SUCCESSIONAL RIGHTS FOR ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN
ARTICLE 194 OF THE FAMILY CODE
VICTORIA C. TAYAG, Petitioner, vs. FELICIDAD A. TAYAG-GALLOR, Respondent.
G.R. No. 174680, March 24, 2008
Facts:
On 15 January 2001, respondent herein, Felicidad A. Tayag-Gallor, filed a petition for the issuance of letters of administration over the estate of Ismael Tayag.[3] Respondent alleged in the petition, docketed as Special Proceeding No. 5994 (SP 5994),... that she is one of the three (3) illegitimate children of the late Ismael Tayag and Ester C. Angeles. The decedent was married to petitioner herein, Victoria C. Tayag, but the two allegedly did not have any children of their own.
Petitioner opposed the petition, asserting that she purchased the properties subject of the petition using her own money. She claimed that she and Ismael Tayag got married in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on 25 October 1973, and that they have an adopted daughter, Carmela Tayag, who is... presently residing in the USA. It is allegedly not true that she is planning to sell the properties. Petitioner prayed for the dismissal of the suit because respondent failed to state a cause of action.
She also averred that it is necessary to allege that respondent was acknowledged and... recognized by Ismael Tayag as his illegitimate child. There being no such allegation, the action becomes one to compel recognition which cannot be brought after the death of the putative father. To prevent further encroachment upon the court's time, petitioner moved for a... hearing on her affirmative defenses.
In a Motion [5] dated 31 August 2001, petitioner reiterated her sole ownership of the properties and presented the transfer certificates of title thereof in her name. She also averred that it is necessary to allege that respondent was acknowledged and... recognized by Ismael Tayag as his illegitimate child. There being no such allegation, the action becomes one to compel recognition which cannot be brought after the death of the putative father. To prevent further encroachment upon the court's time, petitioner moved for a... hearing on her affirmative defenses.
The Court of Appeals ruled, in essence, that the allegation that respondent is an... illegitimate child suffices for a cause of action, without need to state that she had been recognized and acknowledged as such. However, respondent still has to prove her allegation and, correspondingly, petitioner has the right to refute the allegation in the course of the... settlement proceedings.
In her Petition[10] 17 dated September 2006, petitioner asserts that respondent should not be allowed to prove her filiation in the settlement of Ismael Tayag's estate. If, following the case of Uyguanco v. Court of Appeals,[11] the claim of filiation may no longer be proved in an action for recognition, with more reason that it should not be allowed to be proved in an action for the settlement of the decedent's estate. Thus, petitioner claims, respondent may no longer maintain an... action to prove that she is the illegitimate child of the decedent after the latter's death.
The appellate court held that the mere allegation that respondent is an illegitimate child suffices.
Issues:
whether respondent's petition for the issuance of letters of administration sufficiently states a cause of action considering that respondent merely alleged therein that she is an... illegitimate child of the decedent, without stating that she had been acknowledged or recognized as such by the latter.
Ruling:
Rule 79 of the Rules of Court provides that a petition for the issuance of letters of administration must be filed by an interested person. In Saguinsin v. Lindayag,[14] the Court defined an interested party as one who would be benefited... by the estate, such as an heir, or one who has a claim against the estate, such as a creditor. This interest, furthermore, must be material and direct, not merely indirect or contingent.
The right of respondent to maintain such a suit is dependent on whether she is entitled to successional rights as an illegitimate child... of the decedent which, in turn, may be established through voluntary or compulsory recognition.
Voluntary recognition must be express such as that in a record of birth appearing in the civil register, a final judgment, a public instrument or private handwritten instrument signed by the parent concerned.[15] The voluntary recognition of an... illegitimate child by his or her parent needs no further court action and is, therefore, not subject to the limitation that the action for recognition be brought during the lifetime of the putative parent.[16] Judicial or compulsory recognition, on... the other hand, may be demanded by the illegitimate child of his parents and must be brought during the lifetime of the presumed parents.
Petitioner's thesis is essentially based on her contention that by Ismael Tayag's death, respondent's illegitimate filiation and necessarily, her interest in the decedent's estate which the Rules require to be material and direct, may no longer be established. Petitioner,... however, overlooks the fact that respondent's successional rights may be established not just by a judicial action to compel recognition but also by proof that she had been voluntarily acknowledged and recognized as an illegitimate child.
In contrast, respondent in this case had not been given the opportunity to present evidence to show whether she had been voluntarily recognized and acknowledged by her deceased father because of petitioner's opposition to her petition and motion for hearing on affirmative... defenses. There is, as yet, no way to determine if her petition is actually one to compel recognition which had already been foreclosed by the death of her father, or whether indeed she has a material and direct interest to maintain the suit by reason of the decedent's voluntary... acknowledgment or recognition of her illegitimate filiation.
We find, therefore, that the allegation that respondent is an illegitimate child of the decedent suffices even without further stating that she has been so recognized or acknowledged. A motion to dismiss on the ground of failure to state a cause of action in the complaint... hypothetically admits the truth of the facts alleged therein.[19] Assuming the fact alleged to be true, i.e., that respondent is the... decedent's illegitimate child, her interest in the estate as such would definitely be material and direct. The appellate court was, therefore, correct in allowing the proceedings to continue, ruling that, "respondent still has the duty to prove the allegation (that she is an... illegitimate child of the decedent), just as the petitioner has the right to disprove it, in the course of the settlement proceedings."
