THE National Authority for Child Care (NACC) urged the public to pursue legal adoption, saying it would uphold the rights and welfare of orphaned children.
NACC Executive Director Maria Gabriela Concepcion said legal adoption ensures that children's best interests are safeguarded while warning against the illegal practice of birth simulation.
"You need to go through the legal adoption process because some people simply falsify the birth certificate to make it appear that they are the child's biological parents, but that process does nothing to protect the child, so we must adopt our children the right way," Concepcion said, stressing that birth simulation, or the falsification of a child's birth records, is a criminal offense that commonly occurs in hospitals and lying-in clinics.
Under Republic Act 8552, or the Domestic Adoption Act, individuals found guilty of simulating a child's birth or tampering with civil registry records may face imprisonment of six years and one day to 12 years and a fine of up to P50,000.
"If you truly love the child and want to give him or her all the rights of a son or daughter, then let us follow the proper legal process," Concepcion said.
She added that legally adopted children enjoy the same rights as biological children, including carrying their adoptive parents' surname and inheriting from them as legitimate heirs.
"When we legally adopt a child, that child becomes our legitimate son or daughter for all intents and purposes, carries our surname, and becomes one of our heirs," she said.
The NACC said that Republic Act 11222, or the Simulated Birth Rectification Act of 2019, grants amnesty to qualified individuals who simulated a child's birth on or before March 28, 2019, provided the act was done in the child's best interest.
Concerned individuals, it added, have until March 29, 2029, to file a Petition for Administrative Adoption with an Application for Rectification of Simulated Birth Record through their respective Local Social Welfare and Development Offices to legalize their parent-child relationship without fear of prosecution.
