More foreign families adopting Pinoy kids
More foreign families have opened their homes to orphaned Filipino children, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The DSWD’s Inter-Country Adoption Board (ICAB) said of the 4,860 children who were legally declared up for adoption, 3,300 have been adopted by foreign families from 2009 to 2015.
Only 976 children were adopted by Filipino families, Rosalie Daguio, DSWD Protective Services Bureau assistant director, said recently.
“We have more applications for adoption coming from foreigners. They are from Canada, Norway, UK and the US,” Daguio said. “We hope to get more applications from Filipino families.”
Jennifer Abenido, DSWD-ICAB social welfare officer, said a majority of the foreign adoptive families were from Europe, specifically Spain.
Abenido said the cultural ties between the Philippines and Spain may be a factor why Spanish families want to adopt Filipino children.
She added European families have visited the Philippines to look for children to adopt after countries in Eastern Europe stopped the adoption of abandoned or neglected children in 2000.
Melissa Moran of the Kaisahang Buhay Foundation, a non-government organization promoting legal adoption, urged Filipino families to legally adopt abandoned children and help transform lives.
“It is an option for couples who have no children. They should consider legal adoption,” Moran said.
The DSWD and its partner agencies conducted a forum at the Philippine Information Agency auditorium in Quezon City Monday as part of the celebration of the Adoption Consciousness Week from Feb. 15 to 24.
Members of the Association of Child Caring Agencies, which advocates adoption and foster care, as well as adoptive families joined the event.
This year’s theme, “Legal na Ampon Ako: Anak na Totoo,” underscores the rights of legally adopted children.
Interested families may visit the DSWD’s adoption help desks at selected SM malls, Trinoma, Market! Market! and Festival Mall today. Social workers and legal experts will be on hand to respond to queries about the adoption process.
An adoption forum will be held today at the Department of Education central office in Pasig City.
Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said more children in different centers and institutions run by the agency are up for adoption.
“We appeal to families to open their homes to these children and give them a better future,” Soliman said.
“A social worker in a child care residential facility with 10 or more children cannot hug all of them at the same time. Only parents can do that,” she added.