25/03/2026
The (SC) has ruled that a certification declaring a child legally available for adoption is required even when the child is voluntarily surrendered by the mother.
In a Decision written by Associate Justice Japar B. Dimaampao, the SCโs Third Division upheld the Regional Trial Court (RTC)โs dismissal of an adoption petition because it did not include a certification from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The case began when a mother, soon after giving birth, left her baby in the care of Eleazar Robiso (Robiso) and his parents. A year later, Robiso filed a petition for adoption before the RTC.
To support his petition, Robiso submitted an ๐๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ฅ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ, executed by the mother. In the affidavit, the mother said she could not financially support her child. She entrusted the child and her parental authority to Robiso.
When both the RTC and the Court of Appeals dismissed his petition for lack of a DSWD certification clearing the child legally available for adoption, as required by RA 9523, Robiso filed a petition for review on ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ณ๐ข๐ณ๐ช before the SC, arguing that the certification was required only for abandoned, neglected, or voluntarily committed children.
The SC disagreed and denied Robisoโs petition.
In adoption cases, RA 9523 requires a DSWD certification declaring a child legally available for adoption. The lawโs implementing rules clarified that the requirement applies to surrendered, abandoned, neglected, and dependent children.
Although the law does not define a ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ, it defines a ๐ท๐ฐ๐ญ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ญ๐บ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ as one whose parents or legal guardian knowingly and willingly give up parental authority to the DSWD or an accredited child-placement or child-caring agency. The law's implementing rules adopt the same definition for a surrendered child.
The SC added that the law should be read together with Article 154 of Presidential Decree No. 603, or the ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ฆ, which treats a child surrendered to an individual as a voluntarily committed child.
It explained: โWhen a parentโoften a mother acting under difficult circumstances, as in this caseโentrusts her child to another's care, the child is legally considered voluntarily committed. For purpose of adoption, the prospective adopter must therefore first secure the necessary DSWD certification.โ
However, the SC clarified that Robiso may still pursue the proper remedy, including the streamlined administrative adoption process under RA 11642, or the ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ค ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ญ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ค๐ต, which took effect in 2022.
Read the full text of the Press Release at https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/?p=162472.
Read the full text of the Decision at https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/?p=162466.
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