ra 9523

7/17/2019 RA 9523

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ra-9523-568e470b58215 1/5

Republic of the PhilippinesCongress of the Philippines

Metro Manila

Fourteenth Congress

Second Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-eight day of July, two thousand eight.

Republic Act No. 9523 March 2! 2""9

AN AC# R$%&'R'N( C$R#'F'CA#')N )F #*$ +$PAR#M$N# )F S)C'A, -$,FAR$ AN++$$,)PM$N# /+S-+0 #) +$C,AR$ A 1C*',+ ,$(A,, AA',A,$ F)R A+)P#')N1 AS

A PR$R$%&'S'#$ F)R A+)P#')N PR)C$$+'N(S! AM$N+'N( F)R #*'S P&RP)S$

C$R#A'N PR)'S')NS )F R$P&,'C AC# N). 4552! )#*$R-'S$ N)-N AS #*$+)M$S#'C A+)P#')N AC# )F 994! R$P&,'C AC# N). 4"63! )#*$R-'S$ N)-N AS #*$

'N#$R7C)&N#R A+)P#')N AC# )F 995! PR$S'+$N#'A, +$CR$$ N). 8"3! )#*$R-'S$N)-N AS #*$ C*',+ AN+ )&#* -$,FAR$ C)+$! AN+ F)R )#*$R P&RP)S$S

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congressassembled::

Section . Declaration of Policy . – It is hereby declared the policy of the State that alternativeprotection and assistance shall be afforded to every child who is abandoned, surrendered, orneglected. In this regard, the State shall etend such assistance in the !ost epeditious !anner inthe interest of full e!otional and social develop!ent of the abandoned, surrendered, or neglected

child.

It is hereby recogni"ed that ad!inistrative processes under the #urisdiction of the $epart!ent ofSocial %elfare and $evelop!ent for the declaration of a child legally available for adoption ofabandoned, surrendered, or neglected children are the !ost epeditious proceedings for the bestinterest and welfare of the child.

Section. 2. Definition of Terms. – &s used in this &ct, the following ter!s shall !ean:

'() $epart!ent of Social %elfare and $evelop!ent '$S%$) is the agency charged toi!ple!ent the provisions of this &ct and shall have the sole authority to issue the certificationdeclaring a child legally available for adoption.

'*) +hild refers to a person below eighteen '() years of age or a person over eighteen '()years of age but is unable to fully tae care of hi!herself or protect hi!selfherself fro!abuse, neglect, cruelty, eploitation, or discri!ination because of physical or !ental disabilityor condition.

'/) &bandoned +hild refers to a child who has no proper parental care or guardianship, orwhose parent's) have deserted hi!her for a period of at least three '/) continuous !onths,which includes a founding.

7/17/2019 RA 9523


'0) 1eglected +hild refers to a child whose basic needs have been deliberately unattendedor inade2uately attended within a period of three '/) continuous !onths. 1eglect !ay occurin two '*) ways:

'a) 3here is physical neglect when the child is !alnourished, ill-clad, and withoutproper shelter. & child is unattended when left by hi!selfherself without proper

provisions andor without proper supervision.

'b) 3here is e!otional neglect when the child is !altreated, raped, seduced,eploited, overwored, or !ade to wor under conditions not conducive to goodhealth4 or is !ade to beg in the streets or public places4 or when children are in !oraldanger, or eposed to ga!bling, prostitution, and other vices.

'5) +hild 6egally &vailable for &doption refers to a child in whose favor a certification wasissued by the $S%$ that heshe is legally available for adoption after the fact ofabandon!ent or neglect has been proven through the sub!ission of pertinent docu!ents, or one who was voluntarily co!!itted by hisher parent's) or legal guardian.

'7) 8oluntarily +o!!itted +hild is one whose parent's) or legal guardian nowingly andwillingly relin2uished parental authority to the $S%$ or any duly accredited child-place!entor child-caring agency or institution.

'9) +hild-caring agency or institution refers to a private non-profit or govern!ent agency dulyaccredited by the $S%$ that provides twenty-four '*0) hour residential care services forabandoned, neglected, or voluntarily co!!itted children.

') +hild-placing agency or institution refers to a private non-profit institution or govern!entagency duly accredited by the $%S$ that receives and processes applicants to beco!efoster or adoptive parents and facilitate place!ent of children eligible for foster care oradoption.

') ;etitioner refers to the head or eecutive director of a licensed or accredited child-caringor child-placing agency or institution !anaged by the govern!ent, local govern!ent unit,non-govern!ental organi"ation, or provincial, city, or !unicipal Social %elfare $evelop!ent<fficer who has actual custody of the !inor and who files a certification to declare such childlegally available for adoption, or, if the child is under the custody of any other individual, theagency or institution does so with the consent of the child=s custodian.

'(>) Secretary refers to the Secretary of the $S%$ or his duly authori"ed representative.

'(() +onspicuous ;lace shall refer to a place fre2uented by the public, where by notice of thepetition shall be posted for infor!ation of any interested person.

'(*) Social +ase Study ?eport 'S+S?) shall refer to a written report of the result of anassess!ent conducted by a licensed social worer as to the social-cultural econo!iccondition, psychosocial bacground, current functioning and facts of abandon!ent or neglectof the child. 3he report shall also state the efforts of social worer to locate the child=sbiological parentsrelatives.

Section 3. Petition. – 3he petition shall be in the for! of an affidavit, subscribed and sworn tobefore any person authori"ed by law to ad!inister oaths. It shall contain facts necessary to establish

7/17/2019 RA 9523


the !erits of the petition and shall state the circu!stances surrounding the abandon!ent or neglectof the child.

3he petition shall be supported by the following docu!ents:

'() Social +ase Study ?eport !ade by the $S%$, local govern!ent unit, licensed or

accredited child-caring or child-placing agency or institution charged with the custody of thechild4

'*) ;roof that efforts were !ade to locate the parent's) or any nown relatives of the child.3he following shall be considered sufficient:

'a) %ritten certification fro! a local or national radio or television station that thecase was aired on three '/) different occasions4

'b) ;ublication in one '() newspaper of general circulation4

'c) ;olice report or barangay certification fro! the locality where the child was found

or a certified copy of a tracing report issued by the ;hilippine 1ational ?ed +ross';1?+), 1ational @ead2uarters '1@A), Social Service $ivision, which states thatdespite due diligence, the child=s parents could not be found4 and

'd) ?eturned registered !ail to the last nown address of the parent's) or nownrelatives, if any.

'/) Birth certificate, if available4 and

'0) ?ecent photograph of the child and photograph of the child upon abandon!ent orad!ission to the agency or institution.

Section 6. Procedure for the Filing of the Petition. – 3he petition shall be filed in the regionaloffice of the $S%$ where the child was found or abandoned.

3he ?egional $irector shall ea!ine the petition and its supporting docu!ents, if sufficient in for!and substance and shall authori"e the posting of the notice of the petition conspicuous place for five'5) consecutive days in the locality where the child was found.

3he ?egional $irector shall act on the sa!e and shall render a reco!!endation not later than five'5) woring days after the co!pletion of its posting. @eshe shall trans!it a copy of hisherreco!!endation and records to the <ffice of the Secretary within forty-eight '0) hours fro! thedate of the reco!!endation.

Section 5. Declaration of Availability for Adoption. – pon finding !erit in the petition, theSecretary shall issue a certification declaring the child legally available for adoption within seven '9)woring days fro! receipt of the reco!!endation.

Said certification, by itself shall be the sole basis for the i!!ediate issuance by the local civilregistrar of a foundling certificate. %ithin seven '9) woring days, the local civil registrar shalltrans!it the founding certificate to the 1ational Statistic <ffice '1S<).

7/17/2019 RA 9523


Section 8. Appeal . – 3he decision of the Secretary shall be appealable to the +ourt of &ppealswithin five '5) days fro! receipt of the decision by the petitioner, otherwise the sa!e shall be finaland eecutory.

Section . Declaration of Availability for Adoption of Involuntarily Committed Child andVoluntarily Committed Child . – 3he certificate declaring a child legally available for adoption in

case of an involuntarily co!!itted child under &rticle (0(, paragraph 0'a) and &rticle (0* of;residential $ecree 1o. 7>/ shall be issued by the $S%$ within three '/) !onths following suchinvoluntary co!!it!ent.

In case of voluntary co!!it!ent as conte!plated in &rticle (50 of ;residential $ecree 1o. 7>/, thecertification declaring the child legally available for adoption shall be issued by the Secretary withinthree '/) !onths following the filing of the $eed of 8oluntary +o!!it!ent, as signed by theparent's) with the $S%$.

pon petition filed with the $S%$, the parent's) or legal guardian who voluntarily co!!itted a child!ay recover legal custody and parental authority over hi!her fro! the agency or institution to whichsuch child was voluntarily co!!itted when it is shown to the satisfaction of the $S%$ that the

parent's) or legal guardian is in a position to ade2uately provide for the needs of the child: Provided ,3hat, the petition for restoration is filed within '/) !onths after the signing of the $eed of 8oluntary+o!!it!ent.

Section 4. Certification. – 3he certification that a child is legally available for adoption shall beissued by the $S%$ in lieu of a #udicial order, thus !aing the entire process ad!inistrative innature.

3he certification, shall be, for all intents and purposes, the pri!ary evidence that the child is legallyavailable in a do!estic adoption proceeding, as provided in ?epublic &ct 1o. 55* and in an inter-country adoption proceeding, as provided in ?epublic &ct 1o. >0/.

Section. 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – 3he $S%$, together with the +ouncil for%elfare of +hildren, Inter-+ountry &doption Board, two '*) representatives fro! licensed oraccredited child-placing and child-caring agencies or institution, 1ational Statistics <ffice and <fficeof the +ivil ?egistrar, is hereby tased to draft the i!ple!enting rules and regulations of this &ctwithin sity '7>) days following its co!plete publication.

pon effectivity of this &ct and pending the co!pletion of the drafting of the i!ple!enting rules andregulations, petitions for the issuance of a certification declaring a child legally available for adoption!ay be filled with the regional office of the $S%$ where the child was found or abandoned.

Section ". Penalty . – 3he penalty of <ne hundred thousand pesos ';(>>,>>>.>>) to 3wo hundredthousand pesos ';*>>,>>>.>>) shall be i!posed on any person, institution, or agency who shallplace a child for adoption without the certification that the child is legally available for adoption

issued by the $S%$. &ny agency or institution found violating any provision of this &ct shall have itslicense to operate revoed without pre#udice to the cri!inal prosecution of its officers ande!ployees.

8iolation of any provision of this &ct shall sub#ect the govern!ent official or e!ployee concerned toappropriate ad!inistrative, civil andor cri!inal sanctions, including suspension andor dis!issalfro! the govern!ent service and forfeiture of benefits.

7/17/2019 RA 9523


Section . Repealing Clause. – Sections *'c)'iii), /'b), 'e) and 'a) of ?epublic &ct 1o. 55*,Section /'f) of ?epublic &ct 1o. >0/, +hapter ( of 3itle 8II, and 8III of ;residential $ecree 1o. 7>/and any law, presidential decree, eecutive order, letter of instruction, ad!inistrative order, rule, orregulation contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this &ct are hereby reprealed, !odified or a!ended accordingly.

Section 2. Separability Clause. – If any provision of this &ct is held invalid or unconstitutional, theother provisions not affected thereby shall re!ain valid and subsisting.

Section 3. ffectivity . – 3his &ct shall tae effect fifteen '(5) days following its co!pletepublication in two '*) newspapers of general circulation or in the Official Gazette.

&pproved,

'Sgd.) PR)SP$R) C. N)(RA,$SSpeaer of the @ouse of

?epresentatives

'Sgd.) :&AN P)NC$ $NR',$;resident of the Senate

3his &ct which is a consolidation of Senate Bill 1o. */( and @ouse Bill 1o. (> was finally passed bythe Senate and the @ouse of ?epresentatives $ece!ber (9, *>>.

'Sgd.) MAR',N . AR&A7APSecretary Ceneral

@ouse of ?epresentives

'Sgd.) $MMA ,'R')7R$$SSecretary of Senate

&pproved: MAR 2! 2""9

'Sgd.) (,)R'A MACAPA(A,7ARR))President of the Philippines

ra 9523

Documents