The Philippines has ratified the Hague Convention and it has been entered into force since 1/05/1995. 

The former Adoption Board entered into an Executive Agreement with the Inter-Country Adoption Board (ICAB) of the Philippines to facilitate the adoption of children from the Philippines to Ireland. On 6 January 2011 the ICAB advised that Adoption Authority of Ireland that per review of ICAB’s records, Ireland has submitted 1 application in 2008, 2 applications in 2009 and 17 applications in 2010. Ireland is not covered by the moratorium and could still submit 11 applications in 2011 until the moratorium is lifted.

Adoption of Filipino Children under Irish Law

The ICAB have advised that intercountry adoption orders cannot be made in the Philippines in respect of children sent abroad for intercountry adoption. The arrangement is that the prospective adoptee will be placed in the custody of the prospective adoptive parents by ICAB with the adoption to take place under Irish adoption law. Bi-monthly post-placement reports on the child's health, psychological adjustment and bonding with the prospective adopters are required by ICAB for at least six months from the time of arrival of the child in Ireland.

Matching Process

The number of children released for intercountry adoption in the Philippines is limited by law to 600 per year and these children are sent all over the world for adoption. The ICAB has informed the Board that adoption applications from Irish residents will be processed as they are received and that referrals will be made on the basis of matching each child to particular applicant/s. Each adoption application will be acknowledged by the ICAB and then sent to the Placement Committee of the ICAB for review. The Placement Committee, if it is satisfied with the application, will then forward the file to the Board of ICAB for approval and the applicants will then be placed on the Roster of Approved Applicants for matching. The ICAB operate a detailed matching process and the Social Workers involved in matching children rely to a large extent on details in the home study report in relation to the type of child which the applicant/s will accept. Every effort is made to select the family that is best able to meet the needs of the child.

Medical

Effective November 1, 2009, families who have the following medical conditions will no longer be accepted by ICAB:

a. Diabetes melitus

b. Obese (BMI of PAPs should be 35 and below

c. Cancer (current and with history)

d. Kidney transplant and any major transplant (heart, lung, liver)

e. Pacemaker/strokemyocardial infarction

f. Multiple sclerosis and other degenerative muscular disorder

g. Auto immune disorders

h. Risk factors that will impede care for the child (e.g. blind, deaf, wheelchair bound)

i. Hepatitis C

Psychological Evaluation

The following Psychological tests are required for PAPs:

Minnesota Multi-Phasic Personality Inventory -2- Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) and Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory III (MCMI-III). These have been standardized among Europeran countries and access to these tests should not be a significant problem.

Yahoo group so anyone interested in socialising with kids or connections to the Philippines can join. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ifsgroup/join

The Information on The Philippines below was provided to us by Rob O' Longphuirt who presented the contents of the presentation (now condensed by ICAA (Ireland)) during the November 2009 meeting.

In relation to the Psychological Evaluation required by the Philippines, we have sourced a number of Clinic's and Individuals that can conduct the assessment. The Hazelton Clinic who's contact detail can be found on the MMPI page. We also have 3 additional Individuals who are also able to conduct the MMPI test. Please contact us by our contact page if you require their contact details.