SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Second Regular Session 
SENATE 
S.B. No. 
2844 
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Introduced by Senator Manuel "Lito" M. Lapid 
AN ACT 
'15 
JUN 10 P6:17 
AFFORDING STATUS TO A DESERTED OR ABANDONED CHILD WITH 
UNKNOWN PARENTS 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Most of the matters related with the legal status of a child depend upon 
the parents. The fact of his legitimacy, the nature of his citizenship and the 
manner by which he may conduct himself with his society are dictated to the 
most extent by the status of his parents. A child of married parents is legitimate 
while those born out of wedlock are illegitimate. Though born illegitimate, a 
child may bear the father's name. Children of Filipino parents are citizens of the 
Philippines. These matters may readily be discerned not omy because there are 
laws governing the same, but also most importantly the identities of the parents 
are established. 
But how about infants left to be found in the doors of churches and"trash 
cans, which have been common nowadays? What about those children who have 
been abandoned who never had any idea of how their parents look lest knew the 
identities of the people who brought them to life? It has been unfair for them to 
be left to fend for themselves at a very young age and worse, much of the 
opportunities related with status may not be available to them. 
This measure seeks to correct the inequity created by irresponsible parents 
who chose to abandon their child to live with undefined status in the society. 
,={~ 
MAIUEL "LITO" M. LAPr-/ 


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SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Second Regular Session 
) 
) 
) 
'15 
JUN 10 P6:17 
SENATE 
S.B.No. 
2844 
Introduced by Senator Manuel "Lito" M. Lapid 
AN ACT 
AFFORDING STATUS TO A DESERTED OR ABANDONED CHILD WITH 
UNKNOWN PARENTS 
Be it enacted by the Senate a1ld the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Coo gress assembled: 
2015". 
Section 1. This Act shall be known as the "Foundling Recognition Act of 
Section 2. For purposes of this Act, a finmdling shall be a deserted or 
abandoned child or infant the identities of any parent are unknown. The 
founder shall be a person of legal age who discovered the deserted or 
abandoned child. Status shall refer to the relationship of the child with 
the community including legitimacy and citizenship. 
Section 3. For all legal intents and purposes, a foundling shall be 
recognized as the child of the founder from the time of his birth, provided 
that the foundling has lived and depended with the founder until the 
foundling reaches the age of majority; and provided further that the 
founder and the foundling has conducted as and made known themselves 
to be parent and child to their community. If the founder is married at the 
time the foundling was discovered, the foundling shall be considered the 
child of the founder and his spouse. 
Section 4. The Department of Social Welfare and Development, 
Department of Justice and the Philippine Statistics Authority is hereby 
directed to promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the efficient 
implementation of this Act 


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Section 5. Separability Clause. If any provision or part of this Act is 
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declared invalid or unconstitutional, other provisions that are not affected 
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thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect. 
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Section 6. Repealing Clause. All laws, orders, rules and regulations, or 
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parts thereof that are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are 
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hereby modified or repealed accordingly. 
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Section 7. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
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publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of 
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general circulation. 
Adopted,