Mother reunites with one-year-old son following orphanage shutdown

Belongings of a young boy, previously under the care of Gentle Hands, remain in the orphanage on May 24 as it undergoes overhaul measures. | PHOTO: Sofia Abrogar/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — A 27-year-old mother, who only had 10 minutes to see her son in February, finally reunited with him Friday afternoon after four months of separation.

Kristine placed her son in the temporary custody of the private orphanage Gentle Hands Inc. (GHI) on Jan. 30 as she was having her third pregnancy at the time, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said.

Kristine’s son is one of over 140 children taken into custody by the DSWD after it served GHI with a cease-and-desist order Monday. He and other children below seven years old were taken to the Reception and Study Center for Children (RSCC) in Quezon City.

READ: DSWD orders a QC orphanage shut down

With DSWD’s facilitation Friday, Kristine signed a discharge slip from the RSCC, which promptly returned her son. The DSWD said it also previously filed a parental capability assessment report to facilitate the child’s release.

Lopez said Kristine had filed a complaint with the Office of the President-Office of the Cabinet Secretary 8888 Citizens Complaint Hotline, prompting the DSWD-National Capital Region (DSWD-NCR) office to provide her with counseling and assistance.

“The DSWD-NCR sought out Ms. Kristine, and she underwent counseling through a social worker, and her concern about her baby was communicated to GHI, but there was no response from Ms. Graff,” the DSWD said.

The welfare agency also said the DSWD-NCR sent a letter to GHI director Charity Graff on March 28 seeking clarification on Kristine’s case, but it was “ignored.”

Alleged ‘illegal detention’

The DSWD alleged GHI had “illegally detained” Kristine’s son since they took temporary custody of him in January.

“Gentle Hands, through its executive director Ms. Charity Graff, continues to illegally detain her baby for no justifiable and legal reason,” said Lopez in a statement Friday morning.

“Since there is no court order declaring Ms. Kristine unfit to be a parent, then Gentle Hands has no right to refuse her request for the return of her son,” he added.

INQUIRER.net has attempted to get a comment from GHI but has yet to receive a response.

Other accusations have been made against Gentle Hands since it was ordered to halt operations, all of which the orphanage has refuted.

DSWD officials previously said 22 children are “still unaccounted for” following the cease-and-desist. Gentle Hands’ legal counsel disputed this, maintaining 23 of the 149 children in its care were moved to its Bulacan facility before the cease-and-desist and previous inspections.

The National Authority on Child Care (NACC) claimed Tuesday that the orphanage ill-prepares its children for adoption, which allegedly led to three disruption cases in children adopted from Gentle Hands. Director Charity Graff has disputed this, telling the Inquirer that Gentle Hands thoroughly counsels and profiles each potential adoptive family.

READ: NACC reports disruption cases in Gentle Hands kids; orphanage calls allegations ‘ludicrous’ 

More cases

Lopez said the DSWD is investigating three or more cases similar to Kristine’s, involving children under the temporary custody of Gentle Hands.

“When the mothers requested GHI return custody of their children, GHI refused to heed the mothers’ pleas, similar to Kristine’s case,” said the welfare spokesperson.

The DSWD has not yet released details of these other cases. INQUIRER.net has requested further information but has not received it.

The Association of Child Caring Agencies of the Philippines (ACCAP) issued a statement urging the DSWD to be transparent in its dealings with Gentle Hands to “minimize the risk of further trauma to children” during investigations.

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