Senate bet backs DSWD’s adoption program

MANILA, Philippines - United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) senatorial candidate Nancy Binay expressed support yesterday for a program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for the legal adoption of orphans.

The program is part of DSWD’s observance of the 15th Adoption Consciousness Week from Feb. 18 to 24.     

Binay said the rights of orphans could be better protected if they were legally adopted so they could enjoy the rights of a biological child, including the use of the surname of their adoptive parents.

If elected, she commits to review the current laws on adoption, and speed up the process of legal adoption “without compromising the child’s rights and interests.”

Binay, who vowed to uphold the rights and welfare of Filipino children, is a founding member of the board of trustees of Brighthalls Children’s Foundation.

The foundation provides temporary refuge for abandoned infants and children below two years old.

“We have hired social workers to undertake all the documentation and processing requirements for the care and adoption of each child under the foundation,” she said.

A mother of four, Binay has also committed to push for reforms in the public health and education systems.