Public warned against illegal baby selling

Local

THE government is urging the public to avoid illegal baby selling and instead pursue legal means of adoption.

Authorities made the call as they raised concern over the growing number of online child seliing and arrangements outside lawful procedures.

Meanwhile, Regional Alternative Child Care Office-Central Visayas (Racco-7) reported that 121 children were legally adopted in the region between 2022 and 2025.

The National Authority for Child Care (NACC) expressed alarm over the rise of illegal child placements nationwide, particularly the online selling of babies through social media.

NACC Undersecretary Janella Ejercito Estrada said at least 12 Facebook groups have been monitored facilitating child placements, with a combined following of over 200,000 users.

She said this during a livestreamed press conference of the Philippine Adoption and Alternative Child Care Week (AACCW) in Manila.

Estrada warned that illegal adoptions endanger the safety and welfare of children and can lead to trafficking, exploitation, child labor, or even organ harvesting.

In an earlier report of MyTV Cebu, NACC has flagged five Facebook pages in Central Visayas for allegedly engaging in the illegal online sale of babies.

To address the issue, the agency has sought the assistance of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to step up surveillance and enforcement efforts against these unlawful activities.

To prevent such risks, she said the NACC has simplified adoption and foster care procedures and emphasized that all government services related to legal adoption are free of charge.

Created under Republic Act 11642, the NACC serves as a one-stop, quasi-judicial agency under the DSWD, responsible for all forms of alternative child care, including domestic and inter-country adoption, foster care, kinship care, and residential care.

As of 2025, the agency has issued 1,063 domestic Orders of Adoption, facilitated 418 inter-country adoptions, and supported nearly 2,000 adoptive and foster families. A total of 1,075 children are enrolled in the Philippine Foster Care Program.

Adoption in region

During Kapihan sa PIA episode on Thursday, June 19, social worker Jeraldin Mendoza during a media forum reported that Racco-7 adoptions included 10 in 2023, 64 in 2024, and 47 so far in 2025.

Mendoza emphasized that 166 children have been declared Available for Adoption within the same period, mostly due to abandonment, neglect, or voluntary or involuntary surrender.

However, she stressed that before a child is declared adoptable, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) must first exhaust all efforts to locate the biological family or next of kin.

Legal action

Racco-7 warned the public against so-called “adopt-adopt” or informal placements, which involve entrusting a child to another person without going through the legal adoption process.

Racco-7 Legal officer Jewel Alberca said these arrangements may constitute qualified human trafficking and are punishable under Republic Act 7610.

“This is involving a child, man, so that’s why it’s qualified. And since it is qualified trafficking, the penalty is life imprisonment and not less than a P2 million fine,” Alberca said.

She clarified that kinship care, or the placement of a child with close relatives, is not considered an illegal arrangement under the Family Code of the Philippines, as long as the proper legal channels are followed.(MyTVCebu)