Article 181 - Family Code and Case: Obispo et. al. vs. Obispo, G.R. No. L-7210

 

Article 181

          The legitimation of children who died before the celebration of the marriage shall benefit their descendants.

Rights even if the parents subsequently marry.

          This law speaks of a situation where even if the child is already dead, if his parents would get married, the marriage would redound to the benefit of his own children.

Illustration:

                    X and Y are living together as husband and wife without the benefit of                          a marriage. They begot a child Z who married A. They have two children,                         B and C. In 1989, Z died. In 1990, X and Y got married. The marriage of X               and Y would benefit B and C; hence, they can represent their father in the                         inheritance of their grandparents.

                    According to Manresa, the rule is only just. It is only just to give this                                   privilege to such children who, during their lifetime, were unjustly                                         deprived of it. By this means, the law preserves in the family property                        which otherwise might pass to strangers, and repair in some way the                        injury done to the memory of their father, committed by their        grandfather                       by his long silence, the effect of which deprived them of their status.

          Since a legitimate child has the same right as a legitimate child, he ahs now the right to inherit by right of representation. (Obispo vs. Obispo, 99 Phil. 960).

  

OLIMPIA OBISPO and FELICIANO CARPIO, Petitioners, vs. REMEDIOS OBISPO, CONRADO ALINEA and THE COURT OF APPEALS (Second Division), Respondents.

G.R. No. L-7210.  September 26, 1956.

Facts:

          Remedios Obispo, born out of wedlock on 5 of August 1921, is the daughter of Sebastian Obispo and Fructuosa Labrador who at the time of her conception and birth were free to marry, as in fact they did marry on 4 February 1924 before the justice of the peace of Botolan, Zambales. Sebastian Obispo is one of the children of the late Francisco Obispo and Dorotea Apostol. Sebastian Obispo died on 6 December 1940 and his widowed mother Dorotea Apostol on 15 June 1945. On 12 of August 1940, Dorotea Apostol and her five children with her late husband Francisco Obispo executed a deed of partition not only of the parcels of land which were the exclusive property of her late husband but also those belonging to her as paraphernal. Parcels No. 2, 3 and 4 described in the complaint belonged exclusively to the late Francisco Obispo, whereas parcels Nos. 1 and 5 also described in the complaint were paraphernal of Dorotea Apostol. In accordance with the partition the five parcels of land were awarded to Sebastian Obispo. On 17 October 1940, Sebastian Obispo executed a deed of donation of eleven parcels of land including the five awarded to him in the deed of partition to his wife Fructuosa Labrador and his daughter Remedios Obispo Labrador. As already stated, on 15 June 1945 Dorotea Apostol died and her daughter Olimpia Obispo commenced proceedings for the probate of a will of her late mother where she was named executrix . Remedios Obispo brought an action against Olimpia Obispo to recover possession of vie parcels of land.

After trial, the court of first instance of Zambales ruled in favor of Remedios Obispo, declaring Remedios as the natural child of the late Sebastian Obispo and Fructuosa Labrador, duly acknowledged and legitimated by the subsequent marriage of her parents, and as such is entitled to inherit from both her father and her grandmother, Dorotea Apostol.

          Olimpia Obispo appealed from the judgment to the Court of Appeals claiming that Remedios Obispo could not be deemed legitimated by subsequent marriage because she was not duly acknowledged by her father in the record of birth, or in a will, nor was she being then a minor acknowledged with judicial approval, as provided for in article 133 of the old Civil Code; the deed of partition was not legally sufficient to convey and transfer to the parties thereto the possession and ownership of the parcels of land partitioned therein which included parcels of land belonging as paraphernal to Dorotea Apostol, for she could revoke said partition by the execution of a last will and testament.

          The Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the trial court, hence this petition.

 

Issue:

Whether Remedios Obispo was duly acknowledge by her father.

Held:

          We are of the opinion that the acknowledgment under oath of minor Remedios Obispo as natural child of Sebastian Obispo made by the latter on 17 October 1940 before a justice of the peace (Exhibit E) did not need judicial approval for her to acquire the status of legitimated child by the marriage of her natural parents.