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Chapter 3. Illegitimate Children
 All children born of parents who are not united by a valid marriage
 CC classifications of illegit children:
1. natural: under CC 269 or born of parents who at the time of conception
could have validly married. Only the marriage is needed to make them
legit.
2. natural by leg fiction: not natural but considered as acknowledged natural
children by express provision of law. Generally, born of void marriages.
3. Spurious (false, bogus, fake)
a. Adulterous – married person w/another who’s not the spouse
b. Incestuous – related by blood
c. Sacreligious – by reasons of religious profession are disqualified to
marry (no law re this)
d. Manceres – born of prostitutes (no law re this)
 FC: no more distinctions except that:
1. kids born out of wedlock of parents who are actually legally capacitated to
marry may be legitimated
2. all other illegitimate children who can’t be legitimated
Art. 175. Illegitimate children may establish their illegitimate filiation in the same
way and on the same evidence as legitimate children.
The action must be brought within the same period specified in Article 173,
except when the action is based on the second paragraph of Article 172, in
which case the action may be brought during the lifetime of the alleged parent.
(289a)
 Evidence (172):
1. record of birth w/civ registrar/final judgment
2. admission of legit filiation in a pub doc/priv handwritten instrument &
signed by concerned parent
3. open & continuous possession of status of a legit child
4. other means allowed by rules of court & special laws
 Period for action:
1. action to claim legitimacy: may be brought by child during his/her lifetime
(173)
a. if he/she dies during minority or in state of insanity, action/rt shall be
transmitted to heirs who shall have 5 yrs to institute action
b. commenced action shall survive despite death of either or both parties
c. doesn’t prescribe as long as he lives
d. minor/incapacitated or insane: guardian can bring action in his behalf
e. if child dies after reaching age of majority, heirs can no longer institute
action in his behalf
f. can’t be given retroactive effect to prejudice other heirs of putative
parent
g. New CC 285: case dismissed if alleged dad dies during pendency of
case
2. except for #3-4 of evidence (secondary): lifetime of alleged parent. Why?
Ques if one’s really the illegit child of a parent. Parent must be given
opportunity to contest action. They’re often born & raised in secrecy w/o
legit family’s knowledge. Parent should be given chance to affirm/deny w/c
of course he can’t do when he’s already dead.
 Investigating paternity:
1. evidence obtainable thru facilities of modern medicine & technology
2. any laws, acts or declarations of a dad about child’s pedigree in that child
used to call him “Papa,” his having helped her livelihood, giving her mom
money, etc.
Art. 176. Illegitimate children shall use the surname and shall be under the
parental authority of their mother, and shall be entitled to support in
conformity with this Code. The legitime of each illegitimate child shall consist of
one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child. Except for this modification, all
other provisions in the Civil Code governing successional rights shall remain in
force. (287a)
 transgressions of social conventions committed by parents should not be visited
upon children
 kids are born w/special handicap & law helps them overcome the disadvantages
due to parents’ misdeeds
 when mom is not fit, guardian may be appointed by court
Chapter 4. Legitimated Children
 Legitimation: remedy by means of w/c those who in fact were not born in
wedlock & should be considered illegit, are by fiction, considered legit, it
being supposed that they were born when their parents were already
validly married.
 Legitimated: illegit who due to subsequent marriage of parents are by leg.
Fiction considered legit.
 Act by w/c quality of a legit child is conferred upon an illegit child.
 Product of nature & law – law makes legal what exists by nature, unlike in
adoption in w/c law creates by fiction a relation w/c did not in fact exist.
 Takes place w/o prior judicial approval.
Art. 177. Only children conceived and born outside of wedlock of parents who,
at the time of the conception of the former, were not disqualified by any
impediment to marry each other may be legitimated. (269a)
 Doesn’t cover kids of adulterous, incestuous, & bigamous marriages, or of
marriages void by reasons of pub policy (FC Art. 38)
 CC: kids of bigamous marriages who are natural children by leg fiction can be
legitimated considering that parents can marry each other upon death of 1st
H/W. Remedy for FC: if they do marry subsequently, they can adopt the child to
confer same rts as those of a legit or legitimated child.
 Why not include kids of bigamous & adulterous marriages:
1. destroy rationale of legitimation
2. unfair to legit kids in terms of successional rts
3. prob of pub scandal unless social mores change
4. too violent, it will destroy sanctity of marriage
5. scandalous esp if parents marry many yrs after child’s birth
 Inconsistency observed by Tolentino: law places children born of marriages
prohibited by law in a better position than those born of same parents who had
not violated the provision
1. persons married & those under Arts. 37 & 38: can’t validly marry due to
impediment/disqualification. If they have children, such will remain illegit &
can’t be legitimated, even if subsequent to child’s birth parents become
qualified to marry.
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2.but if these disqualified parents had contracted marriage w/c would be

void, children would be considered legitimate as per Art. 54
(conceived/born before final judgment are considered legit)
Art. 178. Legitimation shall take place by a subsequent valid marriage between
parents. The annulment of a voidable marriage shall not affect the
legitimation. (270a)
 CC 270: takes place by subsequent marriage of parents provided that kid was
acknowledged before or after the marriage.
 FC: no recognition needed since status is conferred upon birth. As long as they
comply w/Art. 177, they’re considered legitimated upon subsequent marriage of
parents regardless of time elapsed from birth to the time of marriage.
 Void ab initio: no legitimation since marriage doesn’t exist at all.
 Establish filiation if parties who contract marriage don’t accept child as theirs
(ex. Child left in an orphanage to hide shame of being seduced in mom’s
younger years)

Art. 179. Legitimated children shall enjoy the same rights as legitimate children.
(272a)
 Bear surnames of dad & mom
 Receive support from parents, ascendants & in proper cases, bros & sis
 Legitime & other successional rts granted by law to legit children

Art. 180. The effects of legitimation shall retroact to the time of the child's
birth. (273a)
 From CC Art. 273
 Most codes make legitimation effective fr date of marriage, but in FC it’s from
birth of child in order to protect child esp if parents marry after a very long time
has passed

Art. 181. The legitimation of children who died before the celebration of the
marriage shall benefit their descendants. (274)
 Necessary consequence of Art. 180. Retroactivity allowed precisely to benefit
not just the child but even his/her descendants.
 From CC Art. 274. Rationale: to protect child & his/her descendants since child’s
parents may get married many yrs after child’s birth or even after child had
already married & died leaving behind descendants who should benefit fr
legitimation of their own deceased parent.

Art. 182. Legitimation may be impugned only by those who are prejudiced in
their rights, within five years from the time their cause of action accrues.
(275a)
 Prejudiced in their rts: suffer economic/mat’l injury by legitimation like
testamentary or intestate heirs.
 Creditors not included since they only come in when heirs repudiate their
inheritance.
 Possible grounds:
1. subsequent marriage of child’s parents is void
2. child allegedly legitimated is not natural
3. child is not really the child of alleged parents
 fr time cause of action accrues: 5 yrs from death of putative parent. Before
that, heirs of the child have no personality to bring action.