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<p>Have you placed your name on a child&rsquo;s birth certificate but are not actually the mother?</p>
<p>Do you now want to correct the birth certificate and adopt the child instead?</p>
<p>If this describes your situation, then you are in luck.</p>
<p>RA 11222 allows you to adopt a child without facing criminal charges.</p>
<p>And the best part is that if you qualify, you may not need to go through court.</p>
<p>Below, I will go through RA 11222 in detail and explain the process, requirements and possibilities.</p>
<p>&ldquo;<em>Somehow destiny comes into play. These children end up with you and you end up with them. It&rsquo;s something quite magical</em>.&rdquo; Nicole Kidman on Adoption</p>

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<p>RA 11222 corrects simulated birth certificates by waiving criminal penalties for people responsible for simulating the birth certificate and also allowing them to correct the birth certificate and adopt the child legally without court.</p>
<p>Without RA 11222, people have difficulty correcting simulated birth certificates. They may be jailed anywhere from 6 years and 1 day to 12 years.</p>
<p>They would also have to go through court to adopt the child if they still want to be recognized as the child&rsquo;s parent.</p>
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<p>This law applies only in certain situations:</p>
<ul>
<li>Your child has lived with you for at least 3 years&nbsp;<strong><u>before</u></strong>&nbsp;March 29, 2019.</li>
<li>Your child is below 18&nbsp;<strong><u>or</u></strong>&nbsp;is above 18 but cannot take care of himself due to a physical or mental handicap</li>
<li>You have consistently treated the child as yours and the child&rsquo;s best interest was why you placed your name on his birth certificate.</li>
<li>You have simulated the birth of the child to appear as he or she is your own son or daughter</li>
<li>The simulation is for his or her own best interest</li>
</ul>
<p>If this describes your situation, you can correct the child&rsquo;s birth certificate and adopt him without going to court.</p>
<p><strong><u>Remember though:</u></strong>&nbsp;The child must have lived with you for 3 years&nbsp;<strong><u>before</u></strong>&nbsp;March 29, 2019. If you go through a simulated birth now, RA 11222 will not apply.</p>
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<p>To make sure that prospective parents would be good parents, the law requires that you personally possess the following:</p>
<ul>
<li>are Filipino of legal age</li>
<li>have full civil capacity and legal rights</li>
<li>are of good moral character</li>
<li>have not been convicted of any crime</li>
<li>be emotionally and physically capable of caring for a child</li>
<li>be able to support the child</li>
<li>if your spouse is a foreigner, he must have lived in the Philippines for at least 3 years before filing</li>
</ul>

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<p>Brace yourself &ndash; there are a lot of documents that you need to process this.</p>
<p>It will require time and effort to do this as you will have to go to several places to get the documents. You will need to go to the government offices one by one. You will need to physically appear.</p>
<p>If you are abroad, you will need someone to do the work for you.</p>
<p>It cannot be done online.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Consent Documents</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &bull; Consent of the adoptee or the child to be adopted, if he is over 10</p>
<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &bull; Consent of the spouse of the adoptee, if applicable</p>
<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &bull; Consent of the legitimate and adopted children of the adoptive parents, if they are over 10</p>
<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &bull; Consent of the illegitimate children of the adoptive parents, if they are over 10 if they live with the<br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; adoptive parents</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Other Documents</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&bull; Copy of Simulated Birth or Foundling Certificate</p>
<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&bull; Affidavit of Admission if the Simulated Birth was done by a 3rd person</p>
<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&bull; Certificate from the Punong Barangay stating that the petitioners are residents of the barangay and<br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; that the child has lived with them for 3 years before March 29, 2019.</p>
<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&bull; Affidavits of 2 disinterested persons in the barangay stating that the child has lived with the<br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;petitioners&nbsp;for 3 years.</p>
<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&bull; Certificate Declaring a Child Legally Available for Adoption (CDCLAA) from the DSWD if the adoptee<br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;is below 18 or is not a relative within the 4th degree of consanguinity.</p>
<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&bull; Photographs of the child and the petitioner taken 3 months before filing.</p>
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<p>When the process has been completed, you&rsquo;ll have an Order of Adoption.</p>
<p>This will mean that you are now the lawful parent of the adoptee.</p>
<p>You will have all the legal rights of a parent.</p>
<p>You&rsquo;ll be able to travel with the child, obtain a visa, immigrate with the child while at the same time making it clear you are an adoptive parent.</p>
<p>This is especially important when the country involved requires you a DNA test be submitted to prove your relationship.</p>
<p>In addition, this protects the child&rsquo;s rights to an inheritance from you. Other heirs who are aware of the simulated birth may one day challenge the child&rsquo;s rights to inheritance and property. Rectifying the situation can change that.</p>
<p>The simplest change is to the birth certificate:</p>
<ul>
<li>The simulated birth certificate is cancelled.</li>
<li>The rectified birth of the child or a certificate of foundling will be issued.</li>
<li>A new birth certificate is issued with the adopter as the parent of the adoptee.</li>
</ul>
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<p>The law states that the entire adoption through RA 11222 should take 70 days from the<br>day of filing.</p>
<p>Note however &ndash; this is what the RA 11222 law estimates as the timeline. This will likely vary.</p>
<p>Each DSWD office handles a large load and this can cause delays.</p>
<p>It will really depend on the actual load of the local DSWD and how aggressive they are in closing these<br>types of cases.</p>
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<p>Yes, the adoption can be cancelled by the child (the adoptee).</p>
<p>The grounds are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Repeated physical or verbal maltreatment by the adopter,</li>
<li>Attempt on the life of the adoptee,</li>
<li>Sexual assault or violence,</li>
<li>Abandonment and failure to comply with parental obligations,</li>
<li>Other acts that are detrimental to the psychological and emotional development of the adoptee.</li>
</ul>
<p>Just a note &ndash; the adoptive parent cannot cancel the adoption.</p>
<p>If they wish to end the adoptive child&rsquo;s inheritance rights, the adoptive parent can instead disinherit the child.</p>
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<p>The process of cancellation of the adoption is similar to adopting administratively.</p>
<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; 1.&nbsp;You need to go to the Social Welfare and Development Officer (SWDO). He will make a<br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; recommendation.</p>
<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; 2.&nbsp;The recommendation will pass to the Regional Director.</p>
<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; 3.&nbsp;The recommendation will then go to the Secretary who will decide the petition and issue<br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;a cancellation.</p>
<p>The main difference is that the officers should act immediately.</p>

<p>A cancelled adoption undoes the effect stated above.</p>
<ul>
<li>First, the birth certificate will change. The Local Civil Registrar will cancel the new birth certificate<br>with the adoption and restore the former birth certificate or foundling certificate of the adoptee<br>with the corrected information.</li>
<li>The biological parents will have parental rights over the child if the adoptee is still a minor.</li>
<li>The reciprocal rights over the adopter and the adoptee to each other shall be extinguished.</li>
<li>Inheritance rights shall also be extinguished and will return to its status prior the adoption.</li>
</ul>

<p>Yes, there are violations that can be committed to prevent abuse of RA 11222.</p>
<p>The violations are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Obtaining consent for adoption through coercion.</li>
<li>Not complying with the legal procedures and safeguards in adoption.</li>
<li>Subjecting or exposing the child to be adopted to danger, abuse or exploitation.</li>
</ul>
<p>The penalties are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Imprisonment from six (6) years and one (1) day to twelve (12) years and/or</li>
<li>Fines not less than Two hundred thousand (Php 200,000) at the discretion of the court.</li>
</ul>

2019 How to Correct Simulated Birth through RA 11222