Dear PAO,
I have a daughter who was born out of wedlock in 2011. I was 24 years old at the time of conception and his father was 28. She has her father’s acknowledgment on the birth certificate, and she is using her father’s last name.

Her father and I were subsequently married in 2012. We want to know what are the documents required in order to legitimize our child. Thank you!
Rio

Dear Rio,
Legitimation occurs when the parents of a child born out of wedlock and who, at the time of conception, were not disqualified to marry each other, subsequently marry. Justice Alicia Sempio-Diy quoting Manresa defines it as “a remedy by means of which those who in fact were not born in wedlock and should therefore be considered illegitimate, are, by fiction, considered legitimate” (Handbook on the Family Code of the Philippines, 1995, p. 298). Therefore, the process of legitimation occurs simply by getting married. Once the parents are married, the child ipso facto becomes a legitimate child of the parents. However, since the child was born before the marriage, the birth record of the child will not reflect this immediately. This means that the legitimation of the child should then be recorded in the child’s birth record.

Rule 66, A.O. No. 1, S. 1993 of the National Statistics Office (NSO) enumerates the documentary requirements necessary for the child’s legitimation to be recorded. These are:
1. Certificate of marriage of the parents;

2. Certificate of live birth of the child;

3. Acknowledgment, but not required for illegitimate children born on or after August 3, 1988;

4. Affidavit of legitimation executed by both parents containing the name of the parents, that at the time when the child was conceived, the said parents could have contracted marriage, and that they subsequently did so, the date and place when their marriage was solemnized, the city or municipality where such marriage was recorded, the name of the child to be legitimated and other facts of birth, and the manner by which the child was acknowledged by the parents which may be in the child’s record of birth, in a will, a statement before a court of record, or any authentic writing. The last requirement is not required for illegitimate children born on or after August 3, 1988.

These documents are to be submitted in the civil registry office of the place where the birth was recorded. Once all the documents have been submitted, the original family name of the child first appearing in the Registrar of Births will neither be erased nor deleted. Instead, in the remarks space, the words “Legitimated by Subsequent Marriage” shall be written with an indication of the new family name of the child with reference to the entry number in the Registrar of Legal Instruments.

The recording of the legitimation of the child will reflect on the birth certificate of the child as an annotation stating “Legitimation by Subsequent Marriage on __(date of marriage)__ at __(place of marriage)__” or a certified transcription will be issued using standard form from the Registrar of Births bearing the effects of legitimation with the same annotation indicated in the certified true copy (Rule 66, A.O. No. 1, S. 1993, NSO).

We hope that we were able to answer your queries. Please be reminded that this advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.