DAVAO CITY (PIA) — The enactment of Republic Act 11767 brings new hope for the status of foundlings or abandoned children in the Davao Region.
The Foundling Recognition and Protection Act, which was signed into law on May 6, 2022, establishes critical protections and a structured adoption process for foundling children across the country, including Davao Region.
As defined by RA 11767, a foundling is a deserted or abandoned child or infant with unknown facts of birth and parentage. This shall also include those who have been duly registered as a foundling during her or his infant childhood but have reached the age of majority without benefitting from adoption procedures upon the passage of the law (RA 11767).
Regional Alternative Child Care Office (RACCO) Social Welfare Officer II Jennyluz Coma highlighted the law’s importance during a recent media forum.
RA 11767 mandates immediate and proper care for foundlings—children who are abandoned in public places and have no legal identity or birth records.
As of the latest report, Davao Region has recorded 24 foundling children since the law’s enactment. Of these, 18 have been declared legally available for adoption, and 16 of them have already been successfully matched with adoptive families. The other two are still waiting for adoption matches, and six are in the process of being legally declared adoptable.
Coma explained that once a foundling is discovered, they must be placed in a one-on-one care setting, either with licensed foster parents or in child-caring agencies, especially if no immediate foster care options are available.
“The law emphasizes — that those children must be placed in one-on-one care or a permanent home. Pag-temporary home, it means they are with our licensed foster parent. In case foster care is impossible, that’s the time we will place those children in our child-caring agencies or centers,” Coma said.
The issue of abandoned children remains a concern for local authorities, particularly in Davao City, where most of the reported foundlings have been found. These children are typically infants, often less than six months old, and are usually abandoned shortly after birth.
Coma also mentioned ongoing efforts with local government units (LGUs), schools, and health workers to spread awareness about the law, which aims to prevent future cases of abandonment.
“We are working with the barangays and the health workers — sila gyud ang naa sa ground. Sila gyud ang number one na maka-implement og interventions. And also sa schools — education gyud. Seminars about unsa gyud ang angay buhaton kung moabot ka ana nga situation, but unta, i-prevent na ma-engage sila to early pregnancy,” Coma added.
(They are the ones on the ground, they are the ones who can implement the interventions. The schools also, education, we hold seminars on what the proper thing to do in those situations. We hope to prevent these cases of early pregnancy.) (REC / PIA XI)
