Section 2Sec./Art. 2

Declaration of Policy. It is hereby declared the policy of the State to ensure that every child remains under the care and custody of the parents and be provided with love, care, understanding, and security towards the full and harmonious development of the child personality. Only when such efforts prove insufficient and no appropriate placement or adoption by an unrelated person be considered.

The best interest of the child shall be the paramount consideration in the enactment of alternative care, custody, and adoption policies. It shall be in accordance with the tenets set forth in all the rights of the child enumerated under Article 3 of Presidential Decree No. 603, otherwise known as the Child and Youth Welfare Code; the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC); the United Nations Guidelines on Alternative Care of Children; the United Nations Declaration on Social and Legal Principles Relating to the Protection and Welfare of Children with Special Internationally; and the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption.

Toward this end, the State shall:

(a) Ensure that a child without parental care, or at risk of losing it, is provided with alternative care options such as adoption and foster care;

(b) Establish alternative care standards to ensure that the quality of life and living conditions set are conducive to the childs development;

(c) Safeguard the biological parents from making hasty decisions to relinquish parental authority over the child;

(d) Prevent unnecessary separation of the child from the biological parents;

(e) Protect the adoptive parents from attempts to disturb their parental authority and custody over the adopted child;

(f) Conduct public information and educational campaign to promote a positive environment for adoption;

(g) Ensure that sufficient capacity exists within government and private sector agencies to handle adoption inquiries, process domestic adoption petitions, and offer adoption-related services, including pre-adoption and post-adoption services, for the biological parents, children, and adoptive parents;

(h) Encourage domestic adoption so as to preserve the childs identity and culture in the childs native land, and only when this is not feasible shall inter-country adoption be considered; and

(i) Establish a system of cooperation with the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), to prevent the sale, trafficking, and abduction of children and to protect Filipino children abandoned overseas who are made vulnerable by their irregular status.

No child shall be a subject of administrative adoption unless the status of the child has been declared legally available for adoption except in cases of relative or step-parent adoption where such declaration is not required. Independent placement cases, or the entrustment of a child by the birthparents to a relative or another person without seeking intervention from government, nongovernment, or any social worker, will be covered by the provisions of this Act if the child is already in the custody of their custodian before the effectivity of this Act.

It is hereby recognized that the administrative adoption processes for the cases of legally-available children, relative, stepchild, and adult adoptees are the most expeditious proceedings that will redound to their best interest.