Coverage: Family Home, Cases, Paternity to End except Care took place for presumption to arise; otherwise, there
, there can be
& Absence
PATERNITY AND FILIATION
Marriage: status of spouses in relation to each other
Paternity: status of father in relation to child (maternity for
mother)
Filiation: status of child in relation to parents
-Universal truth: maternity is a fact, paternity is a mystery;
whether or not husband is father; no instance where status of
mother is disputed
-Filiation: by nature (legitimate/ illegitimate) or by adoption
-There are only 2 kinds of children: legitimate or illegitimate
Legitimate children:
1)children conceived OR born inside a valid marriage
2)children conceived OR born before judgment declaring
marriage annulled (because voidable marriage is valid until
annulled) or nullity (based on 36)
3)children conceived or born during a subsequent marriage
which is void under Art 53 for failure to comply with
liquidation, distribution, etc.
4)artificially inseminated child
Illegitimate children:
1)children conceived AND born outside a valid marriage (no
marriage at all, common-law relationship)
2)children conceived AND born within/during a void
marriage, except conceived or born under 36 & 53
3)children conceived AND/OR born within a valid marriage to
a father other than the husband
Presumptions:
1)any child conceived OR born during a valid marriage is
presumed legitimate
-conceived and delivered by the wife & fathered by husband
CASE: Concepcion vs CA (page 604, Sta. Maria)- Teresa &
Herardo bigamously cohabited while Teresa was legally
married to Mario; they begot a child; Teresa objected to
Herardo claiming visitation rights of the child
-SC: child is a legitimate child of Mario in the first valid
marriage & not in the second void union; paternity by judicial
imposition (?)
-Atty Torregs: Mario is victim; was not even a party in the
case; SC violated his right to due process
-this CASE illustrates the presumption IN LAW that a child
born during the existence of a valid marriage, even if actually
born during an illicit relationship by the same mother with
another man, is a legitimate child of the husband in the valid
subsisting marriage
2)child born during an existing valid marriage is legitimate;
but this presumption of legitimacy springs from the fact of
marriage
-if there is proof of marriage, child is presumed legitimate;
there has to be clear and convincing evidence that a marriage
no presumption of legitimacy (Angeles vs Maglaya)
-presumption of legitimacy cannot arise from another
presumption; because there is also presumption that when
two persons represent themselves as husband & wife, they
are presumed to be married though disputable
-but presumption of legitimacy can only arise from the fact of
marriage, not from anther presumption
Remedy of husband if he suspects that child is not his:
remedy of impugning (assail/attack) the legitimacy of the
child (Art 166); there is no question here that the wife is
mother and fathered by husband
-TAKE NOTE: law uses term “impugning legitimacy” but this
term “legitimacy” is different from the term illegitimate
children in relation to legitimate children as two kinds of
natural filiation. In these instances where there are
legitimate/illegitimate children, there is no question here that
the child was delivered by the wife and fathered by husband
in relation to 166
-if legitimacy of child is successfully impugned under 166,
result is child will not be illegitimate because if paternity is
impugned, there is really no relationship between child and
husband; they are strangers to each other; neither
illegitimate/legitimate
-so don’t confuse legitimacy here with legitimate/illegitimate
children; they are used in different contexts
-but here, child is illegitimate child of mother but not child at
all of father
GROUNDS: Art 166
It was physically impossible for husband to have sexual
intercourse with wife within 1st 120 days of 300 days
immediately preceding the birth of child because of:
1)physical impossibility to have sexual intercourse cause by:
physical incapacity (inability of husband e.g. inability to get an
erection, impotency); distance between husband and wife
(separated in such a way that sexual intercourse was not
possible); serious illness that prevents husband from having
sexual intercourse
-TAKE NOTE of period, very specific
2)scientific or biological reason
-e.g. both of you are Filipinos & child is German (harhar)
3)consent/ratification of husband was vitiated in case of
artificially inseminated child
Principles in impugning legitimacy of child:
1)right to impugn belongs to husband alone
-only husband of the wife can file; exceptions:
-Heirs may file: if husband dies before expiration of period to
file action to impugn; husband dies after filing action without
husband desisting; child was born after death of husband (Art
171)
-doesn’t include the wife; wife is an heir of husband but
cannot impugn legitimacy of child
CASE: Tison vs CA (page 629, Sta. Maria)- auntie died & was
survived by nieces and husband of auntie sold property; but
nieces contested this since husband did not obtain their
consent & they were the heirs
-husband impugned the legitimacy of the nieces; husband
claimed that they were not children of their father who was
the brother of the auntie
-but SC said husband cannot impugn since he is not husband
of the mother of the nieces
2)WIFE cannot impugn legitimacy of child- consistent with
universal truth
CASE: Concepcion vs CA- Teresa argued that Jose Herardo is
child of Herardo, not Mario, but SC disregarded her argument
since she cannot impugn legitimacy of her own child even if
she declared that child was not child of her husband, or even
if she is declared an adulteress
-reasons: avoid situations where wife would claim that child is
not of husband’s out of spite
3)legitimacy of child cannot be attacked collaterally- there
has to be direct attack; cannot be raised in other proceedings
as defense
-CASE: Tison vs CA- action was reconveyance of property but
as a defense, defendant impugned the legitimacy of the
nieces; cannot be done since this amounts to collateral attack
4) This action of impugning legitimacy prescribes- 1, 2, 3 years
(Art 170)
-reckoning point in Art 170 for counting prescription if
concealed: Is it knowledge of birth or knowledge of its
registration or fact of its registration whether or not husband
knew of such registration?
-Policy is favoring legitimacy of child; the shorter the
prescriptive period, the better for child
Distinguish 2 situations contemplated under Art 170:
a)husband knew of the time the birth took place- if at time of
delivery the husband was there, count from knowledge of
birth, not knowledge that child is not his
b)birth was not known to husband because it was concealed
or husband simply did not know- husband was not around
when child was delivered; prescriptive period is to be
counted from time of the FACT OF REGISTRATION OF BIRTH,
NOT THE KNOWLEDGE of THE FACT OF REGISTRATION
-it should be FACT, not knowledge because registration is a
constructive notice to the whole world
-logical interpretation: fact of registration, whether or not
husband knew about it
BASIC PRINCIPLES governing right of husband to impugn
APPLY ONLY when:
-Child is really child of mother/wife: no dispute that child is
child of wife or she was the one who gave birth; issue is only
the paternity of child
-if issue is whether child was actually delivered by wife
(maternity), these principles do not apply, and HENCE:
1)action to impugn can be filed not just by husband but by
any interested party
2)can be attacked collaterally
3)wife is not prohibited from impugning- since after all, she is
not really the mother
4)does not prescribe- in Catotal, now an action to nullify a
document which is void, and an action to nullify does not
prescribe
CASE: Babiera vs Catotal (page 630, Sta. Maria)- child was
delivered by the housemaid but in the birth certificate, child
was made to appear as child of the employer-spouses when
in truth, child was that of housemaid
-legitimate child filed action in court to declare that the child
is not child at all of her parents but of the housemaid
-SC said that rule on impugning legitimacy of child
presupposes that child was really child of the wife; do not
apply when issue is whether child is of both parents
-here, not anymore a case of impugning legitimacy; this is a
case of declaring someone to be not a child of either or both
spouses
-so the rules are (refer to above)
-MANY QUESTIONS will come from here
-if there is an ISSUE as to whether child is child of husband,
there is also ISSUE where parents deny that he is their child
and hence, child becomes an aggrieved party
-Remedy of child here: an action to compel alleged parent to
recognize him (go to court and compel)
-Action to claim filiation: be recognized as legitimate or
illegitimate
-present PROOFS of FILIATION (Art 172); proofs to prove
legitimate filiation
1)record of birth in the local civil registrar or final judgment
declaring that child is child of the parents
-in so far as record of birth is concerned; admissible only
against parent if it is shown that parent participated in the
preparation of record of birth/birth certificate; only if
husband signed birth certificate
-even if mother wrote your name & you did not affix
signature, husband is safe O.O
2)admission of filiation made in a public document, like and
affidavit, or
-an admission made in a private document: must be
handwritten & signed by parent concerned
-if public & notarized, enough that it is signed; unlike private
document, must be handwritten & signed
-first paragraph of 172 are primary proofs of filiation; while
second paragraph: of 172 are secondary proofs
-go for primary proofs to prove filiation; must exhaust the
primary proofs before one can use secondary proofs:
1)open and continuous possession of status of a legitimate
child
CASE: Jison vs CA (page 639, Sta. Maria)- lawyer supported
her, spent for education of child, spent for apartment of child
while she was still student
-these actuations of father in relation to Molina (child) were
considered by court as evidence that she has been in
possession of status as an illegitimate daughter
-even if parent expressly disclaims, actions speak louder than
words; treatment accorded to child may be evidence of
filiation (secondary proof)
2)evidence as may be authorized by the rules of court or
special laws
-e.g. testimonies of witnesses, persons familiar with
relationship, relatives of father
-with technology now, most reliable and is an acceptable
proof now: DNA testing
RULES IN ACCEPTING DNA AS EVIDENCE:
1)if result of DNA testing yields positive result & percentage
of paternity is 99.99 % or more: result is disputable
presumption of paternity; can be overcome by contrary
evidence (like you can establish within 300 days preceding
birth, there as physical impossibility to have sexual
intercourse); without contrary evidence, there is disputable
presumption
2)if result is below 99.9% but positive (there is likelihood that
purported parent is really parent): only corroborative
evidence of paternity; not in itself sufficient to prove
paternity
3)if result is negative: conclusive evidence of non-paternity;
cannot be overcome by contrary evidence
-allowable proofs of filiation: same with legitimate &
illegitimate; differ only in prescriptive periods:
1)action to claim legitimate filiation: under Art 175 & Tayag vs
CA, can be filed anytime during lifetime of child regardless if
parents are dead/alive
-operative fact here is lifetime of child
2)if filiation claimed is illegitimate & proof consists of
secondary evidence- during the lifetime of purported parent
-MAY the heirs of child file an action? GR: Can only be filed by
child, except (Art 173)
1)death during minority (173)
2)death while insane
-here, death is common denominator because if alive, he can
do it even if insane; may recover sanity during lucid interval
and file it himself
-only in event of death where heirs can do it
-prescriptive period: 5 years from death
LEGITIMATION
-process whereby an illegitimate child acquires status of
being legitimate
-WHO may be legitimated? Only children born to parents who
at the time of conception where legally capacitated to marry
each other or were only disqualified due to age (Art 177); 2
instances only
-legitimation takes place with subsequent marriage of
parents
-but procedurally, marriage is not enough- still have to submit
affidavit of legitimation stating circumstances of birth and
marriage to local civil registrar who will record
-IF child dies before marriage; legitimation still benefits the
heirs; effect of legitimation retroacts
-status of legitimated child may be assailed by parties whose
successional rights are prejudiced
-prescriptive period to impugn his status- 5 years from death
of either parents; only from death of parents that
successional rights are prejudiced; these start from moment
of death
ADOPTION
Both procedural & substantive
-our concern in substantive aspect (?)
-2 existing laws: Domestic Adoption Law & Inter-country
adoption act
-compare two laws & familiarize the provisions
DISTINCTIONS
1)age of adoptee
-DOM: child should be less than 18
-INT: child is less than 15
2)age of adopter
-DOM: at least 18
-INT: at least 27
3)citizenship requirement of child to be adopted
-DOM: Filipino or alien
-INT: only a Filipino child can be adopted
4)residency requirement of adopters
-DOM: adopter may either be an alien/Filipino
1)if Filipino, can either be a resident abroad or in Phil
2)if foreigner, can be permanent resident abroad but have
residence in Phil for 3 continuous years (may be waived
under the 3 exceptions; e.g. foreigner wish to adopt
legitimate child of his Filipino spouse; foreigner is former
Filipino citizen who wished to adopt relative within 4th civil
degree)
-INT: permanently residing abroad (either Filipino or alien)
5)matching process
-DOM: doesn’t require matching process or a pairing
procedure where adopter is matched with prospective child
to make sure relationship will be for best interest of child;
adopter can pre-determine the child
-INT: adopter has to go through matching process; can’t pre-
determine child to be adopted
6)availability of adoption laws
-INT: enacted to supplement domestic; accommodate cases -adopted children do not have such right of representation
not under domestic adoption law because the relationship is only with adopted & adopter; it
doesn’t go beyond this; hence adopted cannot inherit from
-but likely that adoption may qualify under both; but INT is a
grandparent if his parent dies first
remedy of last resort; only availed if adoption can’t be done
under domestic adoption law 3)effect of decree of adoption retroacts to time of filing of
-DOM: as long as adoption can be done here, one is required the petition
to avail this 4)parental authority is now exercised by adoptive parents;
obligation to support, take custody & exercise parental
7)where it is filed
authority are now exercised by them
-DOM: petition for adoption is filed in the RTC designated as a
family court by SC in the place where prospective adopter
resides (not of the child to be adopted)
-INT: considering adopters are permanently residing abroad,
application for adoption is filed in RTC designated as family
court in place having jurisdiction over the prospective
adoptee
8)process
-DOM: entire process undertaken by the court, e.g. hearing,
trial custody
-INT: several agencies are involved
9)application vs. petition
-DOM: file petition (application not required) directly with
RTC as family court
-INT: file application of adoption with RTC as family court or
in Inter-country adoption Board
-distinguish application from petition
-if filed with RTC under INT: doesn’t receive evidence nor
issue decree of adoption; only part is to scrutinize the
application and supporting documents; determine if all
qualifications are complied with, not the merits of application
-when RTC determines that adopter qualifies or has complied
with requirements, records are forwarded to Inter-country
board and it coordinates with child-placement agency abroad
where petition is for adoption is filed
-petition for adoption is filed with competent court in
country where adopter resides; trial custody takes place
there & decree of adoption is issued by foreign court
-RTC then only has clerical duty under INT

EFFECTS OF ADOPTION
1)severs the child-parent relationship between child &
biological parents
2)no successional rights between biological parents & child;
adopted child cannot inherit from them through intestate
succession & vice versa; but still possible that biological
parents may share in the estate of the child (& vice versa)
through testate succession (through a will), not intestate
-intestate succession is now with adopted child & adopters,
since he acquired status of legitimate child; they are the same
EXCEPT legitimate children are entitled to inherit from
ascendants & have right to representation (inherit in case
parent predeceases the grandparent; inherits what his parent
should have inherited if he was alive)