End Online Baby Selling, Address Root Causes

Online baby selling in the Philippines is not just a criminal enterprise, it is a symptom of deeper social, legal, and economic failures.

While authorities have rightly cracked down on individuals using Facebook to traffic children under the guise of “adoption,” and while nine victims have been rescued and 14 perpetrators arrested from February 2024 to April 2025, the story does not, and must not, end there. The public must understand that behind every illegal adoption transaction is not only a buyer and a trafficker, but often a birth mother trapped by desperation.

In many narratives, the demand side gets all the attention: adoptive parents seeking shortcuts and traffickers exploiting loopholes.

But rarely do we examine the supply side – why some parents, particularly unwed mothers, are driven to offer their children online in the first place. This is where law enforcement and public awareness, while necessary, become incomplete responses.

We must confront the economics of desperation. There are few studies on the motivations behind baby selling, but a strong parallel exists in the extensive literature on online sexual exploitation of children (OSAEC).

The Child Rights Network noted that poverty, lack of job opportunities, and social exclusion are key drivers. These are likely the same forces pushing birth mothers to resort to illegal adoptions. In many rural communities, a crisis pregnancy can mean social shame, economic ruin, or both – especially for young, unmarried women without access to social safety nets.

What is needed is a comprehensive support system for crisis pregnancies: state-funded counseling, temporary shelters, and direct financial aid. Without these, we are punishing poverty rather than protecting children. A woman choosing illegal adoption is often not a criminal mastermind, but a person at the edge of survival.

Meanwhile, those who facilitate or enable these transactions – including private groups on social media platforms – must be held accountable. The NBI Cybercrime Division found that most illegal adoptions originate in private Facebook groups disguised as forums for child welfare or “donation” aid.

Various groups and studies have emphasized the need for stronger platform regulation. If Facebook can detect nudity and election disinformation, it can surely detect pages facilitating child trafficking.

But beyond digital enforcement, we must deal with the long-term scars left on the victims.

The article reports that nine children were rescued and three more in Western Visayas are under foster care after being trafficked. However, the journey for these children is far from over. Often, they enter a legal limbo—awaiting issuance of a Certificate Declaring a Child Legally Available for Adoption (CDCLAA) while enduring temporary custody. Their trauma, meanwhile, remains unprocessed.

This is the silent suffering that society seldom sees. Studies on child trafficking victims consistently show long-term psychological harm: post-traumatic stress, attachment disorders, trust issues, and even developmental delays. These children have been treated not as human beings but as objects for transaction. If the state fails to provide trauma-informed care, it risks repeating the very harm it seeks to correct.

The International Social Service Philippines emphasized that children legally adopted into loving homes experience greater psychological and emotional stability. Similarly, the NACC’s 2023 orientation materials confirm that those with CDCLAA are more likely to access uninterrupted education, healthcare, and legal protection. These are not luxuries, they are rights.

Yet, despite the passage of Republic Act 11642, which shifted adoption from a judicial to an administrative process, many families remain unaware. Adoption is now simpler, more affordable, and faster. But public awareness lags, particularly in rural areas. The NACC 2023 Annual Report noted a sharp drop in adoption applications in these communities, and Save the Children Philippines warned in 2022 that many barangay-level officials still do not understand the law.

This is where local government units (LGUs) must step in, not just to monitor their communities for illegal adoption but to actively promote legal pathways. LGUs should be empowered and obligated to conduct public education drives, facilitate referrals to NACC or RACCO offices, and help families navigate the administrative adoption process.

Ultimately, legal adoption is not a bureaucratic formality, it is the only legitimate path to securing a child’s rights. It protects the child’s future, ensures legal recognition for adoptive parents, and prevents the exploitation of desperate birth mothers.

If we are truly committed to ending online baby selling, we must stop viewing it as a law enforcement problem alone. It is a social welfare issue, a public health issue, and most of all, a moral issue.

We need laws, yes, but we also need empathy, support systems, and a reimagined culture of care. Because behind every illegal adoption is a story of need, fear, and invisibility. And behind every legal adoption is the promise of dignity, protection, and hope.

Let’s make the latter the norm – not the exception.