are the effects of adoption rescission?

• (1) Parental authority of the adoptee’s biological parent(s), if known, or the

legal custody of the DSWD shall be restored if the adoptee is still a minor or
incapacitated;
• (2) Reciprocal rights and obligations of the adopter(s) and the adoptee to
each other shall be extinguished;
• (3) Cancellation of the amended certificate of birth of the adoptee and
restoration of his/her original birth certificate; and
• (4) Succession rights shall revert to its status prior to adoption, but only as of
the date of judgment of judicial rescission. Vested rights acquired prior to
judicial rescission shall be respected (Sec. 20)
 What are the effects of Adoption?

• (1) Transfer of parental authority – except in cases where the biological parent is the
spouse of the adopter, the parental authority of the biological parents shall terminate
and the same shall be vested in the adopters (Sec. 16).
• (2) Legitimacy – the adoptee shall be considered the legitimate son/daughter of the
adopter(s) for all intents and purposes and as such is entitled to all the rights and
obligations provided by law to legitimate sons/daughters born to them without
discrimination of any kind (Sec. 17).
• (3) Successional rights (a) In legal and intestate succession, the adopter(s) and the
adoptee shall have reciprocal rights of succession without distinction from legitimate
filiation (Sec. 18); (b) However, if the adoptee and his/her biological parent(s) had left
a will, the law on testamentary succession shall govern (Sec. 18); (c) Art. 18(3) of the
Family Code and Sec. 18, Art V of RA 8552 provide that the adoptee remains an
intestate heir of his/her biological parent (Obiter Dictum in In re In the Matter of
Adoption of Stephanie Naty Astorga Garcia, 454 SCRA 54
Foreign Adoption is valid in the Philippines

• The Philippines recognizes the principle that a foreign adoption,

which is valid in the country where it is rendered, is valid
in the country and will be recognized, except where public policy
or the interests of its inhabitants forbid its enforcement and
demand the substitution of the lex fori. Implicit in Article 15 of
the Civil Code is that the exercise of incidents of foreign adoption
remain subject to local law. A foreign law may thus be entitled
to registration in the corresponding civil register of the Philippines.
Cont….

the welfare and best interest of the adoptee must

be determined as of the time that the petition for adoption is
filed. The child's attaining legal age at the time the adoption is
decided will not render the case moot and academic, but must
nonetheless be decided on the merits