Sharon Cuneta surprised everyone recently with the news that she and husband Senator Kiko Pangilinan would be adopting a baby boy. Having given birth to three girls, the couple expressed their desire for a boy as an addition to the Pangilinan family.

We raise some main concerns of interested adoptive parents and the procedures they should know about.

Why do I / we want to adopt a child?
While adoption is a gift and an extension of your love as a parent, first and foremost you should evaluate your motivations and reasons for wanting to adopt a child. Here are some questions you might want to try answering:

1. How old would you want the child to be?
2. Are you willing to adopt a child who has a disability?
3. Would you prefer a girl or a boy?
4. Would you accommodate certain requests or requirements of the birth family? (religion, schooling, etc.)
5. Why do you want to be an adoptive parent?
6. How would you contribute to the child as an adoptive parent?

Am I / Are my partner and I qualified to become adoptive parents?
According to Article 183 of The Family Code of the Philippines,

“A person of age and in possession of full civil capacity and legal rights may adopt, provided he is in a position to support and care for his children, legitimate or illegitimate, in keeping with the means of the family.”
“In addition, the adopter must be at least sixteen years older than the person to be adopted, unless the adopter is the parent by nature of the adopted, or is the spouse of the legitimate parent of the person to be adopted.”

Are there types of adoption that I / my partner and I can choose from?

• Agency Adoptions. Licensed adoption agencies find suitable adoptive families for children whose parents have voluntarily or involuntarily given up their parental authority over them. The adoptive parents have to go through a process under the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) or a licensed child-placing agency. This covers all procedures from application to finalization.
• Family or Relative Adoptions. This is when the biological parents of the child relinquish him to a relative or a member of their extended family.
• Private or Independent Adoptions. The biological parents can either directly appoint a relative or a member of the extended family to adopt the child, or someone intermediates. NOTE: Be careful of intermediaries who only wish to generate profit from such procedures. Choose an intermediary who you know is only looking out for the welfare of the child.

Thinking of how to tell the truth one day to your adopted child or to help him search for his biological parents? Click here to read more.

Photo from pep.ph | Korek Ka John!

SOURCES:

• PEP.ph | Sharon Cuneta and Kiko Pangilinan Plan to Adopt a Boy Soon
• familymatters.org.ph
• www.gov.ph

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