Through all the family cases that we have handled, we have come to accept, without discounting the contrary, the sad fact that bad blood exists between the opposing parties (e.g., estranged spouses in annulment/separation/property cases, siblings and relatives in estate proceedings). In particular, with respect to custody-support cases over children, it is easily understandable that custody is one of the more contested issues. However, the issue on child support should not be as complicated.
It should not be as complicated, but reality makes it so. Articles 195 and 196 of the Family Code enumerate the persons who are under obligation to support each other:
- (1) The spouses;
- (2) Legitimate ascendants and descendants;
- (3) Parents and their legitimate children and the legitimate and illegitimate children of the latter;
- (4) Parents and their illegitimate children and the legitimate and illegitimate children of the latter;
- (5) Legitimate brothers and sisters, whether of full or half-blood; and
- (6) Brothers and sisters not legitimately related, whether of the full or half-blood, except only when the need for support of the brother or sister, being of age, is due to a cause imputable to the claimant’s fault or negligence.
On the other hand, the amount of support should be in proportion to the resources or means of the giver and the necessities of the recipient, pursuant to Articles 194, 201 and 202 of the Family Code:
Art. 194. Support comprises everything indispensable for sustenance, dwelling, clothing, medical attendance, education and transportation, in keeping with the financial capacity of the family.
The education of the person entitled to be supported referred to in the preceding paragraph shall include his schooling or training for some profession, trade or vocation, even beyond the age of majority. Transportation shall include expenses in going to and from school, or to and from place of work.
Art. 201. The amount of support, in the cases referred to in Articles 195 and 196, shall be in proportion to the resources or means of the giver and to the necessities of the recipient.
Art. 202. Support in the cases referred to in the preceding article shall be reduced or increased proportionately, according to the reduction or increase of the necessities of the recipient and the resources or means of the person obliged to furnish the same.
If you are a parent, it is safe to assume that you would want the best for your child and you wouldn’t hesitate to provide adequate support. However, it’s unfortunate that when it comes to support for the common children (whether legitimate or illegitimate), so many fathers still fail (or worse, simply refuse) to provide adequate support. Whatever the reason is, and regardless of whether or not these reasons are correct, the problem became pervasive, so much so that Congress saw it fit to “criminalize” (only against fathers) the withholding of support in certain instances. Not everyone knows that this is covered under Republic Act No. 9262, otherwise known as the “Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004“. [See Laws on Child Support in the Philippines]
Not everyone also knows that R.A. 9262 provides for criminal sactions or penalties for failure to provide support or withholding custody, in certain cases. Well, now you know.
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good day sir,
im josephine I need legal advice about my concern.I was born out of wedlock. after 25 years i had found my father through facebook.He is a well off man.He is very happy that he had met me in the net.The problem arises when his legal wife is so jealous at me.Her wife wanted all the assets of my father to be given to their only daughter.I had difficulty in my educational expenses the wife of my father assume everything that all the concerns relating money matter is always in her manage but she not supportive to my school needs..all the problems should be informed first to his wife.My father cant intervene much in my case because my father is working abroad.I had difficulty in line with the support of my father.What will i do with this..what are the legal actions I need to do?? pls reply me in my email add..
josephine_cavalida@yahoo.com
im hoping for your reply ..thanks so much
Good Day! I am wheng married to a man with 4 kids. i just want to know what to do because 2 kids of my husband is with us because the children wants to stay with us and the other 2 is with their mother, we are giving support to the 2 kids, since we heard and learn that the mother is living with another man a long time we just want to know if we can stop the monthly support that we are giving for the 2 child? i am the one who is really pressured about this matter… we can see that the monthly support is not the children who uses it but instead the whole family… hope you can help me asap.. thank you very much
ceasing support to the kids is not advisable since this is the father’s obligation to his children,but if this is the case you may recompute/adjust the amount of support based on just the children’s necessities,remember child support is shared with the mother as well.
dear sir’
gusto ko lang humingi ng advice kung pwede kaming ipagtabuyang mag-ina ng asawa ko sa bahay namin kung kami ay maghihiwalay..dati po kasi lagi kaming ipinagtatabuyan na umalis ng bahay namin ..suportahan na lang daw nya ang anak nya…ayaw ko pa dahil wala naman po kaming pupuntahan.
OFW po ang asawa ko at isang homosexual…tiniis ko po ng maraming taon ang ganitong situation namin…mas maraming pagkakataong nasa mga lalaki nya..para lamang di kami maghiwalay..mahal ko po sya kaya lang po nitong mga huling araw lalo po syang lumala pati kamag-anak ko, binabayaran para patulan sya…
maraming salamat po…
Good day Atty.,
Im a 33 yrs old mother of two kids 14 and 11 yrs old, i would like to ask help from you. This is regarding irregular support from my childrens father. Live in po kami before sya mag work abroad last 2001 sa Sharjah UAE. Umuuwi po sya sa amin kapag end of contract n at continious naman ang support at ok ang communication parang mag asaawa na talagang kasal na lang ang kulang. 2006 ng mag work po sya sa Khartoum sudan, ok pa din po ang support at communication, sept 2008 ng malaman ng sister ko sa isang social networking na kinasal na ang tatay ng mga anak ko sa ibang babae pinay din po, kinasal po sila 2007 nang wala po akong kaalam alam… dec.2008 po umuwi sya sa amin at na confirm ko na kasal na nga sya at nangako na hindi pababayaan ang mga bata pati na din ako.. Di na nya ako pinag work kasi gusto nya ako po mismo ang mag alaga sa mga anak nya.. last 2010 nagbago na po ang lahat lagi na po late ang padala nya hanggang ngayon po 2011 delay at kulang na po ang padala nya kapag nakapagpadala na po sya ng pambayad sa bahay na hinuhulugan nya po eh wala ng kasunod, ang dahilan nya po lagi ay mahirap magpadala, mahaba ang pila at offline ang mga padalahan.. last june mother na po nya nagpadala ng pambayad ng bahay ngayon po ang problema ko hindi ko na po sya makontak sa phone at email. lagi pong bumabalik ang email ko po sa kanya… Ano po ba ang dapat kong gawin para po continious ang support nya at sapat po para sa mga anak ko.. apektado po ang tuition at pang araw araw na gastusin ng mga anak ko.. sana po matulungan nyo po ako kung ano pong hakbang ang dapat kung gawin..
sir, I have a american husband married me, and decided he not gonna bring me to america, so we separated. Now its just me and the baby, of course good thing i have her passport and birth abroad, wich im hoping to beable to use my baby to get to america or some kind of american benefits. Also , u think i can get child support from him in dollars rather then peso’s. I believe its much better to get support from american because money is big, most Filipino guys here dont make enough money to me happy. I need big house and put her in the best schools, because for her to smart she need very expensive private school. Also i know he will get big social security, any way i can get a piece of that., im sorry to be so mean, should have bring me to america, instead of leave us behind. actually he is still here, but im only getting peso’s from him, i like to force him back to america so i can make better money on him. He also had another child by accident and now that may put a dent in the small 4k i get from him. Is there anyway i can get the money he gives the other lady for her child since i am the one that is married to him.
Also, even if we married how do i get a legal calculation of support from him. he claiming he having hard time giving me more money, because he has a baby to take care of, of course i told him that his problem not mines. So far only reason i am getting money is because he knows i can put him in Filipino jail and hold his passport, because i don’t get enough support and he had another baby with someone, which i want to sue him for, because it makes me sad or hurt in the heart. Anyways it dont take much to make me rich, and hardly cost him anything if he just go back to america. He also complaining he like to be able to hold and give father love to his kids, main reason he still here. But i believe if he truelly loves his kids he will go back and send lots of money. Here i only get 3 to 4k, but im sure if he in america i can atleast get maybe 50k a month, that be enough to get a house and private school, a drive for my child to school.
gd am sir,,sir ask ko po sana kung pano po ako makakapag file ng child support sa xbf ko,,hndi po kmi kasal but we have a 4month old baby,,he refuses to support d baby now that he found someone else,,nasa washington po sya dun po sya na assign,us army po,,last time po n ngbigay sya ng pera is july 16,2011 ,nagkahiwaly po kmi nung july 20 ,he said he want paternity test frst bago sya magbigay ulit ng pera s baby,,sir lumapit na po ako s pao sv po d dw cla na accept through abroad,pano po kya un,d ko po alam kung pano gagawin ko,,hope matulungan nyu po ako,,thnks
Good evening, i have 3 grandsons, from my eldest son, who are living with their mother. Today I received a demand notice from a lawyer citing this ruling saying the the extent of responsibility to support the illegitimate children is beyond the father and is upon the grandparents as well. While we continue to send our son to school, we help him support his eldest son by sending milk, diaper and vitamins as agreed. However, in the course of 4 years, the children became 3 and we are now being slapped financial support for the 3 children.
The notice gives us 30 days to reply and I do not know what to do.
atty Fred,
Good day. My husband and I are married for 7 years. We separated late last year. For 7years he didn’t get any job, or even tried to find a job since he didn’t finished college. He didn’t even want us to live separately with my mother in law. So I decided to return in my hometown together with my son, I found a job there.After a month or two, our common Friends were telling me that he is going out with someone and lived with her up to present. He only supported our son for 3 months, but right now he stopped supporting our child,knowing that he have already a job and he handles his own business. What would be the best way that I can do? thanks and god bless!
I have two kids with different father. My youngest son’s father was insisting me to be his partner again but he was a married man. My son carrying my surname not from his father because of not supporting us. But now he is always contacting me to see and date with him. All i think is he just wnat my body. But all i want is support from him for our son. He doesn’t want to support financially because i refuse to accept him again in my life. What would i do to push him to support my 4years old son. I texted him that if he dont want to support us much better not to exist in our life again. I need legal advice. All i want is financial support.
Hi,
I am a single mom to 2 yr old twins, their dad left us as soon as he knew I was expecting them, during their first yr we received no support at all as well as during my entire pregnancy, not even when I gave birth and the kids were named after me, because he never showed up. I have a high paying job and am not used to the kind of living that I experienced just because he wouldn’t bother to help, He started sending 4k a month during my kids’ first birthday and sent them extras during birthdays and holidays, I can provide for my kids but the thing is I want him to fulfill his full responsibility over them, so that I can give them the lifestyle that I want and am used to. I just think 4k per month is not enough for 2 kids because I am spending 10-15k a month on them alone. I wanted him to give me half of the expenses at the very least. I need help.