The case of an 8-year-old child in Thanh Chuong whose orphan status was cut off: Urgent correction needed
(Baonghean) - The fact that the child was orphaned and lived with his grandmother but the local government made the adoption procedures with relatives has caused many unnecessary troubles.
The child who lost both parents had his social benefits cut off.
(Baonghean) - The 8-year-old boy, who lost both his parents, is living with his grandparents but is nominally the adopted child of another family and is not listed in the family's household registration book. He is currently not receiving any benefits.
Nguyen Hoang Huy Manh, born in 2009, residing in Thuong Son hamlet, Thanh Hung commune, Thanh Chuong district, orphaned by both parents, was taken care of by his grandmother Phan Thi Hien.
In 2013, Ms. Hien filed a petition for her grandchild to receive social benefits. During the filing process, Thanh Hung commune policy officers asked Ms. Phan Thi Hien to find someone to adopt her grandchild, because “that way the grandchild will receive benefits.”
Accordingly, Ms. Hien asked her sister-in-law, Ms. Tran Thi Hien (also residing in Thanh Hung commune), to be the one to sign the adoption application for Manh. With the consent of all parties, the People's Committee of Thanh Hung commune recognized Manh as Ms. Hien's adopted child since July 2013. In October 2013, Nguyen Hoang Huy Manh received social allowance as an orphan; Ms. Phan Thi Hien received the orphan care allowance.
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| Ms. Phan Thi Hien talked with Nghe An Newspaper reporter about the situation of her grandson Nguyen Hoang Huy Manh. |
From here arose the controversy over the responsibilities of the parties involved.
In order for Manh to enjoy the regime again, the adoption certificate must be revoked. And to do this, the judicial staff and the two-level authorities of Thanh Chuong district instructed Ms. Phan Thi Hien to file a petition in court. However, Ms. Hien did not agree because she was not wrong in legalizing Manh from an orphan to an adopted child; requested that whoever did wrong should make corrections so that Manh can enjoy the subsidy regime again; and sent a petition to Nghe An newspaper...
On November 24, 2017, Nghe An Newspaper published an article "Orphaned child has social welfare benefits cut off".
Responding to this article, in Document No. 3298/UBND-LDTBXH dated December 29, 2017, Thanh Chuong District People's Committee informed: Previously, Ms. Phan Thi Hien and Nguyen Hoang Huy Manh were entitled to the orphan and orphan foster care regime in accordance with Decree 67/2007/ND-CP, Decree 13/2010/ND-CP, Circular 24/2010/TT-BLDTBXH from January 2013 to September 2016. At this time, orphans and abandoned children were not required to have a legal adoptive parent to receive benefits (there was no adoption certificate in the benefit application as mentioned in the article), so it is correct that Nguyen Hoang Huy Manh and Ms. Phan Thi Hien were entitled to benefits.
On October 18, 2016, the District People's Committee issued Decision No. 4181/QD-UBND to cut off the orphanage regime of Manh and the orphanage regime of Ms. Hien (implemented according to Official Dispatch No. 2625/LDTBXH-BTXH of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs on the implementation of social protection policies according to Decision No. 54/2016/QD-UBND of the province) in accordance with regulations because Nguyen Hoang Huy Manh was adopted by Mr. Phan Tuan Tuong and Ms. Tran Thi Hien.
Regarding the adoption records for Manh, according to the People's Committee of Thanh Chuong district, based on the provisions of the Law on Adoption and the adoption registration records for Nguyen Hoang Huy Manh provided by the People's Committee of Thanh Hung commune, the records are incomplete.
The file lacks the adoptive parent's criminal record and Manh's name is not in the adoptive parent's household registration (as reported by the newspaper); in fact, Mr. Phan Tuan Tuong and Ms. Tran Thi Hien's family have never raised Manh for a single day.
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| Adoption certificate of Nguyen Hoang Huy Manh. |
Regarding Ms. Phan Thi Hien's reflection that her and her grandchild Manh's orphan status and orphan care allowance were cut off, according to the People's Committee of Thanh Chuong district, the Department of Justice has been directed to preside over and coordinate with the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs to work with the People's Committee of Thanh Hung commune and Ms. Phan Thi Hien to inspect and verify. Accordingly, the People's Committee of Thanh Chuong district has the following opinion: Based on the records and reality of the adoption of the grandchild Manh, if Ms. Tran Thi Hien and Mr. Phan Tuan Tuong's family do not have a need, and also find that the conditions for adoption are not guaranteed, they are instructed to submit a request to terminate the adoption to the District People's Court for settlement according to regulations.
Based on the decision to terminate the adoption of the District People's Court, the Commune People's Committee has the basis to instruct Ms. Phan Thi Hien to prepare a dossier requesting the orphan regime for Manh so that he can continue to enjoy his regime. In case Ms. Phan Thi Hien believes that the adoption dossier is fake (because she did not actually sign the dossier), she is instructed to submit a petition to the District Police for settlement according to the provisions of law.
Although the People's Committee of Thanh Chuong district has checked, verified, and responded to the newspaper's report, there are still some issues that need to be discussed. Regarding the fact that Manh received the subsidy for orphans from 2013 to October 2016, in our opinion, there is no issue that needs to be discussed.
However, regarding the child's termination of benefits, the Thanh Chuong District People's Committee needs to clearly define the responsibilities of the parties involved. Regarding this content, the main and clear responsibility belongs to the Thanh Hung commune policy officer and the commune government in 2013.
For policy officials, due to not understanding the regulations, they guided citizens to do something unnecessary, leading to problems later. For the People's Committee of Thanh Hung commune, the recognition of Mr. Phan Tuan Tuong and Mrs. Tran Thi Hien to adopt Manh is an act against the law. Because the 2010 Law on Adoption clearly states that the act of grandparents adopting grandchildren or siblings adopting each other is strictly prohibited (Clause 6, Article 13).
Regarding helping Manh to receive the orphan subsidy again, according to the Thanh Chuong District People's Committee, going to court to terminate the adoption is the right way to do it. However, it will be very troublesome and difficult for the child's relatives, Mrs. Hien, Mrs. Hien, Mr. Tuong, and the elderly. Moreover, this way of doing things will cause them mental damage, even though the Thanh Hung Commune People's Committee has taken positive steps to help.
In our opinion, the above problems can be resolved. That is, the People's Committee of Thanh Hung commune has recognized that Mr. Tuong and Ms. Hien's adoption of Manh is against the law, so it is necessary to revoke and cancel the adoption certificate issued to Mr. Tuong and Ms. Hien; at the same time, issue a notice of the revocation and cancellation of this certificate. When the adoption certificate is revoked and canceled, Nguyen Hoang Huy Manh will of course be eligible for benefits according to the orphan category.
When discussing this handling direction, some judicial officials and the Chairman of Thanh Hung Commune People's Committee - Mr. Le Van Nghi were concerned, because the Law on Adoption stipulates that only the court has the authority to cancel the adoption certificate. However, regarding the revocation of the adoption certificate of Thanh Hung Commune People's Committee, according to the Director of the Department of Justice - Mr. Hoang Quoc Hao, it is possible to do so. Witnessed by the Chairman of Thanh Hung Commune People's Committee, Director of the Department of Justice Hoang Quoc Hao affirmed over the phone: "If the commune finds that the decision is wrong, the commune has the right to revoke it; in case the commune does not find it wrong but the district government finds that the commune is wrong, the district can issue a decision to revoke it."
In my opinion, the most important thing in this matter is to urgently restore social benefits to Nguyen Hoang Huy Manh. Therefore, the solution, in addition to complying with the provisions of the law, must be appropriate to the situation, avoiding any unnecessary inconvenience to citizens. Furthermore, it must avoid the need for citizens to go to court to correct the mistakes that the local authorities have made against them.
