Introduction

Adoption in the Philippines is a juridical act that permanently severs the legal relationship between a child and his or her biological parents and establishes a new one with the adopters equivalent to legitimate filiation. Because it irrevocably terminates parental authority and all reciprocal rights and obligations arising from the original parent-child relationship, the Constitution’s due process clause (Art. III, Sec. 1) demands that all persons whose rights may be affected must be properly notified and given an opportunity to be heard.

The enactment of Republic Act No. 11642 (Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act of 2021), effective 28 January 2023, radically changed the landscape by making domestic adoption primarily administrative in nature. Judicial adoption is now the exception rather than the rule for domestic cases. Consequently, the rules on serving notice now differ significantly depending on whether the proceeding is administrative (the general rule) or judicial (inter-country adoption and certain residual domestic cases).

This article exhaustively discusses who must be notified, when notice must be served, the permissible modes of service, special rules on publication and posting, and the consequences of defective service under the present legal regime.

Governing Laws and Rules

Republic Act No. 11642 (Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act) and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (NACC Administrative Order No. 001-2023, as amended)
Republic Act No. 8043 (Inter-Country Adoption Act of 1995), as amended
A.M. No. 02-6-02-SC (2002 Rule on Adoption), as amended by A.M. No. 2023-09-01-SC to harmonize with RA 11642
Rules of Court, Rule 14 (Summons), applied suppletorily in judicial proceedings
Revised Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service (for quasi-judicial proceedings before the NACC)
Family Code, Articles 183–193 (substantive qualifications)

Persons Entitled to Notice

The following must always be notified, unless their consent has already been validly given or their parental authority has been permanently terminated:

Biological mother (always, even in cases of rape or if identity is concealed at birth)
Biological father (if he has acknowledged the child or has been judicially declared the father)
Presumed legal father (husband of the mother)
Known legal guardian
The child, if 10 years old or over (personal notice and opportunity to express views)
Legitimate or illegitimate children of the adopter who are 10 years old or over and living with the adopter
Spouse of the adopter (if married)
Spouse of the adoptee (if the adoptee is an adult)
The National Authority for Child Care (NACC) or its regional office
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) or licensed child-placing/child-caring agency with custody
Office of the Solicitor General (in judicial proceedings and in appeals from NACC decisions)

Failure to notify any of these persons when required renders the proceeding vulnerable to annulment.

Stages Requiring Service of Notice

A. Stage 1: Declaration that the Child is Legally Available for Adoption (CDCLAA)

This is the most critical stage for notice because it permanently terminates biological parental rights.

1. Voluntary Commitment (Sec. 14, RA 11642)

Parent/guardian executes Deed of Voluntary Commitment (DVC) before a social worker or NACC officer.
No further notice is required for adoption proper because consent is already given.
However, the parent has a non-extendible 90-day reclamation period (used to be 3 months under the IRR), during which notice of any matching is suspended.

2. Abandoned, Foundling, or Surrendered Children with Unknown Parents (Sec. 15–16, RA 11642; Rule V, IRR)

Mandatory exhaustive efforts to locate parents/relatives:

Publication once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality where the child was found and in Metro Manila (if necessary).
Simultaneous posting of notice/photograph of the child in at least three (3) conspicuous places (barangay hall, municipal/city hall, provincial capitol, church, public market, etc.).
Broadcast over radio/television and social media (if budget permits).
Referral to the Philippine National Police and NBI for tracing.

If no one appears within sixty (60) days from the date of last publication/posting, the child-caring agency files the Petition for CDCLAA with the NACC Regional Office. The NACC then issues the CDCLAA without further hearing unless someone appears claiming parentage.

3. Involuntary Termination of Parental Authority (Neglect, Abuse, Abandonment with Known Parents)

Intensive case management and rehabilitation efforts for at least six (6) months.
If rehabilitation fails, the DSWD or licensed agency files a Petition for Involuntary Commitment/CDCLAA.
Notice of the petition and hearing must be served personally or by registered mail on the known parents/guardian.
If service fails despite diligent efforts, substituted service or publication (once a week for three weeks) plus posting is allowed.
Parents are entitled to counsel (PAO if indigent) and to present evidence in the summary administrative hearing before the NACC.

Once CDCLAA is final and executory, biological parents lose standing to be notified in subsequent adoption proceedings.

B. Stage 2: Adoption Application Proper (Administrative)

After the child is declared LAA:

No further notice to biological parents is required.
Notice is served only on the prospective adoptive parents (approval/denial of application), the child (if 10 or over, for assent), and the child-caring agency.

C. Stage 3: Supervised Trial Custody and Final Decree

No notice to biological parents. The NACC simply issues the Decree of Adoption after six (6) months of satisfactory trial custody.

Modes of Service

In Administrative Proceedings (RA 11642 & IRR)

Personal service by NACC/social worker/sheriff
Registered mail with return card
Substituted service (leave copies at residence or office with person of sufficient age and discretion)
Publication + posting + broadcast (for unknown parents in CDCLAA stage)
Electronic service (email, SMS) is now allowed under NACC guidelines if the party previously communicated electronically

In Judicial Proceedings (Inter-Country Adoption or Residual Domestic Judicial Cases)

Personal service (Rule 14, Sec. 6)
Substituted service (Rule 14, Sec. 7)
Service by publication (Rule 14, Sec. 14; Sec. 13, Rule on Adoption):
- Once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks
- Newspaper must be accredited by the Office of the Court Administrator and of general circulation in the province/city where petitioner resides and where respondent was last known to reside
- Copy of the order and petition must also be sent by registered mail to last known address
- Affidavit of publication and affidavit of mailing must be submitted

The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that publication in adoption cases is jurisdictional when personal service is impossible (Republic v. Kho, G.R. No. 208343, 2015; In re: Adoption of Michelle Lim, G.R. Nos. 168992-93, May 21, 2009).

Consequences of Defective Service

Administrative CDCLAA or adoption decree may be annulled via Rule 108 petition or certiorari under Rule 65.
Judicial adoption decree is void ab initio and may be collaterally attacked anytime (Castro v. Gregorio, G.R. No. 188801, 2014; Republic v. Court of Appeals and Hughes, G.R. No. 100835, October 26, 1993).
Criminal liability for simulation of birth under RA 11222 (Simulation of Birth Act) if notice defects were intentional to conceal identity.

However, defects may be cured by:

Actual knowledge of the proceeding by the biological parent
Subsequent consent or acquiescence
Laches (unreasonable delay in attacking the decree)

Special Cases

Adult Adoption – Notice to spouse and to children 10 years old or over of the adopter is required.
Relative Adoption (within 4th civil degree) – Simplified procedure; consent of biological parents still required unless previously terminated.
Step-parent Adoption – Consent of non-custodial biological parent required unless parental authority already terminated.
Adoption by Foreigners Married to Filipinos – May now proceed administratively under RA 11642 if residing in the Philippines.
Inter-Country Adoption – Remains judicial; publication required if biological parents unknown.

Conclusion

Under the present regime established by RA 11642, service of notice in Philippine adoption proceedings is now concentrated almost entirely at the CDCLAA stage. Once a child is administratively declared legally available for adoption with finality, the subsequent adoption process proceeds without further notice to biological parents—a deliberate policy choice to protect the child from protracted litigation and to expedite permanent placement.

Practitioners must nevertheless document exhaustive efforts to locate and notify biological parents, because any substantial defect in notice at the CDCLAA stage will render the entire adoption void. The shift to administrative adoption has not diminished the constitutional imperative of due process; it has merely relocated and streamlined its application to better serve the paramount interest of the child.