Case Digest (G.R. No. 206248)
Facts:
Grace M. Grande v. Patricio T. Antonio, G.R. No. 206248, February 18, 2014, the Supreme Court En Banc, Velasco Jr., J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Grace M. Grande and respondent Patricio T. Antonio lived together as husband and wife for a time although Antonio was married to another woman; two sons were born of that relationship, Andre Lewis (February 8, 1998) and Jerard Patrick (October 13, 1999). The births were not registered with Antonio as father in the civil registry. Grande left for the United States with the children in May 2007.
Afterward, Antonio filed in the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 8, Aparri, Cagayan, a Petition for Judicial Approval of Recognition with Prayer to Take Parental Authority, Parental Physical Custody, Correction/Change of Surname of Minors and for the Issuance of Writ of Preliminary Injunction, attaching a notarized Deed of Voluntary Recognition of Paternity. On September 28, 2010, the RTC granted the petition: it judicially approved recognition, ordered the City Registrar of Makati to enter Antonio as father and change the minors' surnames to Antonio, awarded joint parental authority, gave Antonio primary custody (Monday–Friday) with Grande custody on weekends, restrained the parties from bringing the minors out of the country without consent, and ordered support of P30,000 monthly (70% Antonio, 30% Grande). Grande's motion for reconsideration was denied by the RTC on November 22, 2010.
Grande appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA), which on July 24, 2012 partly granted the appeal: it modified the RTC decision by awarding sole custody to Grande, ordering Antonio to deliver custody to her, granting Antonio visitorial rights at least twice weekly and conditioning travel on Grande's written consent, and maintaining the P30,000 support order; however, the CA directed the Civil Registrar to enter the surname Antonio for both children, reasoning that Antonio's recognition compels the children to use his surname under the best-interest-of-the-child principle. Grande's partial motion for reconsideration in the CA, challenging the surname order, was denied.
Grande filed a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 to the Supreme Court, contesting particularly the CA's direction that the minors' surnames be changed to Antonio and arguing that Article 176 of the Family Code as amended by Republic Act No. 9255 (RA 9255) is permissive and does not allow a fathe...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- May a father, by recognizing the filiation of his illegitimate children, compel those children to use his surname despite the law's permissive lang...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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