Manila: Famous Hollywood couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt reportedly flew to Manila last week to adopt a Filipina baby, their seventh, according to media reports on Tuesday.
Channel 7 quoted the Daily Mail's story as saying that the couple "want to add to their family and tried to adopt from Burma, but the Burmese authorities are very strict, so they decided to look at the Philippines".
The two allegedly used aliases and a chartered plane when they landed at Pasay City's Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Channel 7 said, adding this occurred in early April.
The report did not say if the couple succeeded in adopting a child from the Philippines.
Meanwhile, authorities denied the entry of the famous couple in Manila.
Prospective parents need not come to Manila because they could adopt babies from their home countries or through other agencies that are accredited by the Philippine government's Inter-Country Adoption Board (ICAB), which is affiliated with the Department of Social Welfare and Development Service (DSWD), an ICAB official told the Inquirer.
Hollywood celebrities wanting to have Filipino children would have to go through the procedures set by the Philippine Domestic and Inter-Country Adoption Law, the official explained.
The social welfare department "has no knowledge" if the Hollywood stars went through the process of adopting a Filipino baby, DSWD Information Officer Prescy Villa told the Inquirer.
"Sorry to disappoint the fans, but they did not come to the Philippines at all," confirmed Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Alfonso Cusi.
"They would have to coordinate with us (if they were coming here)," said Cusi, adding that stars like Jolie and Pitt could not hide under aliases and cover their faces all the time.
Employees assigned in private hangars never saw anybody who looked like them, said Tirso Serrano, assistant general manager for airport development and corporate affairs.
Manila's Bureau of Immigration gave the same information.
The Hollywood stars have six children, three of whom are their natural children: Shiloh born in Namibia in 2006; Knox and Vivienne, twins, born in France in 2008.
Their three other children include Maddox, a Cambodian boy, Zahara, an Ethiopian girl, Pax, a Vietnamese, who were adopted in 2002, 2005, and 2007, respectively.
In 2001, Jolie was Goodwill Ambassador of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
In 2008, foreign parents adopted some 500 Filipino children, higher than in 2007.
