Once again, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office Eight will spearhead the observance of the Adoption Consciousness Week, which starts on the fourth of February till the tenth of same month. This year’s celebration rests on the theme –   “Isulong Legal na Pag-aampon!”

The yearly celebration is by virtue of Proclamation Number 72, declaring the first Saturday of February as Adoption Consciousness Day. DSWD Field Office Eight Director Leticia Diokno, however, said the celebration has become a weeklong observance, after the National Organizing Committee saw

In Region Eight, massive information campaign and advocacy activities will be undertaken, specifically in Tacloban City. The DSWD Field Office Director enjoins the rest of the cities and municipalities to do the same, with the aim of raising awareness of the general public on legal adoption.

Meanwhile, Alicia Advincula, head of the Adoption Resource and Referral Unit (ARRU), shared that the DSWD Field Office will set up Adoption Help Desks in selected government agencies starting on February six till February seven, and on February nine. These desks will be manned by social workers where people can inquire about adoption, and will serve as information centers as well.

On February eight at six o’clock in the morning, there will be a walk starting at the Tacloban City Convention Center and ending at the Tacloban Rizal Park where a forum will be held. An estimate of one hundred participants from the government and the academe, and the adoptive parents themselves are expected to be around.

Advincula furthermore said that the DSWD Eight will conduct a school-to-school campaign on the tenth of February to cap the weeklong celebration. There will also be a series of radio and television interviews and guestings, even before the start of the week, Advincula said.