MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine population was expected to reach

109,991,095 at the end of 2021. Among these were children, who were

abandoned and still looking for their forever families.

According to data from the Philippines Orphanage Foundation, out of the

over 109 million population in the country, there were at least 2 million

Dear PAO,

I am 16 years old, and I just discovered that I have a brother who is an illegitimate child of my father. He is almost the same age as me. His mother recently died, and now my father wants to make up for the years he wasn't able to be a father to his illegitimate child. My father is convincing my mother to jointly adopt his illegitimate child to give him a chance of having a whole family. However, this is a lot to process. I cannot believe that after all these years of being an only legitimate child, I have a brother. This may sound selfish but if my parents proceed with the adoption, do I have any right to say no?

Emmanuel

Dear Emmanuel,

With regard to your concern, Section 23 of Republic Act (RA) 11642 or the "Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act" provides:

The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that a man can fight the adoption of his children, even though he killed their mother.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio father can fight the adoption of the children whose mother he killed, after a divided state Supreme Court said there was a good reason he hadn't been in touch with them since the slaying: He was following a judge's order not to contact them.

Under Ohio law, parental consent is not required for adoptions if proof exists that a parent had little or no contact with the child for at least one year before the filing of adoption papers.

In the current case, the father had previously lost his attempts to block the adoption of his daughters by the girls’ maternal grandparents, who took custody of the children after their mother was killed. An appeals court agreed the father couldn’t use his imprisonment to justify his failure to contact the children, since his actions led to the prison sentence.

Then in 2019, the state Supreme Court ruled in a different case that a woman couldn't stop the father of their child, who was not paying child support, from objecting to the child's adoption by her new husband. The reason: The father was following a court order that eliminated his responsibility for support payments, an order requested by the mother.

Eurochild launches second phase of its DataCare project in four countries – France, Ireland, Portugal and Romania

With the beginning of 2022, so too begins a new chapter in Eurochild’s DataCare project, with continued funding and support from UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECARO). Together, we are working to influence how Member States and the EU will monitor the new European Child Guarantee - utilising our final findings from the project.

Despite differing national definitions and categorisations of alternative care across the region, enough data are being published at national level that can be used at an aggregate level to establish comparable indicators on children in residential care and three other relevant and interlinked indicators:

The proportion of children placed in residential care compared to those placed in formal family-based care provides a useful indicator to monitor progress towards a shared goal: to ensure that children in alternative care receive high quality, inclusive, family and community-based care.

If implemented across the EU, this indicator can shed light on the effectiveness of the deinstitutionalisation reforms that are taking place in many European countries, including under the European Child Guarantee.

“We must stress that under the law, the right to adopt a child is granted to individuals, and not to couples,” Defensor, vice chairperson of the House Committee on Welfare of Children, said in a statement over the weekend.

“Our adoption law does not discriminate against LGBT individuals who may wish to adopt children who are legally available for adoption,” stressed Defensor, who is running for Quezon City mayor in the upcoming May 9, 2022 polls.

The solon made the clarification to counter the widespread public misperception that only a heterosexual couple or husband and wife may adopt a child. By his explanation, people in a same-sex relationship also have a right to do the same.

“We want to encourage the adoption of abandoned and neglected children so that they may enjoy the living conditions conducive to their full development,” Defensor said.

“We would also prefer domestic over foreign adoption to preserve the child’s identity and culture here at home,” he added.

Thailand is revising surrogacy laws to allow foreigners to hire Thai surrogate mothers without requiring one partner to be Thai. Under the proposed changes, foreigners will also be allowed to bring the eggs and sperm out of Thailand for surrogacy overseas.

Revisions to the law are aimed at promoting Thailand as a medical hub, gaining more income for the country. The authorities share that the revision will take around two months to consider and the revisions will need to be adjusted before submitting to the Cabinet.

Under the present rules and conditions, surrogacy in Thailand is allowed only for Thai couples or foreigners who have a Thai partner. Those in Thailand also cannot send their frozen eggs or sperm overseas. Thailand is losing opportunities over these two restrictions, according to the Director-General of the Department of Health Service Support, Thares Krassanai-Rawiwong.

If the law is revised, there will be a system for Thai women interested in being a surrogate to register to make sure that the children will not be trafficked. During the nine months of pregnancy and after delivery, hospitals will have a tracking system to check on the mother and baby.

There have also been a number of cases in Thailand related to illegal surrogacy. Back in May 2020, a Thai doctor faced charges for human trafficking and involvement in an illegal ring using Thai women to carry babies for people in China.

The Dutch Maud de Boer-Buquicchio has been appointed today as chairman of the board of ECPAT International. Founded in 1990, the organization is committed worldwide to combating and preventing the sexual exploitation of children. In our country, Defense for Children and ECPAT Netherlands form one organization. Carrie van der Kroon, coordinator of international programmes, lobbying and advocacy at Defense for Children – ECPAT, has been representing Western Europe on the board for three months. We are delighted with the appointment of both Maud de Boer-Buquicchio and Carrie van der Kroon and wish them both every success.

Maud de Boer-Buquicchio

Maud de Boer-Buquicchio has more than earned her spurs in the field of gender equality and the promotion of children's rights, especially in the field of protecting children against all forms of violence. For example, she was the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children for two terms, from 2014 to 2020. She focused on country visits and researching online violence against children, illegal adoptions, commercial surrogacy, child labor and the sale and sexual exploitation of children in sports. Not only the causes were discussed, but also possible protective measures and remedies.

Born in Hoensbroek in 1944, De Boer – Buquicchio attended grammar school in Deventer and studied French language and literature in Leiden, after which she switched to a law degree. After graduating, she started her working life at the European Human Rights Commission. This was followed by positions at the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe. Throughout her career, she has always worked closely with civil society and the ECPAT network. De Boer – Buquicchio, who has been awarded by several countries, said when she accepted her new position:

Maud de Boer-Buquicchio

Girls from tea garden areas are being trafficked and forced into surrogacy. A ban on commercial surrogacy under the new law, say experts, may help the illegal practice prosper.

Darjeeling/Jalpaiguri/Siliguri: The frantic calls rained down on a chilly December day. The eighteen year old girl who’d called anti-trafficking expert Amos Tsering said had run away from the house where she’d been confined by a couple whose baby she was carrying. The girl was not formally commissioned by the couple to be a surrogate; nor was there any agreement: She had, simply put, been sold.

Human traffickers have operated for long in the districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar in North Bengal, that share international borders with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, with Assam and Bihar nearby. But the business of trafficking young girls has acquired a new focus in recent years. They call it ‘bhade ki kokh’. And it feeds the relentless demand for babies from childless couples across India.

The girl who called Tsering was working in a local beauty parlour, when she met a man who promised her a job with a better salary. Taken to an undisclosed location, she was subjected to artificial insemination a month later. Then, she was handed over to the house of the couple. Six months pregnant, she finally succeeded in escaping.

After being rescued by the local NGO, the 19-year-old is now married and leading a normal life with her baby. The agent and the couple, however, are still absconding.

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Introduce…..

PLATTSBURGH — Maria D. Holderman received a perfect score shortly after her December birth in 1967 Dragasani, Romania.

This seemingly routine assessment of an infant made all the difference in her life, even in her very living.

In her new Adelaide Books release, “Children of the Decree: A Journalist’s Battle to Save Romanian Orphans and Herself,” the Keeseville resident’s memoir time travels between her selves in her country of origin and the U.S.A. that offered her refuge from dangerous times in Romania.

From 1997 to 2001, Holderman was the “Diane Sawyer of Romania” (pen name Dana Achim.)

Before leaving her native country for the United States on a one-way ticket, she was a bestselling author and an investigative reporter for the National Daily in Bucharest.