Fernan Carigma

The disturbing rise of online baby-selling in the Philippines, Senator Pia Cayetano on July 16 urged a Senate investigation seeking the full implementation of laws concerning trafficking and illegal adoption, due to some allegedly involving unborn children and even family members complicit in the transactions.

Photo Courtesy of CNA/Pichayada Promchertchoo/Office of Sen. Pia Cayetano.

“Babies are not commodities,” Cayetano declared, as she filed a resolution calling for a full inquiry following reports from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) that flagged online posts offering children for sale.

CHR Commissioner Beda Epres earlier revealed that babies are being “offered” for adoption in exchange for money, with some cases allegedly involving family members and organized trafficking rings, in a radio interview on July 14.

“These are heartbreaking reports that demand swift and coordinated action. The sale of children online is a gross violation of their rights and crime under our laws,” Cayetano said.

Due to the rise in online baby-selling and the potential involvement of organized groups, as well as the lack of effective enforcement and regulation, she filed a resolution that highlights the two laws she authored.

The importance of RA 9208, as amended by the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, which defines selling and adopting children for money as a form of human trafficking.

She also prompted RA 11642, or the Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act, which simplifies the legal adoption processes in the country to discourage black-market adoption and ensure children are placed in legitimate, loving homes.

“We must investigate not just the illegal sale of children online but the systemic failures that allow it to continue,” she said.

According to Cayetano, ensure that the law enforcement agencies, social workers, and digital platforms are equipped to help stop this issue.

“This issue is a painful reminder of the deep poverty and desperation that some families face. But that cannot justify the exploitation of our children,” she noted. 

The senator supported stronger digital monitoring, better teamwork among government agencies, and education at the community level. 

She promised to fully support the National Authority for Child Care (NACC) and urged for more funding and resources to help the agency enforce adoption laws and rescue children from traffickers.

“Our children deserve to grow up in safe, loving homes—not be traded in online marketplaces. We must give mothers and families real alternatives through accessible social services and humane, efficient adoption systems,” Cayetano stressed.