An Illegitimate Child May Now Use the Surname of His/Her Father

Article 176 of the of Executive Order Number 209 or otherwise known as The Family Code of the Philippines specifically mentions that:

"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.  The legitime of each illegitimate child shall consist of one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child."

This provision of law states two things.  One is with regard to the surname of the mother that shall be used by the illegitimate child and the other is all about the share of each of the illegitimate child in the estate of her/his parents.

However, with the enactment of Revilla Law or Republic Act Number 9255 in 2004, the provision on article 176 of the Family Code of the Philippines has been amended allowing the illegitimate children to use the SURNAME of their FATHER.

A picture of a Certificate of Live Birth taken from bing images.

Who would benefit this Revilla Law?  

The implementing rules and regulations of R.A. No. 9255 states that the rules shall apply to all ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN born before or after the effectivity of R.A. No. 9255.  Thus, the law shall RETROACTIVE EFFECT to illegitimate children born even before 2004. 

The law shall apply to:

1.  Unregistered births; and

2.  Registered births where the illegitimate children use the surname of the mother.

Under the rules, the FATHER, MOTHER, CHILD IF OF AGE, OR THE GUARDIAN, may file the public document or Affidavit to Use the Surname of the Father (AUSF) in order for the child to use the surname of the father.

The public document or AUSF executed within the Philippines shall be filed at the Local Civil Registry Office (LCRO) where the child was born, if the birth occurred within the Philippines.

If the public document or AUSF was executed outside the Philippines, the same shall be filed at the LCRO of Manila if the birth occurred within the Philippines.

Regardless whether the public document or AUSF was executed within or outside the Philippines, the same shall be filed at the LCRO of Manila, if the birth occurred outside the Philippines.

These are the documents to be filed at the LCRO:

1. Certificate of Live Birth with accomplished Affidavit of Acknowledgement/Admission of Paternity at the back

2.  Public Document

3.  AUSF, including all supporting documents.

What would constitute public document?

It refers to affidavit of recognition executed by the father such as the Affidavit of Admission of Paternity or the Affidavit of Acknowledgement.

Note that the public document not made on the record of birth, or the AUSF shall be registered within twenty (20) days from the date of execution at the place where the birth was registered.  Otherwise the procedures of late registration shall be applied.

What are the requirement for the Child to Use the Surname of the Father?

For births not yet registered:

1.  The illegitimate child shall use the surname of the father IF A PUBLIC DOCUMENT is executed by the father, either at the back of the Certificate of Live Birth or in a separate document.

2.  If admission of paternity is made through a private handwritten instrument, the child shall use the surname of the father, provided the registration is supported by:

a.  AUSF

b.  Consent of the child, if 18 years old and over at the time of the filing of the document

c.  Any TWO of the following documents showing clearly the paternity between the father and the child:

i.  Employment Records

ii.  SSS/GSIS Records

iii.  Insurance

iv.  Certificate of Membership in any Organization

v.  Statement of Assets and Liabilities

vi.  Income Tax Return (ITR)

For Births Previously Registered Under the Surname of the Mother:

1.  If filiation has been expressly recognition by the father, the child shall use the surname of the father upon the submission of the accomplished AUSF

2.  If filiation has not been expressly recognized by the father, the child shall use the surname of the father upon submission of a public document or a private handwritten instrument supported by the documents in number 1.  The consent of the illegitimate child is required if he/she has reached the age of majority and the same may be contained in a separate or the same instrument and duly notarized.

Private handwritten instrument is an instrument executed in the handwriting of the father and duly signed by him where he expressly recognizes paternity to the child.

Paternity refers to the relationship of the father to his child while filiation refers to the legal status of the relationship of the child to his/her parents.

So what are the effects of recognition?

For Births Not Yet Registered:

1.  The surname of the father shall be entered as the last name of the child in the Certificate of Live Birth.  The Certificate of Live Birth shall be recorded in the Register of Births.

2.  If admission of paternity is done at the back of the Certificate of Live Birth, no annotation is made is the Certificate of Live Birth.  However, annotation shall be made in the Register of Births as "Acknowledged by (name of father) on (date) pursuant to R.A. 9255." 

3.  If admission of paternity is made in a separate public document, the proper annotation shall be made in the Certificate of Live Birth and the Register of Births. The annotation shall be as follows:  "Acknowledged by (name of father) on (date) pursuant to RA 9255."

 4.  In case of delayed registration, follow the provisions in 8.1 to 8.3 of the implementing rules and regulations of R.A. 9255 and comply with the requirements under Rule 25 of Administrative Order No. 1 series of 1993. Proper annotation with regard to delayed registration shall be made.

For Births Previously Registered under the Surname of the Mother
 

1.  If admission of paternity was made either at the back of the Certificate of Live Birth or in a separate public document or in a private handwritten document, the public document or AUSF shall be recorded in the Register of Legal Instruments. Proper annotation shall be made in the Certificate of Live Birth and the Register of Births as follows: "The surname of the child is hereby changed from (original surname) to (new surname) pursuant to RA 9255." The original surname of the child appearing in the Certificate of Live Birth and Register of Births shall not be changed or deleted.
 

2.  If filiation was not expressly recognized at the time of registration, the public document or AUSF shall be recorded in the Register of Legal Instruments. Proper annotation shall be made in the Certificate of Live Birth and the Register of Births as follows: "Acknowledged by (name of father) on (date). The surname of the child is hereby changed from (original surname) to (new surname) on (date) pursuant to RA 9255."