The Supreme Court (SC) has clarified that a certification from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) declaring a child legally available for adoption is required even in cases of voluntary surrender.

In a decision penned by Associate Justice Japar B. Dimaampao, the Court’s Third Division affirmed the dismissal of an adoption petition for failure to present the required DSWD certification.

“When a parent—often a mother acting under difficult circumstances, as in this case—entrusts her child to another’s care, the child is legally considered voluntarily committed. For purposes of adoption, the prospective adopter must first secure the necessary DSWD certification,” the decision stated.

FACTS AND ISSUE

The case arose from a petition for adoption filed by Eleazar R. Robiso, who took custody of a child shortly after birth after the biological mother, citing financial incapacity, entrusted the child to him and his parents.

In support of his petition before the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Robiso submitted an Affidavit of Consent to Adoption and Grant of Custody executed by the mother, effectively transferring parental authority. However, he did not present a DSWD certification declaring the child legally available for adoption.

The RTC dismissed the petition, ruling that the child qualified as a voluntarily committed child, thus requiring compliance with Republic Act No. 9523. The Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal.

Before the SC, Robiso argued that the certification requirement applies only to abandoned, neglected, or voluntarily committed children, and not to surrendered children.

The central issue was whether a DSWD certification declaring a child legally available for adoption is required when a child is voluntarily surrendered by a parent to a private individual.

RULING

The SC denied the petition and upheld the rulings of the lower courts, holding that the DSWD certification requirement applies to surrendered children.

The Court explained that Republic Act No. 9523 mandates a certification declaring a child legally available for adoption, and its implementing rules expressly extend this requirement to surrendered, abandoned, neglected, and dependent children. It added that a surrendered child is treated as a voluntarily committed child under the law.

Citing the Child and Youth Welfare Code, the Court emphasized that a child entrusted to an individual is legally considered voluntarily committed, thereby triggering the certification requirement prior to adoption proceedings.

“Adoption laws were crafted precisely to uphold the welfare and best interest of the child, and compliance with their requirements cannot be dispensed with,” the Court said.

While affirming the dismissal, the Court noted that the petitioner may still pursue adoption through the proper process, including the administrative adoption mechanism under Republic Act No. 11642.

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