LilMtnCbn
04-18-2004, 04:55 AM
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2004/04/18/oped/mark.allen.sison.html
Sison: Eliminate stigma on illegitimate children
By Mark Allen Sison
ILLEGITIMATE children may soon be allowed to use their father's surname while
those born to underage parents may have the chance to be legitimated.
This developed as the Committee on Revision of Laws, under Rep. Orlando Fua,
Jr. (Lone District, Siquijor), approved in principle two sets of proposals.
The first set includes House Bills 793 and 4090 filed by Reps. Cynthia Villar
(Lone District, Las Piqas City) and Roque Ablan, Jr. (1st District, Ilocos
Norte), respectively. These bills propose to amend Article 176 of Executive
Order 209 or the Family Code of the Philippines by allowing illegitimate
children to use their father's surname when filiation is established or
paternity has been expressly recognized by the father through civil registry
records or when paternity is admitted in a public document or in a private
handwritten instrument signed by the father.
While acknowledging that the limitation on the use of the father's surname is
meant to discourage and prevent the entry of spurious descendants in the family
and to deter illicit liaisons, Rep. Villar stressed that this situation creates
a trauma that hampers the growth and development of an otherwise normal child.
The Family Code states that illegitimate children shall use the surname and
shall be under the parental authority of their mother.
Rep. Ablan explained that it is but fair to illegitimate children that upon
recognition or consent of their fathers, they can use the latter's surname.
"The stigma attached to their persons on account of the circumstances of their
birth will not be obvious," he stated in his explanatory note to HB 4090.
He further said that the bill is a morale booster for a child if he is allowed
to carry the name of his father regardless of whether he is born out of wedlock
or out of an affection of a married man to a woman who is not married.
Rep. Villar stressed that the bill also addresses the predicament of
illegitimate children who are faced with the legal problem of what middle name
to use when he or she already carries the mother's maiden surname as his or her
surname. "This is one flaw (in the Family Code) which lawmakers have
overlooked," she stated.
However, she provided a safeguard to the indiscriminate grant of this privilege
through blood grouping or deoxyribonucleic (DNA) tests that determine
paternity.
She told the Committee members that this is in consideration of the rights of
legitimate children of the man who may be pinpointed as the father of an
illegitimate child although he either knew that he is not the father or doubted
the paternity claim. "Sometimes the man is under juress maybe because of his
love to the woman and he will be forced to admit that he is the father of a
child although it is not really his," Rep. Villar said.
Rep. Fua remarked that legitimacy may be established and likewise be impugned
under any manner authorized by the rules of court. Under the present judicial
set-up, he said, DNA testing is admitted as one of the means for determining
paternity or filiation.
However, Rep. Ablan commented that it should not be taken against the child if
the man wants to recognize the child as his or authorizes the use of his
surname by the child.
Lawyer Alberto Muyot of the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef),
strongly supported the passage of the bills.
The two bills were approved in principle. These will be consolidated with HB
4090 as the lead bill.
The second set of approved measures call for the legitimation of children born
out of wedlock to couples below 18 years old. These include HBs 116, 660, 795,
991 and 2468 authored by Reps. Magtanggol Gunigundo I (2nd District, Valenzuela
City), Oscar Rodriguez (3rd District, Pampanga), Villar, Narciso Monfort (4th
District, Iloilo) and Roberto Cajes (2nd District, Bohol), respectively.
The five bills seek to amend Article 177 of the Family Code which states that
"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."
Rep. Gunigundo, in his sponsorship remarks, reported that the number of
children born to unmarried couples below 18 years of age has dramatically
increased. He stressed that children born under this circumstance suffer the
agony of having illegitimate status even after their parents eventually enter
into a contract of marriage and are bound to remain illegitimate unless they
are legally adopted by their mature parents.
"Adoption is a very lengthy, tedious and costly procedure, not to mention the
painful, bitter and impractical process of adopting one's own child simply
because you were underage when the child was born," Rep. Gunigundo said.
Rep. Villar stated that depriving the child of legitimation by the subsequent
marriage of his or her parents and the right to carry his or her father's
surname for the basic reason of being conceived and born to underage parents is
contrary and inconsistent with the provisions of the Child and Youth Welfare
Code.
Rep. Eladio "Boy" Jala (3rd District, Bohol) informed the body that he also
filed a similar bill during the 11th Congress. He said his proposal was
approved on second reading but was overtaken by events. He emphasized that the
proposed measure not only intends to eliminate the added expense of adopting a
child, but rectifies the absurdity of requiring a natural father to adopt his
own child.
The bills got the support of the Department of Social welfare and Development
(DSWD), Council for the Welfare of Children (CWS), CARITAS Manila, the
Philippine branch of the Consuelo Alger Foundation, and the local civil
registries of Quezon City and Valenzuela City.
Lourdes Arsenio, advocacy officer of CARITAS Manila, a Catholic institution,
said that children should not suffer for the acts of their irresponsible
parents by labeling them illegitimate. The extent of its effect on children,
she said, may be gauged in the kind of problems the children encounter as they
grow old.
Arsenio also emphasized that the increase in the number of children in conflict
with the law in the Philippines can be attributed to having a dysfunctional
family. While she acknowledged that there has never been a formal study
directly linking illegitimacy of children with criminality, Arsenio claimed
that in informal interviews and interactions with juvenile delinquents, they
discovered that a good number of them are illegitimate or
have separated parents.
Ma. Elena Caraballo, executive director of the CWC, also supported the passage
of the bills. She agreed that these are in consonance with the principle of
non-discrimination among children and their rights to education and family as
provided for in the Convention on the Rights of the Child in which the
Philippines is a State party. Through this proposal, she said, discrimination
against illegitimate children can be avoided.
She also asked the authors to mention the commitments of the Philippines as a
State party to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination of Women and
the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the bills' provisions on the
declaration of state policy. The five related bills will be consolidated, with
HB 116 as the lead bill.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
Sison: Eliminate stigma on illegitimate children
By Mark Allen Sison
ILLEGITIMATE children may soon be allowed to use their father's surname while
those born to underage parents may have the chance to be legitimated.
This developed as the Committee on Revision of Laws, under Rep. Orlando Fua,
Jr. (Lone District, Siquijor), approved in principle two sets of proposals.
The first set includes House Bills 793 and 4090 filed by Reps. Cynthia Villar
(Lone District, Las Piqas City) and Roque Ablan, Jr. (1st District, Ilocos
Norte), respectively. These bills propose to amend Article 176 of Executive
Order 209 or the Family Code of the Philippines by allowing illegitimate
children to use their father's surname when filiation is established or
paternity has been expressly recognized by the father through civil registry
records or when paternity is admitted in a public document or in a private
handwritten instrument signed by the father.
While acknowledging that the limitation on the use of the father's surname is
meant to discourage and prevent the entry of spurious descendants in the family
and to deter illicit liaisons, Rep. Villar stressed that this situation creates
a trauma that hampers the growth and development of an otherwise normal child.
The Family Code states that illegitimate children shall use the surname and
shall be under the parental authority of their mother.
Rep. Ablan explained that it is but fair to illegitimate children that upon
recognition or consent of their fathers, they can use the latter's surname.
"The stigma attached to their persons on account of the circumstances of their
birth will not be obvious," he stated in his explanatory note to HB 4090.
He further said that the bill is a morale booster for a child if he is allowed
to carry the name of his father regardless of whether he is born out of wedlock
or out of an affection of a married man to a woman who is not married.
Rep. Villar stressed that the bill also addresses the predicament of
illegitimate children who are faced with the legal problem of what middle name
to use when he or she already carries the mother's maiden surname as his or her
surname. "This is one flaw (in the Family Code) which lawmakers have
overlooked," she stated.
However, she provided a safeguard to the indiscriminate grant of this privilege
through blood grouping or deoxyribonucleic (DNA) tests that determine
paternity.
She told the Committee members that this is in consideration of the rights of
legitimate children of the man who may be pinpointed as the father of an
illegitimate child although he either knew that he is not the father or doubted
the paternity claim. "Sometimes the man is under juress maybe because of his
love to the woman and he will be forced to admit that he is the father of a
child although it is not really his," Rep. Villar said.
Rep. Fua remarked that legitimacy may be established and likewise be impugned
under any manner authorized by the rules of court. Under the present judicial
set-up, he said, DNA testing is admitted as one of the means for determining
paternity or filiation.
However, Rep. Ablan commented that it should not be taken against the child if
the man wants to recognize the child as his or authorizes the use of his
surname by the child.
Lawyer Alberto Muyot of the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef),
strongly supported the passage of the bills.
The two bills were approved in principle. These will be consolidated with HB
4090 as the lead bill.
The second set of approved measures call for the legitimation of children born
out of wedlock to couples below 18 years old. These include HBs 116, 660, 795,
991 and 2468 authored by Reps. Magtanggol Gunigundo I (2nd District, Valenzuela
City), Oscar Rodriguez (3rd District, Pampanga), Villar, Narciso Monfort (4th
District, Iloilo) and Roberto Cajes (2nd District, Bohol), respectively.
The five bills seek to amend Article 177 of the Family Code which states that
"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."
Rep. Gunigundo, in his sponsorship remarks, reported that the number of
children born to unmarried couples below 18 years of age has dramatically
increased. He stressed that children born under this circumstance suffer the
agony of having illegitimate status even after their parents eventually enter
into a contract of marriage and are bound to remain illegitimate unless they
are legally adopted by their mature parents.
"Adoption is a very lengthy, tedious and costly procedure, not to mention the
painful, bitter and impractical process of adopting one's own child simply
because you were underage when the child was born," Rep. Gunigundo said.
Rep. Villar stated that depriving the child of legitimation by the subsequent
marriage of his or her parents and the right to carry his or her father's
surname for the basic reason of being conceived and born to underage parents is
contrary and inconsistent with the provisions of the Child and Youth Welfare
Code.
Rep. Eladio "Boy" Jala (3rd District, Bohol) informed the body that he also
filed a similar bill during the 11th Congress. He said his proposal was
approved on second reading but was overtaken by events. He emphasized that the
proposed measure not only intends to eliminate the added expense of adopting a
child, but rectifies the absurdity of requiring a natural father to adopt his
own child.
The bills got the support of the Department of Social welfare and Development
(DSWD), Council for the Welfare of Children (CWS), CARITAS Manila, the
Philippine branch of the Consuelo Alger Foundation, and the local civil
registries of Quezon City and Valenzuela City.
Lourdes Arsenio, advocacy officer of CARITAS Manila, a Catholic institution,
said that children should not suffer for the acts of their irresponsible
parents by labeling them illegitimate. The extent of its effect on children,
she said, may be gauged in the kind of problems the children encounter as they
grow old.
Arsenio also emphasized that the increase in the number of children in conflict
with the law in the Philippines can be attributed to having a dysfunctional
family. While she acknowledged that there has never been a formal study
directly linking illegitimacy of children with criminality, Arsenio claimed
that in informal interviews and interactions with juvenile delinquents, they
discovered that a good number of them are illegitimate or
have separated parents.
Ma. Elena Caraballo, executive director of the CWC, also supported the passage
of the bills. She agreed that these are in consonance with the principle of
non-discrimination among children and their rights to education and family as
provided for in the Convention on the Rights of the Child in which the
Philippines is a State party. Through this proposal, she said, discrimination
against illegitimate children can be avoided.
She also asked the authors to mention the commitments of the Philippines as a
State party to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination of Women and
the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the bills' provisions on the
declaration of state policy. The five related bills will be consolidated, with
HB 116 as the lead bill.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
