Legal separation between parents, and the matters affected by it, are one of the most intense and complicated parts of any family litigation. In the case of child custody, the courts take a look into several factors to deem who is the more worthy parent to exercise parental authority: the mother or the father. Here are some of the things you should know about child custody in the Philippines.
The well-being of the child is of paramount importance.
According to Article 213 of the Family Code, the paramount criterion when it comes to child custody is the welfare of the child. This means the court will take into careful consideration the capabilities of both mother and father to raise the child, including their moral, social, and economic situation.
It should also be noted that other procedural rules can be overridden by the best interests of the child, especially if the child is at an age where he or she can make intelligent decisions.
As stated in Article 213 of the Family Code, “Every child has rights which are not and should not be dependent solely on the wishes, much less the whims and caprices, of his parents. His welfare should not be subject to the parents’ say-so or mutual agreement alone.”
The mother has parental authority over children under 7 years of age.
According to the same article in the Family Code, “no child under seven years of age shall be separated from the mother unless the court finds compelling reasons to order otherwise.” This is due to the fact that a mother’s loving care is regarded as one of the basic needs of a child.
The same rule extends to illegitimate children.
As stipulated in the article, however, the mother will lose parental authority and custody over the child if “compelling reasons” were found by the court. This includes instances of neglect and abandonment, drug abuse, unemployment, failure of exercising parental duties, as well as leaving the child to the care of others permanently or otherwise, and regardless of intention. Prostitution and unfaithfulness to the husband may not be used as grounds to separate a child from the mother. The mother’s sexual orientation cannot also be used to separate her from her child, unless there is evidence that this is not conducive to her child’s overall development.
If a child under 7 years of age expresses his or her desire to stay with the mother or the father, the court is not bound by that preference especially if the chosen parent is deemed unfit by the court.
Parental authority is inalienable
Unless it is expressly authorized by the law, parents cannot simply give up and/or transfer their parental authority and responsibilities. The only exceptions to this is in cases the child being surrendered to a home or an orphanage, as well as guardianship and adoption.
When a parent entrusts his minor child’s custody and care to a relative or a friend, this only entails temporary custody.
Learn more about child custody in the Philippines
For more information, get in touch with Duran & Duran-Schulze Law at info@duranschulze.com or (+632) 478 5826.
39 Responses
Hi,
I’d just like to ask.
What if the child is illegitimate and the mother found another man. Is the biological father has chances to have the custody against the mother? Or can it be one of the reasons to remove custody from the mother?
My ex abandoned and neglected our 11 year old child with me since 2020 and has not provided financial support as a share for our child’s needs. What can I do to push her for support? I have reported the concern to CSWDO.
WHAT IF THEY ARE NOT MARRIED AND THE CHILD WAS IN FATHER’S CUSTODY BECAUSE THE MOTHER HAVE WORK, AND LATER ON THE MOTHER WANTS TO BE WITH HER CHILD, CAN SHE HAVE RIGHTS TO GET HER CHILD BACK TO HER. THANKS FOR THE ANSWER.
What if the mother is in abroad ? Can the family of the mothers side can take the custody of the child ?
Good day! My husband has gambling addiction and always has problems with people who lent him money or he scammed. He even used my name to scam people using my GCash without my knowledge and eventually those people will send me messages that threaten us. This happened more than 3 times when we were still together, and now it’s still continuing. I left him for the safety of our daughter since the time he left us at home to go away with people surrounding our house (his parents’ house), who lent him money. The first one is 7k+, the second is 30k, the next one is 49k which is his aunt’s supposed to be payment for the lot, and now, there is a new issue, he scammed 131k from someone I don’t know and they’re commenting on fb accounts connected to him (his mom, sister, friends) and even sent private messages to them. I think that it’s really dangerous on they’re side. I wouldn’t know what will happen. I am scared because they borrow my daughter and what if something bad happens and my daughter is with them. I have screenshots of messages I’ve received. I want to have custody for my child. Is it possible since he’s unfit as a parent and he is also unemployed. Please enlighten me. Thank you very much!