Case Summary (G.R. No. 124520)
Factual Background
The spouses Antero Agonoy and Amanda R. Agonoy filed a petition for the adoption of the minors Quirino Bonilla and Wilson Marcos on 23 March 1971 in the Municipal Court of San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte, docketed as Spec. Proc. No. 37. Notices were served on the Solicitor General and published in the ILOCOS TIMES. On 22 April 1971 the minors Roderick and Rommel Daoang, through their father and guardian ad litem, opposed the petition. The oppositors asserted that the petitioners had a legitimate daughter, their mother, who had died 1 March 1971, and argued that the spouses were thereby disqualified to adopt under Art. 335 of the Civil Code.
Trial Court Proceedings
After publication and notice, evidence was presented in Spec. Proc. No. 37. The Municipal Court of San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte rendered a decision, dated 30 June 1971, granting the adoption petition. The court declared that Quirino Bonilla and Wilson Marcos were the children by adoption of the joint petitioners Antero and Amanda Agonoy, freed the minors from legal obedience and maintenance by their respective parents, and ordered the change of the family names "Bonilla" and "Marcos" to "Agonoy" and entry of the decision in the local civil registry.
The Parties' Contentions in This Court
The petitioners sought review by certiorari and contended that the trial court erred in overruling their opposition. They relied on In re Adoption of Millendez to argue that the adoption would introduce a foreign element into the family, reduce the oppositors' legitimes, and effect an indirect, permanent and irrevocable disinheritance contrary to law and public policy. The respondents defended the trial court's ruling that the spouses were not disqualified under Art. 335 because that provision, by its terms, does not include grandchildren among those who cannot adopt.
Issue Presented
The sole legal issue was whether the respondent spouses Antero and Amanda Agonoy were disqualified to adopt under paragraph (1) of Art. 335, Civil Code, which provides in pertinent part: "The following cannot adopt: (1) Those who have legitimate, legitimated, acknowledged natural children, or children by legal fiction; xxx."
Ruling of the Supreme Court
The Court denied the petition for certiorari and affirmed the judgment of the Municipal Court of San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte in Spec. Proc. No. 37. The Court found no basis to set aside the trial court's decision and made no pronouncement as to costs.
Legal Basis and Reasoning
The Court held that the language of paragraph (1) of Art. 335 is clear and unambiguous. The terms "legitimate, legitimated, acknowledged natural children, or children by legal fiction" have a defined legal meaning that does not encompass grandchildren. The Court applied the rule of statutory construction that a statute clear on its face requires no interpretation. The Court noted that extending the provision to include grandchildren would violate the maxim that what is expressly included excludes what is not.
Precedents, Comparative Law, and Policy Considerations
The Court observed that the Spanish Civil Code formerly disqualified persons who had "legitimate or legitimated descendants" from adopting and that under that formulation the spouses would have been disqualified because they had legitimate grandchildren. The Court emphasized that the Philippine Civil Code altered the term to "children" in paragraph (1) of Art. 335, manifesting a narrower legislative choice. The Court further noted the doctrinal shift in adoption law from primarily benefiting the adopter to prioritizing the welfare of the child. The Court cited In re Adoption of Resaba and Santos
...continue reading
Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 124520)
Parties and Procedural Posture
- RODERICK DAOANG and ROMMEL DAOANG, assisted by their father ROMEO DAOANG, are the petitioners in this petition for review on certiorari from the Municipal Court decision in Spec. Proc. No. 37.
- THE MUNICIPAL JUDGE, SAN NICOLAS, ILOCOS NORTE, ANTERO AGONOY and AMANDA RAMOS-AGONOY are the respondents in the petition before the Supreme Court.
- The adoption petition below was filed as Spec. Proc. No. 37 in the Municipal Court of San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte, and the Municipal Court rendered its decision on 30 June 1971.
- The Supreme Court, with Padilla, J. as ponente, resolved G.R. No. L-34568 by decision dated March 28, 1988.
Key Factual Allegations
- Antero Agonoy and Amanda Ramos-Agonoy filed a petition for adoption on 23 March 1971 seeking to adopt the minors Quirino Bonilla and Wilson Marcos.
- The petition was docketed as Spec. Proc. No. 37 and set for hearing on 24 April 1971, with notices served upon the Office of the Solicitor General and published in the ILOCOS TIMES.
- On 22 April 1971, Roderick Daoang and Romel (Rommel) Daoang, assisted by their father Romeo Daoang, filed an opposition asserting that the spouses Agonoy had a legitimate daughter, Estrella Agonoy, who died on 1 March 1971, and that this fact disqualified the spouses from adopting under Art. 335(1) of the Civil Code.
- The Municipal Court heard evidence and granted the adoption petition, ordering that the adoptees be freed from parental obedience and maintenance, that their surnames be changed to Agonoy, and that successional rights be governed by the pertinent provisions of the New Civil Code.
Statutory Framework
- Art. 335 of the Civil Code provides that "The following cannot adopt: (1) Those who have legitimate, legitimated, acknowledged natural children, or children by legal fiction; xxx."
- The Court noted that the Civil Code of Spain formerly disqualified persons who had legitimate or legitimated descendants from adopting under its Article 174.
- The Court recognized the Child and Welfare Code, Art. 28 as reflecting the present legislative scheme favoring the welfare of the child and as altering prior disqualification regimes.
Issue Presented
- The sole legal issue presented was whether Antero Agonoy and Amanda