Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasang Pambansa, Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. _3 274

INTRODUCED BY REP. JOSEPH VICTOR G. EJERCITO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The nurture, care, support and development of the child is the
utmost responsibility of the family. There are instances, however, in
which the family cannot function as such, hence the need for
alternative care. When problems of broken home, unwed motherhood,
abandonment, illness or extreme poverty and the like seriously disrupt
family relationships, substitute parental care becomes necessary.

Foster care is a planned substitute parental care for a child by a
licensed foster parent when his biological parents cannot care for him.
Children who are abandoned, neglected or with delayed development
and poor health can be placed in foster homes. Instead of putting the
child in an institution, foster homes can be the best substitute because
of the social and emotional values they can offer to children who are in
need of love, care and attention and can provide an atmosphere where
a child can experience a healthy family life.

The passage of this bill on foster care is indeed significant in the
light of the growing proportion of Filipino children urgently needing
alternative family care.

Hence, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

JOSEPH VICTOR G. EJERCITO


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasang Pambansa, Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
3274
HOUSE BILL NO.

INTRODUCED BY REP. JOSEPH VICTOR G. EJERCITO

AN ACT
TO STRENGTHEN AND PROPAGATE FOSTER CARE FOR
ABANDONED
AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN AND OTHER CHILDREN
WITH SPECIAL
NEEDS, PROVIDING APPROPRIATIONS THEREFOR
AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

ARTICLE 1
GENERAL PROVISIONS

SECTION 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Foster
Care Act of
2010”.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - The Constitution, Article 15
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 and with developmental and physical disability
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 for 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 chuid

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms.- For purposes of ths Act, the
following terms are defined as:

"Agency" refers to any child care or child placement institution
licensed and accredited by the DSWD to implement the foster care
program;

"Child" refers to a person below eighteen (18) years of age, or
those over but is unable to fully take care of himself/herself or protect
himself/herself from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation or
discrimination because of a physical o mental disability or condition;

"Child Case Study Report" refers to a written report prepared by
a social worker containing all the necessary information on a child;

"Child With Special Needs" refers to a child with physical or
mental disability or condition;

“Foster Care" refers to the provision of planned temporary
substitute parental care to a child by a foster parent;

"Foster Family Care License" refers to the document issued by
the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)
authorizing the foster parent to provide foster care;

“Foster Parent" refers to a person, duly licensed by the DSWD,
to provide foster care to a child;

"Foster Placement Authority” refers to the document issued by
the DSWD authorizing the placement of a particular child with the
foster parent;

"Home Study Report" refers to a written report prepared by a
social worker containing the necessary information on a prospective
parent/family members;

"Matching" refers to the judicious pairing of a child with a foster
parent and family members based on the capacity and commitment of
the foster parents to meet the individual needs of a particular child and
the capacity of the child to benefit from the placement;

"Parents" refers to the biological or adoptive parents or
guardian;

"Placement" refers to the physical transfer of the child with the
foster parent; and


"Social Worker" refers to the registered or licensed Social Worker
of the DSWD, Local Government Unit (LGU) or Agency.

ARTICLE II
ELIGIBILITY

SEC. 4. Who May Be Placed on Foster Care. - A child may be
placed on foster care if he/she 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;

c) Child with developmental and/or physical disability;

d) Child whose parents or guardians are temporarily or
permanently unable to provide the child 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 ahs been disrupted;

h) Child under social difficulties such as, but not limited to,
street child, child in armed conflict and those who are victims of child
labor or trafficking; and

i) Child who has committed a minor offense but has been
released on recognizance or on custody supervision or his/her case
dismissed but whose family or relatives are not capable of providing
him/her with care.

SEC. 5. Who May Be a Foster Parent. - Any applicant must
meet all the following qualifications:

a) Must have a genuine interest, capacity and commitment in

parenting and be able to provide a family atmosphere for the

child;

b) Must be of legal age;

c) Must have a healthy and harmonious relationship with each
family member;


d) Must have good moral character, emotional maturity, be
physically and mentally capable and whose resources are able to
provide for the family's needs; and

e) Must be willing to be trained to further hone his/her
knowledge, attitudes and skills in caring for a child.

f) The relatives of the child shall be given priority to be the foster
parent.

An alien possessing the above qualifications and has resided in
the Philippines for at least six (6) months may qualify as a foster
parent.

ARTICLE IIT
PROCEDURE

SEC. 6. Recruitment and Development of Foster Parents. —
Social Workers shall reach out to communities to recruit applicants for
foster care.

SEC. 7. Issuance of License. - The DSWD shall issue a license
based on the home study report submitted by the Agency to
determine the motivations, capacities and potentials for development
of applicants. The license is renewable every three (3) years unless
earlier revoked by the DSWD.

SEC. 8. Matching. - Matching shall be done by the Agency 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 the foster parent's 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 (FPA) has been issued.

SEC. 10. Supervision of Foster Placement. - Supervised
foster placement begins as soon as the foster parent receives the child
into his/her care.

During the 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 case of incident, injury or death of a foster child, or if he/she
runs away or gets lost, such case shall be reported immediately to the
Agency, which, in turn, shall immediately 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.

ARTICLE IV
ADOPTION OF A FOSTER CHILD

SEC. 12. Conditions. - A foster parent may adopt his/her foster
child through the following conditions:

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 1998”. Or Republic Act No. 8043,
otherwise known as “Inter-Country Adoption Act of 1995”, as the
case may be;

b) The trial custody, as required in adoption, may be
waived; Provided, that a harmonious relationship exists between
the child and his/her foster parents and family members; and

c) The procedures for adoption, for purposes of this Act,
shall be governed by Republic Act No. 8552 or Republic Act No.
8043, as the case may be.

ARTICLE V
ASSISTANCE AND INCENTIVES

SEC. 13. Assistance to a Foster Child.-

a) Foster Child Subsidy. - A foster child, through the Agency,
shall be entitled to a monthly subsidy from the DSWD, subject to
existing government auditing rules and regulations. The subsidy
is primarily aimed to support the expenses of the child to lessen
the financial burden of the foster parent.

b) Health Insurance - A foster child shall be entitled to health
insurance benefits subject to the guidelines to be used by the
DSWD and PHILHEALTH.

SEC. 14. Assistance and Incentives to a Foster Parent. -

Special Discounts - To the extend possible, the government
may grant special discounts to a foster parent on the purchase of basic
commodities for the exclusive use of a foster child subject to the
guidelines to be issued for the purpose by the Department of Trade
and Industry (DTI).

Support Care Services - The DSWD, the social service units of
local governments and Agencies 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.


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 him/her as “head of the family"
entitled to the P25,000.00 personal exemption under the provisions of
Section 35 (A) of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997.

Additional Exemption for Dependents. - For purposes of
claiming the P8,000.00 additional exemption of foster parents for
each dependent not exceeding four (4), the definition of the term
"dependent" under Section 35 (B) 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. Provided, further, that this additional
exemption shall be allowed only if the period of foster care is at least a
continuous period of one (1) taxable year.

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 year to the exclusion of the
parents and other foster parents of the child, if any.

SEC. 15. Incentives to Agencies and Donors. -

a) Agencies - Agencies and donations to agencies shall be
entitled to the following tax incentives:

(1) Exemption from Income Tax -An Agency, which must be an
accredited Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), shall be
Exempt from income tax on the income derived by it under the
provision of Sec. 30 of the Tax Code, as implemented by
Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 13-98; and It can also apply for
qualification as a qualified-donee institution entitled to receive
donations from donors who shall be exempt from Donor’s Tax.

b) Donors - Donations to an accredited NGO shall be entitled to
the following:

(1) Full deductibility from the gross income of the donor of the
amount donated subject to the conditions provided for under
Sec. 34 (H) of the Tax Code of 1997; and

(2) Exemption from donor’s tax under Sec. 101 of the Tax Code
provided that not more than 30% of the amount of donations shall be
spent for administrative expenses.

ARTICLE V
PENALTIES

SEC. 16. Penalties. -
a) Any foster parent, found to be committing any act of neglect,

abuse, cruelty or exploitation and other similar acts prejudicial to the
child’s development, shall be penalized in accordance with Republic Act


No. 7610, 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, natural or juridical, who violates any provision of
this Act shall be penalized with imprisonment of not less than three (3)
months but not more than three (3) years, or a fine of not less than
Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00) but not more than One Hundred
Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00), or both at the discretion of the court.

c) An Agency which violates any provision of this Act and its
implementing rules and regulations shall suffer the following penalties:

1) For the first violation, a fine of not less than Five Thousand
Pesos (P5,000.00) but not exceeding Twenty Thousand Pesos
(P20,000.00); and

2) For any subsequent violation, a fine of not less than Twenty
Thousand Pesos (P20,000.00) but not exceeding One Hundred
Thousand (P100,000.00) and revocation of its license to operate.

ARTICLE VI1
FINAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 17. 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 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;

¢) Monitor the implementation, review and recommend changes
in policies concerning foster care and other matters related to
the child’s welfare;

d) Submit to the President of the Philippines and to Congress an
annual report of the policies, programs and activities relative to
the implementation of this Act; and

€) Perform such other functions and duties as may be prescribed
by the DSWD.

SEC. 18. Appropriation. - The amount necessary to carry out
the provisions of this Act shall be included in the General
Appropriations Act of the year following its enactment into law and
thereafter. An initial amount of Twenty- Five Million Pesos
(P25,000,000.00) shall be allocated for the first year of its operation.
Such sum shall be in the allocation for child-related programs of the
DSWD.


SEC. 19. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The DSWD,
as lead agency, Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Health
(DOH), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Council for the Welfare of
Children (CWC), and other concerned government agencies, in
consultation with accredited child-caring institutions and organizations
with foster care programs, are hereby mandated to prepare and draft
the implementing rules and regulations to operationalize the provisions
of this Act within three (3) months from its effectivity.

SEC. 20. 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. 21. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is
held invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected
hereby shall remain valid and subsisting.

SEC. 22. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen
(15) days following its complete publication in two (2) newspapers of
general circulation or in the Official Gazette.

Approved,