A mother’s love

To all my readers, please allow me to dedicate my column this Sunday to my mom, Senator Grace Poe.

I could write this column about the life advice she’s given me or the experiences I’ve had being raised by her, but to me, this is an opportunity to share with you the things she has quietly been doing to help mothers and their children in her own way as a public servant.

I’m sure by now you already know that Senator Grace Poe was adopted by my grandparents, Susan Roces and Fernando Poe Jr. However, what you probably don’t know is how my grandparents struggled through the adoption process, or how my mom was bullied for being adopted even until the 2016 elections, when political opponents tried to use her adoption against her, claiming that since she was a foundling she was not in fact a natural born Filipino. My mom decided no child should ever have to endure the things that she had to endure.

As a son it was painful to read the news day after day and see lawyers and politicians demand that my mom produce her family records and show proof she was by blood Filipino. How could anyone be so cruel as to ask a person who had been abandoned by their parents to suddenly search for them just to say they are in fact Filipino? Yet, years later because of what they had done to her, she, alongside fellow legislators, protected the rights of foundlings and adopted children all over the country.

Senator Grace Poe, along with Senator Risa Hontiveros, Senator Pia Cayetano, Representative Yedda Maria Romualdez and various pro-child institutions and advocates, passed the following laws: the Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act (RA 11642); Simulated Birth Rectification Act (RA 11222) and the Foundling Recognition and Protection Act (RA 11767).

Altogether, these laws bring to life the idea that the paramount consideration when it comes to children ought to be “the best interest of the child.” These laws augment our commitment to our obligations in international law and our existing laws. Moreover, the positive effects to families, children and communities are not only tangible but also intangible and immeasurable. As my mom once said, while adopting one child may not change the world, it certainly changes the world for that child.

The Foundling Recognition and Protection Act (RA 11767) is a homage to her roots as a foundling and, more importantly, it is my mom’s way of looking out for foundlings like her. She was the exception. She knows that she was tremendously blessed to have been cared for and loved by Papa Ronnie and Mama Susan. Yet, she still had to fight tooth and nail for the birthright granted to her by our Constitution. With the Supreme Court upholding the rights of foundlings and her landmark law, foundlings like her now never have to feel, be treated or persecuted like third-class citizens with lesser rights. Foundlings found in the Philippines are now undoubtedly natural-born Filipinos with full rights. Alone and unknown before, she now has created a safe haven for foundlings, and a more inclusive Filipino society.

The Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act (RA 11642) was particularly close to my mom’s heart since its implementing rules and regulations were passed on the 40th day of Lola Susan’s passing. She championed this law to make things easier for all those who wish to be mothers through the adoption process. She described the law’s innovations best when she said by removing the judicial phase, adoption has become less costly and less tedious. Its creation of a one-stop-shop on alternative child care also increases operational efficiency. The same streamlining precepts and child-oriented philosophy, leading to tangible benefits to families, are guaranteed through the Simulated Birth Rectification Act (RA 11222). It grants amnesty, rectifies simulated birth of a child, protects their legal rights, expunges criminal, civil and administrative liabilities, all of it through a faster and cheaper process.

But as a mother senator Grace Poe also valued the quality of life that children and their mothers would lead. She was lucky my grandparents had the means to take care of her. She wanted to make sure that other parents and their children were given a fighting chance so she worked hard on ensuring the passage of Republic Act No. (RA) 11148 officially known as the “Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act” and more popularly called the “First 1,000 Days Law.” The law provides governmental social support for the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, or up to a child’s second birthday, which the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) identifies as one of the most vulnerable and crucial developmental periods of a human being.

I’m sharing these things with you, my readers, because I really want to share how my mother’s experiences have inspired her to make life better for other mothers and their children. She’s an amazing mother who successfully balanced her obligations as a public servant with her duties as a mother. She has simultaneously taken care of us at home while also caring for our country’s mothers, fathers, daughters and sons.

Today I greet my boss, my confidante, my best friend, my favorite chef, an inspiring public servant and someone I am fortunate to call mom.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mama!

And Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there!

I’m proud to say my mom’s love has made all the difference. I am always left in awe by the incredible things mothers do for the people they care for the most. Truly, there’s nothing quite like a mother’s love.