Case Summary (G.R. No. L-34568)
Procedural History
• March 23, 1971 – Antero and Amanda Agonoy file Spec. Proc. No. 37 in the Municipal Court of San Nicolas to adopt minors Quirino Bonilla and Wilson Marcos.
• April 22, 1971 – Roderick and Rommel Daoang (through their father) oppose the adoption, alleging disqualification under Civil Code Art. 335(1).
• June 30, 1971 – Municipal Court grants the adoption petition, declaring the minors as legal children of the Agonoys and ordering surname changes.
• March 28, 1988 – Supreme Court receives petition for review on certiorari challenging the disqualification issue.
Legal Issue
Whether spouses Antero and Amanda Agonoy are disqualified to adopt under paragraph (1), Article 335 of the Civil Code on account of having a legitimate, now-deceased daughter (Estrella Agonoy) and, by extension, grandchildren.
Applicable Law
Civil Code of the Philippines (adopted 1950)
Article 335(1): “The following cannot adopt: (1) Those who have legitimate, legitimated, acknowledged natural children, or children by legal fiction; …”
Petitioners’ Argument
• The Agonoys’ legitimate daughter and her children (the Daoangs) constitute “descendants” disqualified to adopt.
• Adoption would introduce a “foreign element” into the family and permanently reduce the Daoangs’ legitimes, contrary to succession policy and the principle against irrevocable disinheritance.
• Reliance on In re Adoption of Millendez, which emphasizes protection of legitimes and family unity.
Trial Court’s Ruling
The Municipal Court held the statutory term “children” under Art. 335(1) is clear and does not extend to grandchildren. By expressio unius est exclusio alterius, the absence of “grandchildren” in the enumeration excludes them from the prohibition.
Supreme Court’s Analysis
- Statutory Construction – Article 335(1) is clear and unambiguous; no need for judicial expansion.
- Legislative Intent – The Civil Code’s framers deliberately used “children” (not “descendants”) to limit disqualification to direct children.
- Historical Comparison – Spanish Civil Code
Case Syllabus (G.R. No. L-34568)
Facts
- On 23 March 1971, Antero Agonoy and Amanda Ramos-Agonoy filed Spec. Proc. No. 37 in the Municipal Court of San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte, to adopt minors Quirino Bonilla and Wilson Marcos.
- Notices of the adoption petition were served on the Office of the Solicitor General and published in the ILOCOS TIMES, a weekly newspaper of general circulation in Ilocos Norte.
- On 22 April 1971, Roderick and Romel Daoang, with their father Romeo Daoang as guardian ad litem, filed an opposition asserting that the Agonoys had a legitimate daughter, Estrella Agonoy (deceased 1 March 1971), and were therefore disqualified under Article 335(1) of the Civil Code.
Procedural History
- The adoption petition was heard on 24 April 1971 after publication and service of notice.
- The Municipal Court rendered judgment on 30 June 1971 granting the adoption and ordering the change of the adoptees’ surnames to “Agonoy.”
- The oppositors elevated the case by petition for review on certiorari to the Supreme Court, challenging the disqualification rul