NATIONAL Authority for Child Care or NACC Executive Director and Undersecretary Janella Estrada divulged that they are working with the Philippine National Police and the Department of Information and Communications Technology to take down the illegal social media pages.

Estrada said this coordination led to the reduction on the number of Facebook pages purportedly being used to sell babies.

“Last week, we had a meeting with PNP and DICT, ‘yung CICC nila and WDCC. So from 23 pages, naging 7 na lang,” Estrada said.

The official also confirmed the arrest in Catarman, Northern Samar of a mother who sold her children aged 1 and 2 to an undercover PNP agent for P30,000 each

Estrada also announced the holding of final two stops of the 1st National Congress on Adoption, and Alternative Child Care in Clark, Pampanga for the North and Central Luzon clusters, and Cebu City for the Visayas cluster.

The Pampanga and Cebu legs of the National Congress will be held on June 19 and 20, and June 26 and 27, respectively.

She said the congress serves as an avenue for the NACC to strengthen partnerships with local government units in the implementation of adoption, and alternative childcare programs and services at the grassroots level.

For the Philippine Foster Care Program, 29 LGUs have signed a memorandum of agreement with the NACC for the development of foster parents while 22 more are currently in process.

A total of 216 LGUs participated, with some 34 mayors on board in the Mindanao cluster and the Metro Manila and South Luzon clusters.

Estrada said these activities will boost the ongoing efforts of the NACC to promote legal adoption and combat illegal online adoption practices.

“The NACC is committed to safeguard and protect the rights and welfare of the most vulnerable Filipino children. We believe that these are the programs that help us in a big way,” Estrada said.