Title
Del Socorro vs. Van Wilsem
Case
G.R. No. 193707
Decision Date
Dec 10, 2014
A Dutch national residing in the Philippines was held criminally liable under R.A. No. 9262 for unjustly refusing to support his minor child, as Philippine law governs his obligation despite his foreign nationality.
financial support
child
foreign nationals

Case Summary (G.R. No. L-1716)

Factual Background

Petitioner and respondent contracted marriage in Holland in 1990 and had a son, Roderigo, in 1994; the marriage was dissolved by a Dutch divorce decree in 1995, after which petitioner returned to the Philippines with the child. Petitioner alleged that respondent promised monthly support of Two Hundred Fifty (250) Guildene (equivalent to Php17,500.00 more or less) but thereafter failed and continues to fail to provide support. Respondent remarried in Pinamungahan, Cebu, and established a catering business there, while the parties and the child presently reside in Cebu City. Petitioner sent a demand letter for support on August 28, 2009, which respondent allegedly refused to receive, and thereafter filed a complaint-affidavit charging respondent with deprivation of financial support legally due the child.

Trial Court Proceedings

The Provincial Prosecutor of Cebu City recommended filing an information, which accused respondent of willfully and unlawfully depriving his then fourteen-year-old son of financial support, thereby committing economic abuse under R.A. No. 9262; the information was filed with the RTC-Cebu and raffled to Branch 20. The trial court issued a hold departure order, respondent was arrested and posted bail, and petitioner filed an application for a permanent protection order which respondent opposed. Before resolution of the protection order application, respondent was arraigned and moved to dismiss on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction over an alien and prescription. On February 19, 2010, the RTC dismissed the case, concluding that the facts charged did not constitute an offense with respect to an alien, and on September 1, 2010 the court denied petitioner’s motion for reconsideration, reiterating that a foreign national is not subject to Philippine family law and therefore cannot be charged under R.A. No. 9262 for failure to support.

Issues Presented

The petition framed two questions of law: whether a foreign national has an obligation to support his minor child under Philippine law; and whether a foreign national can be held criminally liable under R.A. No. 9262 for unjustified failure to support his minor child.

Petitionability and Mode of Review

The Supreme Court accepted the Rule 45 petition under the doctrine permitting direct appeal when only questions of law are raised, citing Republic v. Sunvar Realty Development Corporation and the distinction among appeal modes explained in Republic v. Malabanan; the Court found that the issues presented were legal in nature, novel, and suitable for disposition without remand to the Court of Appeals, and that considerations of judicial economy warranted direct review.

Parties’ Contentions

Petitioner relied on Family Code Article 195 to assert respondent’s obligation to support the child and urged that R.A. No. 9262 applies to all persons in the Philippines who are obliged to support their minor children regardless of nationality. Respondent maintained that petitioner failed to establish entitlement to support, that the Dutch divorce relieved him of obligations under Philippine law, and that foreign law governs family rights of aliens; respondent pleaded the laws of the Netherlands but did not prove them.

Legal Analysis of the Supreme Court

The Court emphasized that criminal liability under R.A. No. 9262 presupposes an existing legal obligation to support. It acknowledged that Family Code Article 195 imposes parental support obligations but observed that New Civil Code Article 15 follows the nationality principle and binds family rights and duties to personal law; consequently foreigners are governed by their national law on family obligations, as recognized in Vivo v. Cloribel. The Court, however, applied the processual rule that foreign law must be pleaded and proved by the party invoking it, citing Llorente v. Court of Appeals and EDI-Staffbuilders International, Inc. v. NLRC, and held that where foreign law is not properly proven the courts presume it to be the same as local law, following Bank of America, NT and SA v. American Realty Corporation. Because respondent did not prove the law of the Netherlands and because petitioner alleged that the Dutch divorce covenant expressly stated respondent’s obligation to support the child, the Court found that respondent could not rely on unproven foreign law to defeat the claim. The Court further held that even a foreign law that negates parental support would not be applied if its application would contravene the forum’s public policy or work “undeniable injustice” to the child. The Court invoked the territoriality principle in criminal law and New Civil Code Article 14 to conclude that penal laws are obligatory upon all who live and sojourn in Philippine territory; given that the parties and the alleged continuing acts were resident in Cebu, Philippine courts had territorial jurisdiction and jurisdiction was acquired upon respondent’s arrest. On prescription, the Court observed that deprivation of support under Section 5(e)(2) and 5(i) of R.A. No. 9262 is a continuing offense and that the prescriptive periods in Section 24 of the statute (twenty years for Sections 5(a) to 5(f); ten years for Sections 5(g) to 5(i)) had not been exhausted. Finally, th

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