BOOK ON INTER-COUNTRY ADOPTION
OF FILIPINO CHILDREN LAUNCHED

A book, entitled "Adopting a Filipino Child the Inter-country Way" will be launched Monday (Sept. 17) at 11:30 a.m. at the Taal Vista Hotel in Tagaytay City. The book launching coincides with the holding of the 9th Global Consultation on Child Welfare Services in the same venue.

The book was written by lawyer Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana, based on her rich experience and knowledge on how inter-country adoption is being practiced in the country.

A member of the Inter-country Adoption Board (ICAB) for the past 11 years, Pimentel-Gana described the Inter-country Adoption Law of 1995 (Republic Act 8043) as a pioneering piece of legislation that advances the best interest of orphans and other displaced children.

Initially, the author harbored fears that such a law might be taken advantage of by unscrupulous individuals to traffic children under the guise of adopting them. But her fears turned out to be unfounded, as she has seen at first hand how the ICA law has helped curb child trafficking and child abuse and lessen the number of children roaming the streets.

"Inter-country adoption is in the best interest of the surrendered, abandoned or neglected child. Every child deserves to have a family. And if the child has been deprived of a family by circumstances beyond his or her control, the next best thing is for the child to nestle in the loving embrace of an adoptive family even overseas, rather than be confined in an institution until adulthood," the author said.

Social Welfare and Development Secretary Esperanza Cabral described the book as a useful source of information about the Inter-country Adoption Board, the central authority on matters relating to the foreign adoption placement of Filipino children.

Cabral said the book describes the organizational setup of the ICAB and its various functions to facilitate foreign adoption placements for Filipino children all over the world.

"The book is an important instrument that will help understand the rudiments of the process and how it has helped improve the lives of so many underprivileged children," the social welfare secretary said in her foreword to the book.

Ma. Angeles Fullerton, president of the Association of Child Caring Agencies (ACCA), said the "Adopting Filipino Child the Inter-country Way" is "an eminently readable, easy to follow and extremely informative and valuable book" for all the major players in inter-country adoption.