BAÑAS V.

BAÑAS

134 SCRA 260

FACTS:

Plaintiffs alleged that late Raymundo Banas, was acknowledged natural son of late BIBIANO
Banas therefore, by descent, they are entitled to decedent‘s share
Defendants denied that Raymundo was the natural son of late Bibiano, nor was he
acknowledged by the latter; use of surname Banas by Raymundo was justified, Raymundo being
Pedro‘s (Bibiano‘s brother) son
Late Raymundo was a natural child, born 1894 of Dolores and of unknown father. It was Bibiano
who shouldered raymundo‘s school expenses (in Beda) until Raymundo became a teacher
In 1926, Raymundo married Trinidad, niece of Bibiano‘s wife (Faustina); Trinidad lived with
Bibiano‘s family before the marriage and took care of the latter‘s children
In Raymundo‘s marriage cert, name of father was stated to be Bibiano. Pedro appeared as one
of the sponsors.
Dec 1928, Raymundo and Pedro executed sworn statements before an atty. Wherein Raymundo
declared that he was the natural son of Dolores and came to know tha the his father was Pedro
and he realized that there had been an error in his marriage cert; Pedro declared that he has a
natural son named Raymundo whom he recognized, and he asked for the correction of the said
certificate
June 30, 1930, Pedro Bañas wrote to "M.R.P. Juez del Arzobispado de Manila" wherein he
reiterated that he had recognized his natural son born of Dolores (who is insane), Raymundo; he
requested for the correction of his son‘s and grandsons‘ baptismal certificate
July, 1930 Bibiano executed sworn statement stating that Raymundo is Pedro‘s son
1954, Bibiano died; 1955, Raymundo wrote to Atty. Faustino in which he complained about the
alleged in justice done to him by Bibiano‘s wife
June 24, 1955, Bibiano‘s heirs, the defendants, extra-judicially settled his estate by means of a
deed of extra judicial settlement among themselves which was notarized by Atty. Angel Vecino,
brother of Trinidad
November 7, 1955, the spouses Raymundo Bañas and Trinidad executed a mortgage over their
house and lot in 1444 Kalimbas St., in favor of herein defendant Angel V. Bañas
1962 Raymundo died; 1965, his heirs filed complaint for partition and recovery of hereditary
share
Trinidad said she discovered certain documents w/c established Raymundo‘s filiation to Bibiano

1. hand written note addressed to Raymundo w/ salutation ―Su padre‖ from B. Banas
2) matriculation certs of Raymundo w/ Bibiano as father
3) report card w/ Bibiano as parent/guardian 4) autobiographies of raymundo w/ alterations
ISSUE: WON RAYMUNDO WAS AN ACKNOWLEDGED NATURAL SON OF BIBIANO

HELD: NO

 The note w/ ―su padre‖ unreliable, assuming it‘s authentic, the same doesn‘t constitute a
sufficient proof of a valid recognition
 Formalities of voluntary recognition under Article 278 of the New Civil Code is that recognition
shall be express and made either in the record of birth, in a will, in a statement in a court of
record, or in any authentic writing
 Note w/ ―su padre‖ is a mere indication of paternal solicitude. The Filipinos are known for
having very close family ties. Extended families are a common set-up among them, sometimes
to the extent that strangers are also considered as part of the family.
 the rule of incidental acknowledgment does not apply to plaintiffs-appellants' note (w/ ―su
padre‖) since it is not a public document where a father would ordinarily be more careful about
what he says
 Even if the evidence presented by the plaintiffs-appellants constitute a sufficient proof of a
voluntary recognition, still their complaint will not prosper since it is evident that if there was
acknowledgment on the part of Bibiano, he had rectified or repudiated the same by his sworn
statement
 Considering that Raymundo was born in 1894, and was already of majority age in 1915, long
before Bibiano's death in 1954, he should and could have filed such action either under Article
135 of the Old Civil Code, or Article 283 of the New Civil Code

Such action for the acknowledgment of a natural child is not transmissible to the natural child's heirs;
the right is purely a personal one to the natural child