Meeting in Makati-Philippines’ Adoption Authority Meets about International Adoption Trafficking UPDATED

Today the first part of a three-day meeting will take place in Makati, one of the cities in Metro Manila, with “child welfare experts” from the United States, Europe, Australia and the Philippines. Representing the Philippines are  both the Inter-Country Adoption Board (Icab) and the Association of Child Caring Agencies of the Philippines.

“There have been reports that adoption is being used as a means to traffick Filipino children abroad.

The experts will discuss current trends in adoption and their experiences in addressing child-trafficking issues in their countries, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said.”

“The idea behind the meeting is to “deepen the awareness of countries adopting Filipino children,” said Karina Javier of the social marketing service of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). ”

Adoption as Trafficking Ploy
[Philippine Daily Inquirer 8/17/11 by TJ Burgonio]

We will update the post if we find out who is representing the US. The Office of Children’s Issues does not have any tweets about being in the Philippines. Hopefully the US representative is not the adoption industry.

Update: So the corruption has shifted from direct international adoption to moving pregnant women across international borders to adopt the children out with few, if any, regulations. In addition to international surrogacy, this is the new corrupt way of the future, I predict. It is important to watch which adoption agencies are getting involved in surrogacy and other types of foreign programs where these under-the-table adoptions are taking place.

“Pregnant Filipino women have been recruited to travel overseas legally as tourists then sell their newborns to waiting adoptive parents, the Department of Social Welfare and Development said on Wednesday.

Social Welfare Undersecretary Alicia Bala disclosed the newest form of child trafficking at the 11th Global Consultation on Child Welfare Services in Makati City.

Bala said that two cases had so far been reported—one in Austria two years ago and another in Malta last year.

Speaking about the latest case in Malta, Bala said: “The mother who’s pregnant [was] sponsored to go to that place with the intent of having the child adopted.”

“This is a form of trafficking… Our attention was called by Malta authorities,” she told reporters.

The mother has returned to the country but her child is now undergoing procedure for adoptive parents to keep the baby in custody.

“This is just one instance but, who knows, there may be other cases that are not brought to our attention. It is a prearranged plan of giving birth there, then they give the baby up. They don’t keep the baby because there is already that intention to have the baby adopted abroad,” Bala said.

As the mothers are able to exit the country legally, such cases are hard to detect unless reported by the receiving country, Bala said.

“You can’t stop anyone from traveling. There’s no reason for immigration agents to be suspicious about why a pregnant woman is going overseas. Maybe there’s a facilitator here,” Bala said.

Philippine system worth emulating

The report surfaced after the Philippines overcame its status as among nations in the United States’ Tier 2 human trafficking watch list.

Between 400 and 500 Filipino children, among them orphans and abandoned children, are adopted by overseas parents under a Philippine system managed by the Inter-Country Adoption Board.

Following a careful process of screening adoptive parents and matching candidate children, most Filipino kids are legally adopted in homes in the United Sates, Canada, France and other European countries.

Jennifer Degeling, representative from The Hague, cited the Philippine’s inter-country adoption system as one that other nations could emulate.

She said well-trained professionals were handling the process, screening parents and matching prospective babies to homes that would best provide them their needs.

“You have managed to develop a very balanced relationship with countries who adopt your children, so I think the Philippines has retained control,” Degeling noted.

“Not as in other countries, here you have very professional people looking at all of the needs of the child and look for a foreign family that look after the best interest of the child,” she added.

Child welfare officials from Cambodia and Nepal have expressed interest in replicating the Philippines’ overseas adoption system, officials said.”

New Racket: Trafficking in Unborn Babies
[Philippine Daily Inquirer 8/18/11 by Tarra Quismundo]

Update 2: “A pregnant Filipino woman was recruited to travel to Malta last year legally as a tourist to eventually sell her newborn to waiting adoptive parents, online news reports said.

Although at this stage details are quite scanty and were not confirmed by local authorities by the time of going to print, a similar case was reported in Austria the year before.

The expectant mother who reportedly came to Malta was sponsored with the intent of having the baby adopted. This is considered to be a form of human trafficking and is understood to have been reported by Maltese authorities.

A news report on the Philippine Daily Inquirer said the mother who had given birth in Malta had since returned to the country while her child is undergoing procedure for adoptive parents to keep the baby.

Although these cases were reported over the past two years, it is not being ruled out that there can be others.

It is considered to be a form of human trafficking because the plan to give birth in a foreign country and give up the baby is pre-arranged. The mother does not keep the baby because she would have travelled with the intention to have the baby adopted abroad.

As the mothers are able to exit a country legally, such cases are hard to detect unless reported by the receiving country.

There is no reason for immigration officers to be suspicious about why a pregnant woman is departing from or entering a country, so it is difficult to stop such cases from happening.

The news item was published after the Philippines overcame its status as among nations in the United States’ Tier 2 human trafficking watch list.

Between 400 and 500 Filipino children, among them orphans and abandoned children, are adopted overseas under a Philippine system managed by the Inter-Country Adoption Board.

As a result of carefully screening adoptive parents and matching candidate children, most Filipino children are legally adopted in homes in the United Sates, Canada, France and other European countries.

Further information from Appoġġ – the child welfare agency, and the ministry responsible for social policy are expected over the coming days.”

Unborn child allegedly trafficked to Malta
[The Malta Independent 8/19/11 by Annaliza Borg]

Update 3: “Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago has filed a resolution seeking a Philippine Senate inquiry into reports that pregnant Filipino women are being made to travel abroad as tourists to sell their newborns to waiting adoptive parents.

Senate Resolution 572 seeks to look into the revelation of Social Welfare Undersecretary Alicia Bala in a Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) report that a new modus operandi involves pregnant mothers travelling to particular countries to have their children adopted.

Santiago quoted Bala as saying apprehending offenders in the trafficking of unborn children is difficult because the pregnant mothers are able to exit the Philippines legally.

Such cases can only be determined when the receiving country issues an incident report, Santiago explained.

In the PDI report, Bala said two such cases have been reported so far — one in Malta last year and another in Austria two years ago.

“It is imperative for the State to be vigilant and closely monitor the incidents of trafficking of unborn babies and strictly implement our inter-country adoption laws,” Santiago said in the measure.

“This deplorable incident continues to prevail despite the fact that we have an efficient inter-country adoption system which involves the participation of well-trained professionals in handling the process, screening parents, and matching prospective babies to homes that would best provide them their needs,” Santiago said in the measure.

Section 4 of Republic Act No. 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 states that “it shall be unlawful for any person, natural or juridical to… adopt or facilitate the adoption of persons for the purpose of prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage.”

Section 16 of Republic Act No. 8043 or the Inter-Country Adoption Act of 1995 likewise provides penalties for “any person who shall knowingly participate in the conduct or carrying out of an illegal adoption.”

Miriam wants Senate inquiry on trafficking of unborn babies
[GMA News 8/29/11 by Kim Tan]

REFORM Puzzle Piece