Children, regardless of their parents’ marital status, can
now inherit from their grandparents and other direct
ascendants by right of representation.
In a Decision penned by Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F.
Leonen, the Court En Banc reinterpreted Article 992 of
the Civil Code, which prohibits nonmarital children from
inheriting from their siblings who are marital children, as
well as “relatives of [their] father or mother[.]” The
Decision used the terms “marital” and “nonmarital” to
replace the terms “legitimate” and “illegitimate” when
referring to the children, as the latter terms are pejorative
terms when used to describe children based on their
parents’ marital status.
This case involves a woman who claims to be the
nonmarital child of a man who died before she was born.
After her alleged paternal grandfather died, she asserted
her right to represent her deceased father—a marital
child—in inheriting from her grandfather’s estate.
However, in previous cases, the Court had interpreted
Article 992 as barring nonmarital children from inheriting
from their grandparents and other direct ascendants, as
they are covered by the term “relatives.” The Supreme
Court had called this prohibition the “iron curtain rule,”
inferred from a perceived hostility between the marital
and nonmarital sides of a family.
Now, the Court reexamined the iron curtain rule, finding
that Article 992 “should be construed to account for other
circumstances of birth and family dynamics. Peace within
families cannot be encouraged by callously depriving
some of its members of their inheritance. Such
deprivation may even be the cause of antagonism and
alienation that could have been otherwise avoided.”
The Court also recognized that nonmarital children
primarily suffer the consequences imposed by laws,
despite the status being beyond their power to change.
Some children may be nonmarital because their parents
choose not to marry; in 2016, the Philippine Statistics
Authority reported that, from 2007 to 2016, there was
14.4% decline in registered marriages in the country.
Other children may be nonmarital because one or both of
their parents are below marriageable age. In 2017 alone,
196,478 children were born to mothers 19 years old and
under, and 52,342 children were sired by fathers 19
years old and under. There are also children who are
nonmarital when their mother was a survivor of sexual
assault who did not marry the perpetrator; or when one
parent dies before they can marry the other parent.
Departing from regressive conjectures about family life in
favor of the best interests of the child, the Court
abandoned the presumption that “nonmarital children are
products of illicit relationships or that they are
automatically placed in a hostile environment perpetrated
by the marital family.”
The Court ruled that grandparents and other direct
ascendants are outside the scope of “relatives” under
Article 992. “Both marital and nonmarital children,
whether born from a marital or nonmarital child, are blood
relatives of their parents and other ascendants.” Thus, a
nonmarital child’s right of representation should be
governed by Article 982 of the Civil Code, which does not
differentiate based on the birth status of grandchildren
and other direct descendants.

The two amici curiae appointed by the Court, Dean

Cynthia Del Castillo and Professor Elizabeth Aguiling-
Pangalangan, also contributed insights on the Civil Code,
Family Code, and jurisprudential treatment of nonmarital
children.

However, because of factual issues with the nonmarital

child’s claim of filiation, the Court remanded the case to
the Regional Trial Court and ordered it to receive further
evidence, including DNA evidence. It emphasized that
DNA testing is a valid method of determining filiation in all
cases where this is an issue.
‘Iron curtain rule’ It also said that the SC ruled instead of Article 992, a
In the past, the Court interpreted Article 992 as nonmarital child’s right of representation shall be
prohibiting non-marital children from inheriting from government instead of Article 982 of the Civil Code that
grandparents and other direct ascendants, including holds that “grandchildren and other descendants shall
relatives. inherit by right of representation, and if any of them
The case stemmed by a petition brought by a woman should have died, leaving several heirs, the portion
claiming to be a non-martial child of a man who died pertaining to him shall be divided among the latter in
before she was born. After her paternal grandfather died, equal portions.”
she asserted her right to represent her deceased father in The court however remanded the specific case to the
inheriting from her grandfather. regional trial court due to factual issues raised in it so
In resolving the case brought to the SC, the high court additional evidence may be received to determine
revisited the dubbed “iron curtain rule” and found that filiation.
Article 992 “should be construed to account for other
circumstances by birth and family dynamics.”
The high court in the landmark ruling also said: “Peace
within families cannot be encouraged by callously
depriving some of its members of their inheritance. Such
deprivation may even be the cause of antagonism and
alienation that could have been otherwise avoided.”
The SC PIO also said the Court acknowledged that non-
marital children face consequences despite their status
being beyond their power, such as those who were born
because their parents chose not to marry, or one of their
parents is below marriageable age, whose mother was a
survivor of sexual assault or one parent dies before they
can marry.
“Departing from regressive conjectures about family life in
favor of the best interests of the child, the Court
abandoned the presumption that ‘nonmarital children are
products of illicit relationships or that they are
automatically placed in a hostile environment perpetrated
by the marital family,” the SC PIO added.