Not Bone of My Bone But Still My Own: A Treatise on the Philippine Law on Adoption

The term “family” almost always bring to mind ties of blood and kinship. Professor Elizabeth Aguiling-Pangalangan, in her Treatise on the Philippine Law on Adoption, challenges us to approach the word “family” from another perspective and rightly so. Adoption, through which families are bound together not by the chance circumstance of birth but by the adoptive parents’ volition is a durable social institution of immemorial usage. Professor Pangalangan has meticulously traced the course of the development of the concept of adoption from its ancient origin to its present form. Her treatise employs the scholarly approach that navigates the reader to the evolution of the legal principles that underpin adoption as they were applied in actual cases. This approach is vital to a keen understanding of the contemporary legal principles, rules and regulations, contained in current domestic and international legal instruments on adoption. Even among those who are enlightened enough to open their homes to children not biologically their own, the law on adoption is perceived to be burdensome and complex. Many couples choose to forego the legalities of a judicially approved adoption and fail to formalize their relationship with their adoptee or they instead avail of a procedural shortcut such as the unlawful simulation of birth. The treatise of Professor Pangalangan is a masterwork that can eliminate a person’s ambivalent notion of adoption and confusion as to the procedural and substantive requirements to legalize adoption. This is so because the treatise delves into actual situations and the decisions reached by the courts not only in cases where the laws and rules are clear but also where they are ambiguous or even where there is a perceptible gap in the law or rules. Adoption illustrates the validity of the observation that law depicts the society and age in which it is crafted and that it always carries with it the authoritative force to bring about the ideals and aspirations of that society. Attitudes towards definitions of family and the legitimate purpose for which adoption should be done have changed in the course of time. Adoption is now not only seen as a viable alternative for couples to experience parenthood but more importantly it is the State’s effective means of finding suitable, loving and secure homes for children in need. This is a significant theme underlying adoption as succinctly captured in this treatise – adoptions in this jurisdiction put a high premium on the best interests of the adoptee. Professor Pangalangan’s painstaking analysis of how the detailed provisions of the laws and the rules seek to achieve this central theme fosters a greater understanding and acceptance of the laws and rules. It is timely indeed for Professor Pangalangan and the University of the Philippines College of Law to publish a comprehensive exposition on our adoption laws, their history, development and current practice. With decades of teaching, consultancy and experience in handling numerous adoption cases as a law practitioner, it is unsurprising that Professor Pangalangan treats the subject of adoption with deep insight and sensitivity to its nuances. May this treatise shine light on what heretofore had been obscured by inadequate information and outdated beliefs. Indeed, it is a valuable resource for anyone, not just legal professionals, who wish to understand Philippine adoption law and/or take advantage of its benefits to adopters and adoptees. Teresita J. Leonardo-De CastroAssociate JusticeSupreme Court of the Philippines