LAWMAKERS in the Upper Chamber have urged the Department of Social Welfare and Development to strengthen the laws on adoption, especially of neglected and abandoned children, particularly those with special needs.

During the Senate’s deliberation of the proposed 2024 budget of the DSWD, it was learned that a total of 108 children were adopted through the Domestic Administrative Adoption and Child Care Act, a new law that fasttrack the adoption processes.

Senator Imee Marcos, sponsor of the proposed budget, also claimed that percentage of foreign adoption agencies is 100 percent and they are all participating.

“Only children with special needs have been cleared for intercountry adoption, and only few adaptive families have the capacity to parent special needs children,” Marcos said.

Senator Grace Poe, meanwhile, stressed that she is glad to hear that those from other countries are interested particularly in special needs children.

For her part, Sen. Pia Cayetano noted that while foreigners have a soft heart in adopting children with special needs, Filipinos share the same soft heart when it comes to adoption of these children.

“I think what we really also need to be mindful about is to support these families who will open their doors to these children with needs,” Cayetano said.

“There’s a lot of work to do. And if there’s anything we can do to further help, there is a place for these children in the homes of families abroad… because every child deserves a home,” she added