Coverage: Family Home, Cases, Paternity to

End except Care & Absence

relationship by the same mother with another

man, is a legitimate child of the husband in the
valid subsisting marriage

PATERNITY AND FILIATION

2)child born during an existing valid marriage is

legitimate; but this presumption of legitimacy
springs from the fact of marriage

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

-if there is proof of marriage, child is presumed

legitimate; there has to be clear and convincing
evidence that a marriage took place for
presumption to arise; otherwise, there can be 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
dont
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)

b)birth was not known to husband because it was

concealed or husband simply did not knowhusband 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

-doesnt include the wife; wife is an heir of

husband but cannot impugn legitimacy of child

BASIC PRINCIPLES governing right of husband to

impugn APPLY ONLY when:

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

-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

-husband impugned the legitimacy of the nieces;

husband claimed that they were not children of
their father who was the brother of the auntie

-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

-but SC said husband cannot impugn since he is

not husband of the mother of the nieces

3)wife is not prohibited from impugning- since

after all, she is not really the mother

2)WIFE cannot impugn legitimacy

consistent with universal truth

4)does not prescribe- in Catotal, now an action to

nullify a document which is void, and an action to
nullify does not prescribe

of

child-

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 husbands 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 prescribes1, 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 placeif at time of delivery the husband was there,
count from knowledge of birth, not knowledge
that child is not his

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:
legitimate or illegitimate

be

recognized

as

-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
document, like and affidavit, or

in

public

-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
marriage of parents

place

with

subsequent

-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 & Intercountry 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

-INT: several agencies are involved

2)age of adopter

9)application vs. petition

-DOM: at least 18

-DOM: file petition (application not required)

directly with RTC as family court

-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 4 th civil
degree)
-INT: permanently residing abroad (either Filipino
or alien)
5)matching process
-DOM: doesnt 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 predetermine the child
-INT: adopter has to go through matching
process; cant pre-determine child to be adopted
6)availability of adoption laws
-INT:
enacted
to
supplement
domestic;
accommodate cases not under domestic adoption
law
-but likely that adoption may qualify under both;
but INT is a remedy of last resort; only availed
if adoption cant be done under domestic
adoption law
-DOM: as long as adoption can be done here, one
is required to avail this
7)where it is filed
-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: 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: doesnt 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)
-adopted children do not have such right of
representation because the relationship is only
with adopted & adopter; it doesnt go beyond
this; hence adopted cannot inherit from
grandparent if his parent dies first
3)effect of decree of adoption retroacts to time of
filing of the petition
4)parental authority is now exercised by adoptive
parents; obligation to support, take custody &
exercise parental authority are now exercised by
them