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PHILIPPINE SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

EN BANC

[G.R. No. 2078. September 7, 1905. ]

VICENTE BENEDICTO, Plaintiff-Appellants, v. ESTEBAN DE LA RAMA ET AL., Defendants-Appellees.

Del Pan, Ortigas & Fisher, for Appellant.

Jovito Yusay, for Appellees.

SYLLABUS


1. NATURAL CHILDREN; RECOGNITION; EVIDENCE. — The letter which is set out in the opinion is not such a writing as is mentioned in article 135. first paragraph, of the Civil Code, relating to the recognition of natural children.

2. ID.; ID.; EVIDENCE OF CONTINUING STATUS. — The facts set out in the opinion, and which the plaintiff offered to prove in the court below, do not show that the natural child was in the continuous possession of the status child. (Art. 135, second paragraph, Civil Code.)

3. ID.; ID.; ACTION TO COMPEL RECOGNITION. — A civil action to compel the recognition of a natural child upon article 449 of the Penal Code, in connection with article 135 of the Civil Code, can not be maintained until a final judgment convicting the father of the crime has been entered in a criminal prosecution.


D E C I S I O N


WILLARD, J.:


Jesus Tejico was born on the 6th day of August, 1894. His mother is Encarnacion Tejico. Isidro de la Rama died on the 10th of June, 1897. This action was brought on the 19th day of February, 1904, by Jesus Tejico, through his guardian, against the heirs of Isidro de la Rama, to compel the recognition of the plaintiff as the natural child of Don Isidro. The complaint was based upon the three cases mentioned in article 135 of the Civil Code. Judgment was entered in the court below in favor of the defendants, and the plaintiff has brought this case here by bill of exceptions. There was no motion for a new trial made in the court below, but the appellant relies upon exceptions taken to rulings of the court excluding evidence.

The only document presented by the plaintiff to prove his case under the first paragraph of article 135 was the letter marked "Exhibit 8." which is as follow:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph

"MANILA, 16 de Octubre de 1894.

"MI QUERIDA CANA: Contesto tus cartas, que he recibido con bastante retrazo, y me alegro mucho que hayas salido del paso conservando al pequeno bien como yo deseo.

"Cuanto deseo abrazarte pronto como tu sabes que la quiero pero los intereses de la casa, como tambien los disgustos que me estan dando mis hijos que tu no ignoras, me detiene por ahora volver en esa, pero tan pronto mi animo calme enseguida me retiro, asi te suplico tenga un poco mas de paciencia porque sin duda ninguna procurare volver pronto y gozaremos, cuida al niño como Dios manda y procura conservar bien tu honra como es debido. Ten cuidado de no admitir mas visitas que el primo Santos y asi conservaras mi carino de veras, otro vapor te escribire mas extenso hoy no puedo disponer de tiempo.

"Tuyo

"ISIDRO."cralaw virtua1aw library

It was proved that this letter was in the handwriting of Don Isidro, and was addressed to the mother of the plaintiff. A reading of it is sufficient to show that in it Don Isidro did not expressly recognize the plaintiff as his child. (Buenaventura v. Urbano 1 (No. 2205), just decided.)

To prove his case under the second paragraph of article 135, plaintiff proved that Don Isidro de la Rama lived in Manila from the time of the birth of the Plaintiff until the death of Don Isidro, and went to Iloilo only twice during that period. The plaintiff then offered to. prove that upon’ one of his visits he went to the house of the mother of plaintiff, in Molo, asked where his child was, was taken into a room where the child was sleeping, and that he kissed the child, and said that it resembled his other son Isidro; that afterwards, on the same day, he gave to the mother of the child 15O pesos, which he said was for the support of the child until he should send more money. The court rejected this evidence, to which the plaintiff excepted.

The plaintiff also offered to prove that Don Isidro paid money for the support of the mother and the purchase of certain articles for her, before the child was born; that he visited Iloilo twice after the birth of the child; that on the first occasion he gave the mother for its support 150 pesos, and on the second 200 pesos; that he stated in these interviews to the mother, in the presence of other witnesses, that he was the father of the child, and that he would always take care of it; that afterwards he sent money from Manila to the mother in Molo, for the purpose of supporting and maintaining the child. The court rejected this evidence, to which the plaintiff excepted.

The plaintiff also offered in evidence twelve letters proved to have been written by Don Isidro to the mother of the plaintiff. These were all rejected, to the rejection of which the plaintiff excepted. Seven of them were In the others no mention whatever was made of the child. In the others no mention whatever was made of the child They indicate that certain relations existed between the mother of the plaintiff and Don Isidro, but nothing in regard to the plaintiff.

An examination of the case of Buenaventura his. Urbano, above cited, will show that this evidence falls far short of proving the continuous possession of the status of a natural child. As was said in that case, it is not sufficient to prove that the defendant, Don Isidro, was the father of the child, and that is practically all that the evidence offered tended to show.

In the case of Llorente v. Rodriguez 2 (2 Off. Gaz., 535), cited by the appellant in his brief, the court was considering the case of a child born before the Civil Code went into effect, and of the obligation of the mother to recognize it. It therefore has no bearing upon this case.

To support the complaint so far as it is based upon the third case mentioned in article 135, viz, the cases provided for by the Penal Code, the plaintiff offered to prove that in the year 1893 Don Isidro de la Rama visited the house of the mother at Iloilo, abducted her, and carried her away by force. The court rejected this evidence, to which ruling the plaintiff excepted.

Article 449 of the Penal Code provides as follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph

"Los reos de violacion, estupro o rapto seran tambien condenados por via de indemnizacion:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph

"1.
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