REVILLA ADDS PROTECTION TO ILLEGITIMATE KIDS

Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. pressed for the enactment of a law that would give added protection to illegitimate children, as an extended provision to an existing law pushed by his father, former senator and present Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) chairman Ramon Revilla. Sr.

Revilla filed anew his bill that seeks maternal consent when granting the use of the father's surname for an illegitimate child.

"Removing the embarrassment that accompanies illegitimacy is the primary reason of my father on authoring a bill allowing illegitimate children to use their father's surname. I filed anew a related bill to give further protection to illegitimate children," he said.

Under Senate Bill 718, Executive Order (EO) no. 209 which is otherwise known as the Family Code of the Philippines will be further amended to mandate that mothers should give express prior consent to the use of the father's surname.

The senator stressed that his bill aims to emphasize the importance of the mother's role when it comes to the surname of their illegitimate children.

"There is a danger that a father might use the right of his illegitimate child to use his surname as a leverage over the mother, either to avoid obligations or to impose unreasonable demands, and as a result to undermine the parental authority of a mother over her illegitimate child," Revilla added.

It could be recalled that the older Revilla authored during the 12th Congress the Republic Act (RA) 9255, an act allowing illegitimate children to use the surname of their father, which amended a provision in EO 209.

The younger Revilla noted that under Article 176 of the Family Code, 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 the Family Code.

However, because of the amendment pushed by Revilla Sr., the said article also states that illegitimate children may use the surname of their father if their filiations has been expressly recognized by the father through the record of birth appearing in the civil register, or when an admission in a public document or private handwritten instrument is made by the father.

"The father has the right to institute an action before the regular courts to prove non-filiation during his lifetime. The scope of legitimacy of each illegitimate child shall consist of one-half of the scope of the legitimacy of a legitimate child," Revilla further explained. Meanwhile, the senator welcomes a related bill in the Lower House which provides that children born to minors may be legitimated after their parents reach 18 and decides to marry.

According to the Revilla, he recommends the approval of the house bill for it would give due right and recognition to illegitimate children born to underage parents.

Under Article 177 of the present Family Code, 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.

Underage parents cannot be married, thus considered as an impediment.