By Junex Doronio
MANILA — Acknowledging that there are childless couples who want to adopt children, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and its attached agency, the National Authority for Child Care (NACC), are now in the process of creating a digital system to make the adoption and alternative child care process in the country more innovative and responsive to children in need of alternative child care.
This was disclosed on Wednesday (22 May 2024) by DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian in his keynote speech for the 1st National Congress on Adoption and Alternative Child Care for the NACC’s National Capital Region and Southern Luzon Cluster.
“We want to create an ecosystem or a network of care facilities nationwide, all tucked in the NACC database so that when a prospective adoptive parent in the Philippines or abroad wants to adopt, all our care facilities are linked into them,” Gatchalian told the attendees composed of adoption experts, advocates and representatives of child caring agencies.
The DSWD chief said the system will help address the issue on child trafficking in social media platforms since all child care facilities and the services they offer, whether privately-run, national government-run, or local government-run, will be linked to the database handled by the NACC.
“If our network on alternative child care and adoption is strong, then in effect, we ease out the potential illegal market out there. Kapag nalaman ng ating mga kababayan or ng foreign prospective adoptive parents na madali naman pala [ang legal adoption process] then there is no reason to venture into these illegal online baby selling platforms,” Gatchalian explained.
The DSWD chief reiterated his warning to the public to stop engaging in child trafficking activities through illegal adoption of children online during his interview with members of the press.
“Babala na siguro ito sa mga nagtatangka na huwag nya na gawin itong adoption na hindi dumadaan sa tamang prosesong legal, human trafficking yan. Kung inosente ka man, at gusto mo lang naman magkaanak, huwag mo nang tangkain ‘yon, pumasok na lamang tayo sa tamang proseso sa NACC kasi itinaguyod nga ng mga mambabatas natin tong NACC para maging mas mabilis ang proseso ng pag-adopt,” Gatchalian pointed out.
Present in the national congress were DSWD Undersecretary for International Affairs, and Attached and Supervised Agencies (ASAs) Emmeline Aglipay Villar, NACC executive director Undersecretary Janella Estrada and NACC Asst. Secretary for Operations Rowena Macalintal.
With the theme “Building a League of AMPON Heroes for Children,” the 2-day NACC national Congress seeks to strengthen ties and partnerships with local government units (LGUs) and capacitate them to carry out their shared responsibility in adoption and alternative child care mandate.
(el Amigo/MNM)