FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
S. No. 
Introduced by Senator Manny Villar 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
This bill seeks to strengthen and propagate foster care for abused, 
abandoned, neglected and other children with special needs so that they will be 
provided with alternative family care. 
It cannot be denied that in our society, there are individuals and families in 
crisis situations. And while indeed parents are responsible for providing their 
children with the proper environment for them to grow up as upright individuals 
and responsible citizens, those placed in crisis situations could not and fail to 
fulfill this responsibility, thus giving rise to abandoned and neglected children. 
The situation is worse for abused who are physically andlor sexually abused. 
Only timely and proper social intervention can address the problem and here, 
foster caring is a strong alternative. 
This bill then seeks to provide a comprehensive legal framework within 
which the welfare and interests of those needing foster care and those who can 
provide it can be harmonized. This is to give flesh to the Constitutional mandate 
for the State to provide social protection to children and youth. 
In view of the foregoing premises, approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 


FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
S.NO.= 
6 
. ,  
Introduced by Senator Manny Villar 
AN ACT TO STRENGTHEN AND PROPAGATE FOSTER CARE FOR 
ABUSED, ABANDONED, NEGLECTED AND OTHER CHILDREN WITH 
SPECIAL NEEDS, PROVIDING APPROPRIATIONS THEREFOR AND FOR 
OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Title. -This 
Act shall be known as the “Foster Care Act of 
2008’. 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. -- Article XV of the Constitution provides 
that the State shall defend the right of children to assistance, including proper 
care and nutrition, and special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, 
cruelty, exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to their development. 
It is hereby declared the policy of the State to provide every child who is 
abused neglected, surrendered, dependent, abandoned, under socio-cultural 
difficulties and with special needs with an alternative family that will provide love 
and care as well as opportunities for growth and development. 
The State shall guarantee that all the rights of the child enumerated under 
Article 3 of Presidential Decree No. 603, otherwise known as “The Child and 
Youth Welfare Code”, as amended, and the rights found under Article 20 of the 
United nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, shall be observed. 
Towards this end, the State shall systematize and enhance foster care 
program in the country. It shall ensure that the foster family shall provide a 
wholesome atmosphere to the foster child. 
The State shall also protect the rights of the biological child of the foster 
family and ensure that in no case shall he/she be disadvantaged as a result of 
the placement of a foster child. 
SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the following 
terms are defined as: 
a) “Agency” refers to any child-caring or child-placing institution licensed and 
accredited by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWP) to 
implement the foster care program. 


b) "Child" refers to a person below eighteen (18) years of age, or one who is over 
but is unable to fully take care of or protect himselWherself from abuse, neglect, 
cruelty, exploitation or discrimination because of a physical or mental disability or 
condition. 
c) "Child Case Study Report" refers to a written report prepared by a social 
worker containing all the necessary information on a child. 
d) "Child with special needs" refers to a child with developmental and/or physical 
disability. 
e) "Poster Care" refers to the provision of planned temporary substitute parental 
care to a child by a foster parent. 
f) "Foster Child" refers to a child placed under foster care. 
g) "Foster Family Care License" refers to the document issued by the DSWD, 
authorizing the foster parent to provide foster care. 
h) "Foster Parent" refers to a person duly licensed by the DSWD to provide foster 
care to a child. 
i)"Foster Placement Authority" refers to the document issued by the DSWD, 
authorizing the placement of a particular child with a foster parent. 
j) "Home Study Report" refers to a written report prepared by a social worker 
containing the necessary information on a prospective foster parent/ family 
member. 
k) "Matching" refers to the judicious pairing of a child with foster parents and 
family members based on the capacity and commitment of the foster parents to 
meet the individual needs of the child and the capacity of the child to benefit from 
the placement. 
I) "Parents" refers to the biological or adoptive parents or guardians. 
m) "Placement" refers to the physical transfer of the child to the foster parent. 
n) "Social Worker" refers to the registered and licensed social worker of the 
DSWD, Local Government Unit (LGU), or agency. 
ARTICLE II 
ELIGIBILITY 
SEC. 4. Who May Be Placed Under Foster Care. A child may be place 
under foster care if helshe is in need of special protection, as assessed by a 
social worker, due, but not limited to, any of the following circumstances: 
a) Child who is abandoned, surrendered, neglected, dependent or 
orphaned; 
b) Child who is a victim of sexual, physical, or any other form of abuse or 
exploitation; 
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c) Child with special needs; 
d) Child whose parents are temporarily or permanently unable to provide 
him/her with adequate care; 
e) Child awaiting adoptive placement and would have to be prepared for 
family life; 
f)Child who needs long-term care and close family ties but who cannot be 
placed for adoption; 
g) Child whose adoption has been disrupted; 
h) Child under socio-legal difficulties, such as, but not limited to, street 
child, child in armed conflict, one who is a victim bf child labor or 
trafficking, and child whose family andlor himselflherself is affected by 
HP/-AIDS; and 
i) Child who has committed a minor offense but has been released on 
recognizance or on custody supervision or hislher case dismissed but 
whose family or relatives are not capable of providing himlher care. 
SEC. 5. Who May Be a Foster Pare: - 
Any applicant who meets all the 
a) Must be of legal age; 
b) Must have a genuine interest, capacity, and commitment in parenting 
be able to provide a family atmosphere for the child; 
c) Must have a healthy and harmonious relationship with each family 
member; 
d) Must have good moral character; 
e) Must be physically and mentally capable and emotionally mature; 
9 Must have sufficient resources to provide for the family's needs; and 
g) Must be willing to be trained to further hone hislher knowledge, 
attitudes and skills in caring for a child. 
following qualifications may be a foster parent: 
The relatives of the child shall be given priority to be the foster parenffs. 
An alien possessing the above-stated qualifications and has resided in the 
Philippines for at least six (6) continuous months and will continue to stay in the 
country for the duration of the foster placement may qualify as a foster parent. 
ARTICLE 111 
PROCEDURE 
SEC. 6. Recruitment and Development of Poster Parent. Social workers 
shall reach out to communities to recruit and develop applicants for foster care. 
SEC. 7. Issuance of License. - The DSWD shall issue a license to 
applicant foster parents after determining their motivation, capacities and 
3 


potentials for development on the basis of a home study report submitted by an 
.
.
 
agency or LOU concerned. The licensed is renewable unless earlier revoked by 
the DSWD. 
SEC. 8. Matching. - 
matching shall be done by the agency/les or LOU 
concerned only after the child case study and the home study have been 
conducted. The child case study report shall establish the needs of the child for 
consideration in the selection of the foster parent. Likewise, the home study 
report shall establish said foster parent‘ capacity and resources to provide a safe, 
secure and loving home to the child. 
SEC. 9. Placement. - The physical transfer of the child to the foster 
parent shall be allowed only after the Foster Placement Authority has been 
issued, except in emergency cases when the life of the child is in danger or at 
risk due to natural or manmade disasters. The DSWD shall issue the Foster 
Placement Authority within five (5) working days from submission of application 
thereof Otherwise, the application for a Foster Placement Authority shall be 
deemed approved after the lapse of said period without express or written denial 
thereof 
SEC. 10. Supervision of Foster Placement. -- Supervised Foster 
Placement begins as soon as the foster parent receives the child into hidher 
care. 
During tile foster placement, the social worker shall conduct regular home 
visits to monitor the child’s adjustment in the foster home and shall submit 
progress reports to the DSWD. 
In ease of injury of death of a foster child or if he/she runs away or gets 
lost, such incident shall be reported immediately to the agency which, in turn, 
shall report the same to the DSWD. 
SEC. 11. Termination of Placement. -- Termination of‘ placement shall be 
done by the DSWD upon the recommendation of the agency of LOU. 
ARTICLE IV 
ADOPTION OF A FOSTER CHILD 
SEC. 12. Conditions. -- A foster parent may adopt hidher foster child 
a) The foster parent must have all the qualifications as provided for by 
Republic Act No, 8552, otherwise known as the “Domestic Adoption Act of 
998”, or Republic Act No. 8043, Otherwise known as the “Inter-Country 
Adoption Act of 1995”, as the case may be; 
b) The foster child has not yet been matched for adoption; 
c) The trial custody, as required in adoption, may be waived by The 
DSWD: Provided, that a harmonious relationship exists between the child 
and hislher foster parents and family members; and 
d) For purposes of this Act, the procedure for adoption shall be governed by 
Republic Act No. 8552 or Republic Act No. 8043, as the case may be. 
through the following conditions. 
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ARTICLE V 
ASSISTANCE TO FOSTER PARENTS 
SEC. 13. Foster Child Subsidy. - 
A foster child shall be given a monthly 
SEC. 14. Assistance and Incentives to Foster Parent - Foster parents 
(a) Support Care Services - 
The DSWD, the social service unit of the 
LGU or the agency shall provide support care services to include, but not limited 
to, counseling, visits, training on child care and development, respite care, skills 
training and livelihood assistance. 
(b) Personal Exemption - For purposes of determining the taxable 
income of a foster parent who is either unmarried, widow/widower or legally 
separated, a foster child shall be treated as a dependent by the said foster parent 
that would qualify hidher as “head of the family” entitled to the personal 
exemption under the provision of Section 3 5(A) of the National Internal Revenue 
Code (NIRC) of W97. 
subsidy b” the LGU with augmentation from the DSWD. 
shall be entitled to the following assistance and tax incentives: 
(c) Additional Exemption for Dependents - 
For purposes of claiming the 
additional exemption of‘ foster parenus for each dependent not exceeding four, 
the definition of the term “dependent“ under Section 35(8) of the NIRC of 1997 
shall be amended to include “foster child”: Provided, however, that all the other 
conditions provided for under the aforesaid section of the Tax Code are complied 
with. 
The foregoing provisions to the contrary notwithstanding, for purposes of 
this section, only one foster parent can treat the foster child as dependent for a 
particular taxable years to the exclusion of the parents and other foster parents of 
the child, if any. The DSWD shall issue a tax exemption certificate for this 
purpose. 
SEC. 15. Incentives to Agency - The agency shall be entitled to the 
following tax incentives: 
(a) Exemption from Income Tax - 
The agency, which must be a DSWD 
accredited non-government organization (NGO), shall be exempt froth income 
tax on the income derived by it as such organization under the provision of 
Section 30 of the Tax Code, as implemented by Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 
13-98. 
(b) Qualification as a Donee Institution - 
The agency can also apply for 
SEC. 16. Incentives to Donor - 
The donor to an accredited NGO shall be 
qualification as a donee institution entitled to receive donations from donors. 
entitled to the following: 
(a) Full deductibility from the gross income of the donor of the amount 
donated subject to the conditions provided for under Section 34 (1 12c) of the Tax 
Code of 1997, otherwise, the donor shall only be entitled to a limited deduction in 
an amount in excess often percent (10%) in the case of an individual engaged in 
business or in the practice of a profession and five percent (5%) in the case of a 
corporation. 
5 


(b) Exemption from donor's tax subject to the provisions of Section 01 (A3) 
and (B2) of the Tax Code Provided, that not more than thirty percent (30%) of the 
amount of donations shall be used by such donee for administrative purposes 
ARTICLE VI 
PENALllES 
SEC. 17. Penalties. - 
(a) Any person found to be committing any act of 
neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation or other similar acts prejudicial lo the foster 
child's development shall be penalized in accordance with Republic Act No; 
7610, as amended, otherwise known as "An Act Providing For Stronger 
Deterrence and Special Protection Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and 
Discrimination, Providing For Its Violation, And For Other Purposes", and other 
applicable laws. 
(b) Any person who violates any provision of this Act shall be penalized 
with imprisonment of not less than three months but not more than, three years 
or a fine of not less than Ten Thousand Pesos (PlO,OOO.OO) but not more than 
One Hundred Thousand Pesos (PlO0,OOO.OO) or both, at the discretion of the 
court. 
(c) Any agency which violates any provision of this Act and its 
implementing rules and regulations shall be penalized as follows: 
(1) For the first violation, a fine of not less than Five Thousand 
Pesos (P5,OOO.OO) but not exceeding Twenty Thousand Pesos 
(P20, 000.00); and 
(2) For any subsequent violation, a fine of not less than Twenty 
Thousand Pesos (P20,OOO.OO) but not exceeding One Hundred 
Thousand Pesos (PlOO,OOO.OO) and the revocation of its 
license to operate. 
(d)lf the offender is a public official, the court may impose the additional 
penalty of disqualification from office in addition to the penalties provided 
in the preceding paragraph. 
ARTICLE VI1 
FINAL PROVISION 
SEC. 18, Foster Care Committee. The Regional Child Welfare Specialist 
Group of the DSWD shall serve as the Foster Care Committee which shall have 
the following functions: 
(a) Review and deliberate on issues affecting the placement of a particular 
child: 
(b) Make recommendations to resolve any dispute between, and among 
the agency, the parents, foster parents, and the child; 
6 


(c) Monitor the implementation, review and recommend changes in 
policies and other matters concerning foster care and the child’s welfare; and 
(d) Perform such other functions and duties as may be prescribed by the 
DSWD. 
SEC. 19. Appropriations. The amount necessary to carry out the provision 
of this Act shall included in the General Appropriations Act of the year following 
its enactment into law and thereafter. An initial amount of Twenty Million Pesos 
(P20,000,000.00) shall be allocated for the first year of its operations. Such sum 
shall be in the allocation for the child-related programs of the DSWD. 
SEC. 20. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - 
The DSWD as lead 
agency, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Department of 
Justice, the Department of Health, the Council for the Welfare of Children, and 
other concerned government agencies, in consultation with accredited child- 
caring institutions and organizations with foster care programs and both Houses 
of Congress, are, hereby mandated to draft the implementing rules and 
regulations to operationalize the provisions of this Act within three months from 
its effectivity. 
SEC. 21. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree, issuance, 
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule and regulation 
contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, 
modified or amended accordingly. 
SEC. 22, Separability (7ause. - If any provision of this Act is held invalid 
or unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected thereby shall remain valid 
and subsisting. 
SEC. 23. Effectivity Clause. - 
This act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
following its publication in two newspapers of general circulation or in the Official 
Gazette 
Approved, 
7