BERNABE vs. ALEJO
ERNESTINA BERNABE, petitioner, vs. CAROLINA ALEJO as guardian ad litem for the minor ADRIAN BERNABE, respondent.
SUMMARY:
The right to seek recognition granted by the Civil Code to
illegitimate children who were still minors at the time the Family Code took
effect cannot be impaired or taken away. The minors have up to four years from
attaining majority age within which to file an action for recognition.
FACTS:
1. The late
Fiscal Ernesto A. Bernabe allegedly
fathered a son with his secretary, Carolina Alejo, of 23 years.
2. The son,
Adrian Bernabe
was born on September 18, 1981. Fiscal Bernabe died on August 13, 1993, and his wife Rosalina died on December 3 of the same year, leaving Ernestina as the sole surviving
heir.
3. May 16,
1994, Carolina, in behalf of Adrian, filed complaint that Adrian be declared an acknowledged a
legitimate son of Fiscal Bernabe and
be given share in Fiscal Bernabes estate.
4. RTC
dismissed the complaint, ruling that under the provisions of the Family Code
(took effect on 1988) as well as the case of Uyguangco vs.
CA, the complaint is now
barred.
5. RTC granted
Ernestina’s Motion
for Reconsideration and ordered the dismissal of the Complaint for recognition.
Citing Article 175 of the Family Code, the RTC held
that the death of the putative father had barred the action.
6. the trial court added that since the putative father had
not acknowledged or recognized Adrian Bernabe in writing, the action for
recognition should
have been filed during the lifetime of the alleged father to give him the
opportunity to either affirm or deny the childs filiation.
ISSUES:
1. W/N
Family Code should be applied retroactively
W/N Adrian Bernabe, an illegitimate son, has a right to be
recognized
HELD:
1. NO.
FC should not be applied retroactively
a. Because the boy was born in 1981, his rights are governed
by Article
285 of the Civil Code, which allows an action for recognition to be filed
within four years after the child has attained the age of majority.
ART. 285.
The action for the recognition of natural children may be brought only during
the lifetime of the presumed parents, except in the following cases:
(1) If the father or mother died during
the minority of the child, in which case the latter may file the action before
the expiration of four years from the attainment of his majority;
(2) If after the death of the father or of
the mother a document should appear of which nothing had been heard and in
which either or both parents recognize the child.
a. Article 285
of the Civil Code is a substantive law, it gives Adrian the right to file his petition for
recognition within four years from attaining majority age.
b. The subsequent enactment of the Family Code did not take
away that right. (FC did not apply retroactively because it will impair this
vested right)
2. RTC said
that the father had not acknowledged or recognized Adrian Bernabe in writing. The action for recognition
should have been filed during the lifetime of the alleged father to give him
the opportunity to either affirm or deny the child’s filiation.
Illegitimate children who were still minors
at the time the Family Code took effect and whose putative parent died during
their minority are thus given the right to seek recognition (under Article 285
of the Civil Code) for a period of up to four years from attaining majority
age. This vested right was not impaired or taken away by the passage of the Family
Code.
Adrian was only 7
y/o when the Family Code took effect and only 12 when his alleged father died
in 1993. The
minor must be given his chance to exercise his right.
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