Around 50 orphaned and abandoned children in Bohol who remain in social welfare institutions in the province are up for adoption, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) announced amid the observance of the 2020 Adoption Consciousness Celebration this month.

According to DSWD officer Flen Maquiling, their office is accepting adoption applications and are conducting seminars once every two months for interested parents.

Those seeking to adopt will be matched not just with children in Bohol but the rest of Central Visayas which has 371 kids qualified for legal adoption.

“Naa tay matching committee composed of different professionals, doctors and psychologists, e-match sila dili lang sa physical, apil psychological and then mental unya tan-awon ang mga documents og angayan ba sila, based pud sa ilang edad ug unsa ang preference nila [parents],” she said.

Orphaned and abandoned children in Bohol are housed in three facilities, Bohol Sunshine Home Foundation, Inc. in Tagbilaran City, Holy Trinity Angel’s Orphanage in Alburquerque and Village of Hope in Talibon.

Maquiling said that most of children up for adoption are those from Holy Trinity where children are aged five years old or younger.

Majority of the children were abandoned by their biological parents.

Maquiling however explained that the legal process for adoption could take up to two years.

Those interested to undergo legal adoption will also need to hire a private lawyer as they are not allowed to avail of services from the Public Attorney’s Office.

“Basta stable lang, dili kinahilanglan na ngana kadato but as they can provide for the needs of the child kanang mga basic hasta pud ang rights sa bata,” she said. “Ato g’yung gitan-aw kanunay is the best interest of the child.”

Meanwhile, parents or mothers of abandoned children will need to be informed before a child can be legally adopted.

The agency is required to inform the parents or mother of the pending adoption through a newspaper publication, radio station broadcasts or visitation of the biological parents’ last known address.

Maquiling estimated that about 50 children in Bohol have been legally adopted in recent years while some cases are already pending in court.

Those interested to adopt or inquire may visit the DSWD’s office along Dampas Road in Barangay Dampas, Tagbilaran City or call 0946-3710-593 or (038)427-1405. (A. Doydora)