Case Digest (G.R. No. 114742)
Facts:
Carlitos E. Silva v. Hon. Court of Appeals and Suzanne T. Gonzales, G.R. No. 114742, July 17, 1997, Supreme Court First Division, Vitug, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Carlitos E. Silva and respondent Suzanne T. Gonzales cohabited without marriage and had two children, Ramon Carlos and Rica Natalia. Their relationship later broke down amid disputes (Silva alleged Gonzales resumed her acting career; Gonzales disputed this), and they separated. Silva claimed a prior understanding that he could have the children on weekends, but in February 1986 Gonzales refused to allow the children to be with him on weekends.
Silva filed a petition for visitorial (visitation) rights before the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 78, Quezon City. The RTC, by order dated April 7, 1989, granted Silva visitorial rights on Saturdays and/or Sundays but restrained him from taking the children out of the mother's custody without the mother's written consent. Gonzales appealed the RTC order to the Court of Appeals.
While the litigation was pending, Gonzales married a Dutch national and emigrated to Holland with the two children. On September 23, 1993, the Court of Appeals reversed the RTC, denied Silva's petition for visitorial rights, and relied on child-protection provisions of PD 603 (Child and Youth Welfare Code)—notably Articles 3 and 8—and on Article 176 of the Family Code in emphasizing the children's welfare and the undesirability of alternating households (mother on weekdays, father and his live-in partner on weekends) for children of tender years.
Silva brought his case to the Supreme Court seeking relief; the Solicitor Genera...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Whether petitioner is entitled to visitorial (visitation) rights to his children.
- Whether the Court of Appeals correctly denied visitation based on the application of PD 603 (Arts. 3 and 8), the children's illegitimacy (Art. 176, Family Code), and allegations about petit...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)