news The Sunday Times SUNDAY BY SAMMY MARTIN AND JOVEE MARIE N. DELA CRUZ REPORTERS


A 3


D e cember 5, 2010


NDF chief negotiator back in Manila L


Man to adopt nephews


from addict mother


Dear PAO, I want to consult with you our dilemma. I have a sister who has been a drug-dependent for several years now. She has two children who were born out of wedlock. One child is 8 years old and the other is 3 years old. Our brother, who works in Manila, wants to adopt our two nephews. He does not have children of his own and just wants to take care of them while he still can. I really think they will have a better future if they are with him. Is this possible? What does my brother need to do? Gemini


Dear Gemini, Adoption, when done for the right reasons, is a very selfless act on the part of the adopter as he know- ingly takes the responsibility of tak- ing care of and rearing another who may or may not be related to him. But there is no easy route in adopt- ing a child.


The petition for adoption must be


filed by the prospective adoptive parent before the Regional Trial Court, sitting as a Family Court, of the province or city where he re- sides, and a hearing will ensue rela- tive to this petition where it will be determined whether or not prospec- tive adoptive parent is qualified to adopt a child and whether or not the adoptee is available for adoption. In the situation you have pre- sented before us, we feel that even if your brother is not the adoptive parents of your nephews, this does not mean that he cannot take care of them and look after their needs. Being their relative, he may still guide them and provide for them. However, if your brother truly de- sires to adopt your nephews and be declared as their parents, it is neces- sary for him to prove that he is qualified to adopt them through a petition for adoption. Under the Rules on Domestic


Adoption, the adopter must be (1) a Filipino citizen; (2) of legal age; (3) in possession of full civil capac- ity and legal rights; (4) of good moral character; (5) emotionally and psychologically capable of car- ing for children; (6) at least 16 years older than the adoptee; (7) in a po- sition to support and care for his children in keeping with the means of the family; and (8) must not have been convicted of any crime involv- ing moral turpitude (Section 4, id) Insofar as your nephews are con- cerned, it should be shown that they are neglected children considering that there is no indication in your letter that they have been commit- ted to the Department of Social Welfare and Development as avail- able for adoption. According to the Rule, a neglected


child is “one whose basic needs have been deliberately not attended to or in- adequately attended to, physically or emotionally, by his parents or guard- ian.” If they are not under this class of children, they must not be dis- qualified under the law to be adopted. (Section 5, id)


Another paramount considera- tion in adoption proceedings is the welfare and best interest of the chil- dren. Thus, it will be required by the court for the children and their bio- logical parents to undergo a child study report as well as a home study report on the adopter.


There will also be supervised trial custody of the adoptee for a period of at least six months within which they are expected to adjust psychologically and emo- tionally to each other and estab- lish a bonding relationship. Should the court find your brother suitable to adopt your nephews and it is found that the adoption will be for their best interest, the court may grant him his petition.


Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily col- umn of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net or via text message (key in: Times dearpao <YOUR QUESTIONS> and send to 2299).


UIS JALANDONI, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDF) chief peace negotiator, is back in the country after successfully reaching an agreement with government for the resumption of peace talks.


Jalandoni arrived together with this


wife, Coni Ledesma, on board the Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 on Saturday, just a day after the government and the communist group announced the longest holiday ceasefire. According to Undersecretary Alex-


ander Padilla, chief of the govern- ment’s negotiating panel to the Com- munist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), this is the fruit of their talks during a two-day meet- ing with their counterparts in Hong Kong, as they both agreed to an 18-


day ceasefire, which starts on the first day of Simbang Gabi, December 16. Earlier, Jalandoni and Padilla had


a two-day informal meeting in Hong Kong. The two had agreed to resume the stalled peace talks early next year. “We are very happy to be back,” said Jalandoni. “We had a fruitful, meaningful and cordial meeting with Atty. Alexander Padilla and Atty. Pablito Sanidad of the GRP [Government of the Repub- lic of the Philippines],” he said. Jalandoni added that the NDF and the government agreed to hold the formal peace talks in the third week of February with pre-


Vigilance


liminary talks set for the third week of January citing the positive atmosphere being projected by the Aquino administration. The peace talks between the gov- ernment and the NDF had been in a stalemate all throughout the nine-year term of the Arroyo administration.


Positive indication The NDF chief peace negotiator said


he believes that President Benigno Aquino 3rd gave a positive indica- tion of his seriousness in finding a solution to the problem with the ap- pointment of Padilla to chair the government’s peace panel. Jalandoni praised Padilla whom he noted as a well known human rights lawyer who was active in the move- ment against the Marcos dictatorship. Padilla on the other hand assured the NDF leadership that the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (Jasig) is still in effect. The Jasig is an accord signed by the NDF and government peace ne- gotiating panels in 1995. It guar- antees peace panel members, con-


sultants, staff and all others in- volved in the peace negotiations security and immunity from arrest, detention and other antagonistic military and legal actions. Padilla is expecting to end the dis- pute between the government and the communist rebels the soonest possi- ble time but did not give any further details on the progress of their talks. The NDF had announced last month that Jalandoni may pay a courtesy call to President Aquino before Christmas, but had a second thought after they learned that the President’s “negative attitude” to- ward the proposed meeting. All he can say is the pacing is fast compare to the past peace talks and he is optimistic that the four-decade conflict will not last long. Jalandoni said they are looking


forward for the resumption of for- mal talks with the government to address the roots of the armed con- flict and take up issues like land re- form and national industrialization. The peace panels agreed to have preliminary talks tentatively set on


Palace welcomes changes in travel advisories vs. PHL


MALACAÑANG is happy that Australia and France have amended their travel advisories against the Philippines by removing references to an “imminent terrorist attack.” Abigail Valte, Palace deputy presidential spokesman in a radio interview said that the change in Australia’s travel advisory—dropping the phrase imminent attack in Metro Manila—“is a significant development because it removed the contentious part.” Valte said, “We are very


PHOTO BY JESSIE LAURETA


Relatives and friends of the "Morong 43" stage a protest rally along Kalaw Avenue in Manila on Saturday to demand the release of the detained health workers.


Trillanes eyes early release with Congress’ approval of amnesty


DETAINED Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th is hoping to be released as soon as the Congress approves President Benigno Aquino 3rd’s amnesty grant, his lawyer said Saturday. Lawyer Reynaldo Robles was referring to the Presidential Proclamation 75 which grants amnesty to active and former personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philip- pine National Police and their supporters who may have com- mitted crimes punishable under the Revised Penal Code, the Articles of War and other laws in connection with the 2003 Oakwood mutiny, the 2006 Marines stand off and the 2007 Peninsula Manila hotel siege.


Both the Senate and the House of Representatives is expected to concur on the amnesty grant next week just in time before the Christmas break, but freedom for the would-be amnesty beneficiaries is likely to be delayed since they would still have to apply for amnesty, as Proclamation 75 did not state specific names to whom the amnesty will be granted. The amnesty applications will then be evaluated and decided upon by the Department of National Defense. “The application for the amnesty is really to validate if the appli- cants are covered by the amnesty. There is no doubt that Senator Trillanes is covered. It is possible that he could be freed after Con- gress’ concurrence. That is within the powers of the President,” Robles told reporters during the weekly Kapihan Sa Sulo news forum. Trillanes, who has been incarcerated for the last seven years,


was elected as a senator in 2007 despite being behind bars. Only him and Capt. Nicanor Faeldon are the two remaining soldiers in detention out of the at least 380 soldiers charged with coup d ‘etat and rebellion charges during the 2003 Oakwood mutiny and the 2007 Peninsula Manila siege. Robles underscored that Trillanes deserves to be released pending the Defense department’s decision on his looming amnesty application, considering that he has the mandate of the people as a Senator. Trillanes, Robles said, religiously attended to his duties as a senator despite being in detention as shown by at least 600 Senate bills attached to his name. At least 18 out of the 600 bills were passed into law namely: the Philippine Baselines law, expanding the beneficiaries of Home Development and Mutual Fund and Cheaper Medicines Bill. “These are significant pieces of legislation. He has the man- date of the people. He should be given a chance to fulfill it,” Robles pointed out. Robles also expressed confidence that Trillanes’ hopes of early release is likely considering that the government has al- ready issued safety pass to Luis Jalandoni who is the chief ne- gotiator for the National Democratic Front to reinforce the Communists’ peace talks with the government. “The government could take the initiative [to release him]. If they can give a safety pass to Jalandoni who is a member of the CPP-NPA, why can’t they do the same to Sen. Trillanes who has the mandate of the people?” he said in closing, referring to the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army. LLANESCA T. PANTI


happy it has happened. It shows us our efforts to have the advisories revised are bearing fruit.” She added these changes done by Australia and France have significant effects to the development of the Philip- pines, which is trying to attract tourists and investors.


In October, Australia and France were among the six countries that issued travel advisories against the Philip- pines warning their citizens for possible terrorist attacks in the country after a thwarted terror attack in the United States. Besides Australia and France, the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada were the other coun- tries that issued advisories. Valte said, President Benigno Aquino 3rd, during his attend- ance to the Leaders summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Yokohama, Japan questioned the basis for the advisory issued by six countries insisting that they were based on raw data. President Aquino asked the


removal of the “imminent terror attack” part, she said. JOVEE MARIE N. DELA CRUZ


January 14 to 18, 2011 and agreed to hold formal peace talks on February 19 to 25, 2011 in Oslo, Norway. Jalandoni, a former priest said his homecoming was only a “private, fam- ily visit,” and he would be staying only for two weeks. He said he had received government reassurances of a safe pas- sage to and from the country. Meanwhile, a Malacañang official reminded on Saturday the NPA not to use the 19-day ceasefire to recruit new members. Abigail Valte, Palace deputy presi- dential spokesman in a radio inter- view said, “We hope the ceasefire will not be used for any purpose other than what was agreed upon.” She added that the government peace panel negotiated in good faith and expects “other parties that come to the negotiating table to act in the same manner.” “We will operate within the bounds of the law, our policy at the beginning is we will negotiate in good faith,” she said.


WITH REPORT FROM FRANCIS EARL A. CUETO


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