Costs against petitioners in both petitions.

SO ORDERED.
Quisumbing (Chairperson), Chico-Nazario,
Castro and Peralta,** JJ., concur.

Leonardo-De

Petitions denied.
Note.Final Judgment and Interlocutory Order Distinguished.
(Philippine Ports Authority vs. Rosales-Bondoc, 531 SCRA 198
[2007])
o0o
G.R. No. 177728.

July 31, 2009.*

JENIE SAN JUAN DELA CRUZ and minor CHRISTIAN DELA

CRUZ AQUINO, represented by JENIE SAN JUAN DELA
CRUZ, petitioners, vs. RONALD PAUL S. GRACIA, in his capacity
as City Civil Registrar of Antipolo City, respondent.
The Family Law; Paternity and Filiation; Use of Surname; An
illegitimate child is permitted to use the surname of his/her father if the
latter had expressly recognized him/her as his offspring through the
record of birth appearing in the civil register, or through an admission
made in a public or private handwritten instrument.Article 176 of the
Family Code, as amended by R.A. 9255, permits an illegitimate child to
use the surname of his/her father if the latter had expressly recognized
him/her as his offspring through the record of birth appearing in the civil
register, or through an admission made in a public or private handwritten
instrument. The recognition made in any of these documents is, in itself, a
consummated act of
_______________
** Additional member per Special Order No. 664 dated July 15, 2009.
* SECOND DIVISION.
649

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Dela Cruz vs. Gracia

649

acknowledgment of the childs paternity; hence, no separate action for

judicial approval is necessary.
Same; Same; Same; Article 176 of the Family Code, as amended,
does not, indeed, explicitly state that the private handwritten instrument
acknowledging the childs paternity must be signed by the putative
father.Article 176 of the Family Code, as amended, does not, indeed,
explicitly state that the private handwritten instrument acknowledging the
childs paternity must be signed by the putative father. This provision

must, however, be read in conjunction with related provisions of the

Family Code which require that recognition by the father must bear his
signature.
Same; Same; Same; A father who acknowledges paternity of a child
through a written instrument must affix his signature thereon is clearly
implied in Article 176 of the Family Code.That a father who
acknowledges paternity of a child through a written instrument must affix
his signature thereon is clearly implied in Article 176 of the Family Code.
Paragraph 2.2, Rule 2 of A.O. No. 1, Series of 2004, merely articulated
such requirement; it did not unduly expand the import of Article 176 as
claimed by petitioners.
Same; Same; Same; The welfare of the child shall be the paramount
consideration in resolving questions affecting him.Our laws instruct
that the welfare of the child shall be the paramount consideration in
resolving questions affecting him. x x x It is thus (t)he policy of the
Family Code to liberalize the rule on the investigation of the paternity
and filiation of children, especially of illegitimate children x x x. Too,
(t)he State as parens patriae affords special protection to children from
abuse, exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to their
development.

PETITION for review on certiorari of a decision of the Regional

Trial Court of Antipolo City, Br. 73.
The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.
Tagle-Chua, Cruz & Aquino for petitioners.
The Solicitor General for respondent.
650

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SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Dela Cruz vs. Gracia

CARPIO-MORALES, J.:
For several months in 2005, then 21-year old petitioner Jenie San
Juan Dela Cruz (Jenie) and then 19-year old Christian Dominique
Sto. Tomas Aquino (Dominique) lived together as husband and wife
without the benefit of marriage. They resided in the house of
Dominiques parents Domingo B. Aquino and Raquel Sto. Tomas
Aquino at Pulang-lupa, Dulumbayan, Teresa, Rizal.
On September 4, 2005, Dominique died.1 After almost two
months, or on November 2, 2005, Jenie, who continued to live with
Dominiques parents, gave birth to her herein co-petitioner minor
child Christian Dela Cruz Aquino at the Antipolo Doctors
Hospital, Antipolo City.

Jenie applied for registration of the childs birth, using

Dominiques surname Aquino, with the Office of the City Civil
Registrar, Antipolo City, in support of which she submitted the
childs Certificate of Live Birth,2 Affidavit to Use the Surname of the
Father3 (AUSF) which she had executed and signed, and Affidavit of
Acknowledgment executed by Dominiques father Domingo Butch
Aquino.4 Both affidavits attested, inter alia, that during the lifetime
of Dominique, he had continuously acknowledged his yet unborn
child, and that his paternity had never been questioned. Jenie
attached to the AUSF a document entitled AUTOBIOGRAPHY
which Dominique, during his lifetime, wrote in his own handwriting,
the pertinent portions of which read:
_______________
1 Annex B (Certificate of Death), Petition; Rollo, pp. 21-22.
2 Annex C, Petition; Id., at pp. 23-24. Under the Affidavit of
Acknowledgment/Admission of Paternity portion of the childs birth certificate, only
petitioner Jenie signed as the childs mother, leaving blank the space for the fathers
signature as the latter died about two months prior to the childs birth.
3 Annex D, Petition; Id., at p. 25.
4 Annex E, Id., at p. 26.
651

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Dela Cruz vs. Gracia

651

AQUINO, CHRISTIAN DOMINIQUE S.T.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY
IM CHRISTIAN DOMINIQUE STO. TOMAS AQUINO, 19
YEARS OF AGE TURNING 20 THIS COMING OCTOBER 31, 2005.5
I RESIDE AT PULANG-LUPA STREET BRGY. DULUMBAYAN,
TERESA, RIZAL. I AM THE YOUNGEST IN OUR FAMILY. I HAVE
ONE BROTHER NAMED JOSEPH BUTCH STO. TOMAS AQUINO.
MY FATHERS NAME IS DOMINGO BUTCH AQUINO AND MY
MOTHERS NAME IS RAQUEL STO. TOMAS AQUINO.x x x.
xxxx
AS OF NOW I HAVE MY WIFE NAMED JENIE DELA CRUZ. WE
MET EACH OTHER IN OUR HOMETOWN, TEREZA RIZAL. AT
FIRST WE BECAME GOOD FRIENDS, THEN WE FELL IN LOVE
WITH EACH OTHER, THEN WE BECAME GOOD COUPLES. AND
AS OF NOW SHE IS PREGNANT AND FOR THAT WE LIVE
TOGETHER IN OUR HOUSE NOW. THATS ALL. (Emphasis and
underscoring supplied)
6

By letter dated November 11, 2005,7 the City Civil Registrar of

Antipolo City, Ronald Paul S. Gracia (respondent), denied Jenies

application for registration of the childs name in this wise:
7.

Rule 7 of Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 2004

(Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No.
9255 [An Act Allowing Illegitimate Children to Use the
Surname of their Father, Amending for the Purpose, Article 176
of Executive Order No. 209, otherwise Known as the Family
Code of the Philippines ]) provides that:
Rule 7. Requirements for the Child to Use the Surname of the
Father
_______________
5 Dominique was born on October 31, 1985 as shown in his Certificate of Live
Birth; Rollo, p. 27.
6 Annex A, Petition; Rollo, p. 20.
7 Annex F, Id., at pp. 28-30.

652

65
2

SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Dela Cruz vs. Gracia

7.1 For Births Not Yet Registered

7.1.1 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.
7.1.2 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 the following
 documents:
a. AUSF8
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:
1. Employment records
2. SSS/GSIS records
3. Insurance
4. Certification
of
membership
in
any
organization
5. Statement of Assets and Liability
6. Income Tax Return (ITR)
In summary, the child cannot use the surname of his father because he was
born out of wedlock and the father unfortunately died prior to his birth and has
no more capacity to acknowledge his paternity to the child (either through the

back of Municipal Form No. 102Affidavit of Acknowledgment/Admission

of Paternityor the Authority to Use the Surname of the Father).
(Underscoring supplied)
_______________
8 This Affidavit to Use Surname of the Father may be executed by the father,
mother, child if of age, or the guardian, x x x in order for the child to use the surname
of the father (Rule 3 of Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 2004).
653

VOL. 594, JULY 31, 2009

653
Dela Cruz vs. Gracia
Jenie and the child promptly filed a complaint9 for
injunction/registration of name against respondent before the
Regional Trial Court of Antipolo City, docketed as SCA Case No.
06-539, which was raffled to Branch 73 thereof. The complaint
alleged that, inter alia, the denial of registration of the childs name
is a violation of his right to use the surname of his deceased father
under Article 176 of the Family Code, as amended by Republic
Act (R.A.) No. 9255,10 which provides:
Article 176. 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 this Code. However, illegitimate children may
use the surname of their father if their filiation has been expressly
recognized by the father through the record of birth appearing in the civil
register, or when an admission in a public document or private
handwritten instrument is made by the father. Provided, the father has
the right to institute an action before the regular courts to prove nonfiliation during his lifetime. The legitime of each illegitimate child shall
consist of one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child. (Emphasis and
underscoring supplied)

They maintained that the Autobiography executed by Dominique

constitutes an admission of paternity in a private handwritten
instrument within the contemplation of the above-quoted provision
of law.
For failure to file a responsive pleading or answer despite service
of summons, respondent was declared in default.
Jenie thereupon presented evidence ex-parte. She testified on the
circumstances of her common-law relationship with Dominique and
affirmed her declarations in her AUSF that
_______________
9 Rollo, pp. 15-19.
10 An Act Allowing Illegitimate Children to Use the Surname of their Father,

Amending for the Purpose, Article 176 of Executive Order No. 209, otherwise known
as the Family Code of the Philippines.
654

65
4

SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Dela Cruz vs. Gracia

during his lifetime, he had acknowledged his yet unborn child.11 She
offered Dominiques handwritten Autobiography (Exhibit A) as
her documentary evidence-in-chief.12 Dominiques lone brother,
Joseph Butch S.T. Aquino, also testified, corroborating Jenies
declarations.13
By Decision14 of April 25, 2007, the trial court dismissed the
complaint for lack of cause of action as the Autobiography was
unsigned, citing paragraph 2.2, Rule 2 (Definition of Terms) of
Administrative Order (A.O.) No. 1, Series of 2004 (the Rules and
Regulations Governing the Implementation of R.A. 9255) which
defines private handwritten document through which a father may
acknowledge an illegitimate child as follows:
2.2 Private handwritten instrumentan instrument executed in the
handwriting of the father and duly signed by him where he expressly
recognizes paternity to the child. (Underscoring supplied)

The trial court held that even if Dominique was the author of the
handwritten Autobiography, the same does not contain any express
recognition of paternity.
Hence, this direct resort to the Court via Petition for Review on
Certiorari raising this purely legal issue of:
WHETHER OR NOT THE UNSIGNED HANDWRITTEN
STATEMENT OF THE DECEASED FATHER OF MINOR
CHRISTIAN DELA CRUZ CAN BE CONSIDERED AS A
RECOGNITION OF PATERNITY IN A PRIVATE HANDWRITTEN
INSTRUMENT WITHIN THE CONTEMPLATION OF ARTICLE 176
OF THE FAMILY CODE, AS AMENDED BY R.A. 9255, WHICH
ENTITLES
_______________
11 Decision dated April 25, 2007 of the RTC of Antipolo City, Branch 73; Rollo, p. 13.
12 Ibid.
13 Ibid.
14 Id., at pp. 12-14.
655

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Dela Cruz vs. Gracia

655

THE SAID MINOR TO USE HIS FATHERS SURNAME.

15

(Underscoring supplied)

Petitioners contend that Article 176 of the Family Code, as

amended, does not expressly require that the private handwritten
instrument containing the putative fathers admission of paternity
must be signed by him. They add that the deceaseds handwritten
Autobiography, though unsigned by him, is sufficient, for the
requirement in the above-quoted paragraph 2.2 of the Administrative
Order that the admission/recognition must be duly signed by the
father is void as it unduly expanded the earlier-quoted provision of
Article 176 of the Family Code.16
Petitioners further contend that the trial court erred in not finding
that Dominiques handwritten Autobiography contains a clear and
unmistakable recognition of the childs paternity.17
In its Comment, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG)
submits that respondents position, as affirmed by the trial court, is
in consonance with the law and thus prays for the dismissal of the
petition. It further submits that Dominiques Autobiography merely
acknowledged Jenies pregnancy but not [his] paternity of the child
she was carrying in her womb.18
Article 176 of the Family Code, as amended by R.A. 9255,
permits an illegitimate child to use the surname of his/her father if
the latter had expressly recognized him/her as his offspring through
the record of birth appearing in the civil register, or through an
admission made in a public or private handwritten instrument. The
recognition made in any of these documents is, in itself, a
consummated act of acknowl_______________
15 Id., at p. 6.
16 Id., at p. 7.
17 Id., at p. 8.
18 Id., at pp. 55-56.
656

65
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Dela Cruz vs. Gracia

edgment of the childs paternity; hence, no separate action for
judicial approval is necessary.19
Article 176 of the Family Code, as amended, does not, indeed,
explicitly state that the private handwritten instrument
acknowledging the childs paternity must be signed by the putative

father. This provision must, however, be read in conjunction with

related provisions of the Family Code which require that recognition
by the father must bear his signature, thus:
Art. 175. Illegitimate children may establish their illegitimate
filiation in the same way and on the same evidence as legitimate children.
xxxx
Art 172. The filiation of legitimate children is established by any of
the following:
(1) The record of birth appearing in the civil register or a final
judgment; or
(2) An admission of legitimate filiation in a public document or a
private handwritten instrument and signed by the parent concerned.
x x x x (Emphasis and underscoring supplied)

That a father who acknowledges paternity of a child through a

written instrument must affix his signature thereon is clearly implied
in Article 176 of the Family Code. Paragraph 2.2, Rule 2 of A.O.
No. 1, Series of 2004, merely articulated such requirement; it did not
unduly expand the import of Article 176 as claimed by petitioners.
In the present case, however, special circumstances exist to hold
that Dominiques Autobiography, though unsigned by him,
substantially satisfies the requirement of the law.
_______________
19 De Jesus v. Estate of Decedent Juan Gamboa Dizon, G.R. No. 142877, October
2, 2001, 366 SCRA 499, 503.
657

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Dela Cruz vs. Gracia

657

First, Dominique died about two months prior to the childs birth.
Second, the relevant matters in the Autobiography, unquestionably
handwritten by Dominique, correspond to the facts culled from the
testimonial evidence Jenie proffered.20 Third, Jenies testimony is
corroborated by the Affidavit of Acknowledgment of Dominiques
father Domingo Aquino and testimony of his brother Joseph Butch
Aquino whose hereditary rights could be affected by the registration
of the questioned recognition of the child. These circumstances
indicating Dominiques paternity of the child give life to his
statements in his Autobiography that JENIE DELA CRUZ is MY
WIFE as WE FELL IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER and
NOW SHE IS PREGNANT AND FOR THAT WE LIVE

TOGETHER.
In Herrera v. Alba,21 the Court summarized the laws, rules, and
jurisprudence on establishing filiation, discoursing in relevant part:
Laws, Rules, and Jurisprudence
Establishing Filiation
The relevant provisions of the Family Code provide as follows:
ART. 175. Illegitimate children may establish their illegitimate
filiation in the same way and on the same evidence as legitimate children.
xxxx
ART. 172. The filiation of legitimate children is established by any
of the following:
(1) The record of birth appearing in the civil register or a
final judgment; or
(2) An admission of legitimate filiation in a public document
or a private handwritten instrument and signed by the parent
concerned.
_______________
20 See Reyes v. Court of Appeals, No. L-39537, March 19, 1985, 135 SCRA 439, 450,
citing Varela v. Villanueva, 95 Phil. 248 (1954).
21 G.R. No. 148220, June 15, 2005, 460 SCRA 197, 206-208.
658

65
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Dela Cruz vs. Gracia

In the absence of the foregoing evidence, the legitimate filiation shall

be proved by:
(1) The open and continuous possession of the status of a
legitimate child; or
(2) Any other means allowed by the Rules of Court and
special laws.
The Rules on Evidence include provisions on pedigree. The relevant
sections of Rule 130 provide:
SEC. 39. Act or declaration about pedigree.The act or
declaration of a person deceased, or unable to testify, in respect to the
pedigree of another person related to him by birth or marriage, may be
received in evidence where it occurred before the controversy, and the
relationship between the two persons is shown by evidence other than
such act or declaration. The word pedigree includes relationship, family
genealogy, birth, marriage, death, the dates when and the places where
these facts occurred, and the names of the relatives. It embraces also facts
of family history intimately connected with pedigree.
SEC. 40. Family reputation or tradition regarding pedigree.The

reputation or tradition existing in a family previous to the controversy, in

respect to the pedigree of any one of its members, may be received in
evidence if the witness testifying thereon be also a member of the family,
either by consanguinity or affinity. Entries in family bibles or other
family books or charts, engraving on rings, family portraits and the like,
may be received as evidence of pedigree.
This Courts rulings further specify what incriminating acts are
acceptable as evidence to establish filiation. In Pe Lim v. CA, a case
petitioner often cites, we stated that the issue of paternity still has to be
resolved by such conventional evidence as the relevant incriminating
verbal and written acts by the putative father. Under Article 278 of
the New Civil Code, voluntary recognition by a parent shall be made in
the record of birth, a will, a statement before a court of record, or in any
authentic writing. To be effective, the claim of filiation must be made
by the putative father himself and the writing must be the writing of
the putative father. A notarial agreement to support a child whose
filiation is admitted by the putative father was considered acceptable
evidence. Letters to the mother vowing to be a good father to the child
and
659

VOL. 594, JULY 31, 2009

Dela Cruz vs. Gracia

659

pictures of the putative father cuddling the child on various occasions,

together with the certificate of live birth, proved filiation. However, a
student permanent record, a written consent to a fathers operation, or a
marriage contract where the putative father gave consent, cannot be taken
as authentic writing. Standing alone, neither a certificate of baptism nor
family pictures are sufficient to establish filiation. (Emphasis and
underscoring supplied.)

In the case at bar, there is no dispute that the earlier quoted

statements in Dominiques Autobiography have been made and
written by him. Taken together with the other relevant facts extant
hereinthat Dominique, during his lifetime, and Jenie were living
together as common-law spouses for several months in 2005 at his
parents house in Pulang-lupa, Dulumbayan, Teresa, Rizal; she was
pregnant when Dominique died on September 4, 2005; and about
two months after his death, Jenie gave birth to the childthey
sufficiently establish that the child of Jenie is Dominiques.
In view of the pronouncements herein made, the Court sees it fit
to adopt the following rules respecting the requirement of affixing
the signature of the acknowledging parent in any private handwritten
instrument wherein an admission of filiation of a legitimate or

illegitimate child is made:

1) Where the private handwritten instrument is the lone piece of
evidence submitted to prove filiation, there should be strict
compliance with the requirement that the same must be signed by
the acknowledging parent; and
2) Where the private handwritten instrument is accompanied by
other relevant and competent evidence, it suffices that the claim of
filiation therein be shown to have been made and handwritten by the
acknowledging parent as it is merely corroborative of such other
evidence.
Our laws instruct that the welfare of the child shall be the
paramount consideration in resolving questions affecting
660

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SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Dela Cruz vs. Gracia

him.22 Article 3(1) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
a Child of which the Philippines is a signatory is similarly emphatic:
Article 3
1. In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by
public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law,
administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of
the child shall be a primary consideration. (Underscoring
supplied)
23

It is thus (t)he policy of the Family Code to liberalize the rule on

the investigation of the paternity and filiation of children, especially
of illegitimate children x x x.24 Too, (t)he State as parens patriae
affords special protection to children from abuse, exploitation and
other conditions prejudicial to their development.25
In the eyes of society, a child with an unknown father bears the
stigma of dishonor. It is to petitioner minor childs best interests to
allow him to bear the surname of the now deceased Dominique and
enter it in his birth certificate.
WHEREFORE, the petition is GRANTED. The City Civil
Registrar of Antipolo City is DIRECTED to immediately enter the
surname of the late Christian Dominique Sto. Tomas Aquino as the
surname of petitioner minor Christian dela Cruz in his Certificate of
Live Birth, and record the same in the Register of Births.
_______________
22 Concepcion v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 123450, August 31, 2005, 468

SCRA 438, 457, citing Article 8 of Presidential Decree 603 (The Child and Youth
Welfare Code).
23 Cited in Concepcion v. Court of Appeals, Id.
24 Herrera v. Alba, supra note 21 at p. 219.
25 Concepcion v. Court of Appeals, supra note 22.

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