Dear PAO,

I have a child with a married man. He is working in the Middle East, and so am I. He is earning well and has a good salary but he has not been giving support to our child. I just want to know how I can seek financial support from him. Our child is using his surname. Your advice will be much appreciated. Thank you.

Myra

Dear Myra,

There is no doubt that bringing life into this world can give so much joy to a person. Nevertheless, we must always be mindful that parenthood carries with it various responsibilities and obligations. And though it may sometimes be difficult to perform these responsibilities, a parent is bound to carry out what is expected of him under our laws. It is provided for under Article 195 (4), Family Code of the Philippines, parents are obliged to support their illegitimate children and the legitimate and illegitimate children of the latter, and vice versa.

In the situation you have presented before us, your child, though considered as an illegitimate child as he was born outside of a valid marriage, still has a right to be supported by his father. However, it is essential for you or your child to prove that he is indeed the illegitimate child of his alleged father. The fact that the child is using his father’s surname is not, per se, a proof of their illegitimate filiation. You may establish their filiation by presenting either his record of birth appearing in the civil register or a final judgment thereof; or the father’s admission of illegitimate filiation in a public document or a private handwritten instrument and signed by him. In the absence of the foregoing evidence, illegitimate filiation may be proven by the open and continuous possession of the status of a legitimate child or by any other means allowed by the Rules of Court and special laws (Article 172, id).

Should the father of your child continue to refuse to provide support for your child despite the fact that you were able to prove your child’s filiation with him, you may resort to filing an action for support before the Regional Trial Court of the place where you or your child resides. We would like to stress that you may seek support from your child’s father despite the fact that you have work or your own source of income. Based on your letter, the father of your child has a job and is earning well in the Middle East. Since he has the means to provide support, he may not renege from his obligations to your child. It is also worth mentioning that our laws provide that when the obligation to give support falls upon two or more persons, the payment of the same shall be divided between them in proportion to the resources of each (Article 200, id). Hence, the two of you are responsible to rear and care for your child. Should the court find merit in your petition, it will then issue a decision in favor of your child, and he must faithfully comply with the same.

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.

Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .