Executive
Order No. 209
The Family Code of the Philippines
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Title IX: Parental Authority
Chapter 1.
General Provisions
Art. 209.
Pursuant to the natural right and duty of parents over the person
and property of their unemancipated children,
parental authority and responsibility shall include the caring for
and rearing them for civic consciousness and efficiency and the
development of their moral, mental and physical character and well-being.
(n)
Art. 210.
Parental authority and responsibility may not be renounced or transferred
except in the cases authorized by law. (313a)
Art. 211.
The father and the mother shall jointly exercise parental authority
over the persons of their common children. In case of disagreement,
the father's decision shall prevail, unless there is a judicial
order to the contrary.
Children shall always observe respect
and reverence towards their parents and are obliged to obey them
as long as the children are under parental authority. (311a)
Art. 212.
In case of absence or death of either parent, the parent present
shall continue exercising parental authority. The remarriage of
the surviving parent shall not affect the parental authority over
the children, unless the court appoints another person to be the
guardian
of the person or property of the children. (n)
Art. 213.
In case of separation of the parents, parental authority shall be
exercised by the parent designated by the Court. The Court shall
take into account all relevant considerations, especially the choice
of the child over seven years of age, unless the parent chosen is
unfit. (n)
No child under seven years of
age shall be separated from the mother, unless the court finds compelling
reasons to order otherwise.
Art. 214.
In case of death, absence or unsuitability of the parents, substitute
parental authority shall be exercised by the surviving grandparent.
In case several survive, the one designated by the court, taking
into account the same consideration mentioned in the preceding article,
shall exercise the authority. (355a)
Art. 215.
No descendant shall be compelled, in a criminal case, to testify
against his parents and grandparents, except when such testimony
is indispensable in a crime against the descendant or by one parent
against the other. (315a)
Chapter
2. Substitute
and Special Parental Authority
Art. 216.
In default of parents or a judicially appointed guardian, the following
person shall exercise substitute parental authority over the child
in the order indicated:
(1) The surviving grandparent,
as provided in Art. 214;
(2) The oldest brother or sister, over twenty-one years of age,
unless unfit or disqualified; and
(3) The child's actual custodian, over twenty-one years of age,
unless unfit or disqualified.
Whenever the appointment of a judicial
guardian over the property of the child becomes necessary, the same
order of preference shall be observed. (349a, 351a, 354a)
Art. 217.
In case of foundlings, abandoned, neglected or abused children and
other children similarly situated, parental authority shall be entrusted
in summary
judicial proceedings to heads of children's homes, orphanages
and similar institutions duly accredited by the proper government
agency. (314a)
Art. 218.
The school, its administrators and teachers, or the individual,
entity or institution engaged in child care shall have special parental
authority and responsibility over the minor child while under their
supervision, instruction or custody.
Authority and responsibility shall
apply to all authorized activities whether inside or outside the
premises of the school, entity or institution. (349a)
Art. 219.
Those given the authority and responsibility under the preceding
Article shall be principally and solidarily
liable for damages caused by the acts or omissions of the unemancipated
minor. The parents, judicial guardians or the persons exercising
substitute parental authority over said minor shall be subsidiarily
liable.
The respective liabilities of those
referred to in the preceding paragraph shall not apply if it is
proved that they exercised the proper diligence required under the
particular circumstances.
All other cases not covered by
this and the preceding articles shall be governed by the provisions
of the Civil Code on quasi-delicts. (n)
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Chapter
3. Effect of
Parental Authority Upon the Persons of the Children
Art. 220.
The parents and those exercising parental authority shall have with
the respect to their unemancipated children
or wards the following rights and duties:
(1) To keep them in their company,
to support, educate and instruct them by right precept and good
example, and to provide for their upbringing in keeping with their
means;
(2) To give them love and affection, advice and counsel, companionship
and understanding;
(3) To provide them with moral and spiritual guidance, inculcate
in them honesty, integrity, self-discipline, self-reliance, industry
and thrift, stimulate their interest in civic affairs, and inspire
in them compliance with the duties of citizenship;
(4) To furnish them with good and wholesome educational materials,
supervise their activities, recreation and association with others,
protect them from bad company, and prevent them from acquiring
habits detrimental to their health, studies and morals;
(5) To represent them in all matters affecting their interests;
(6) To demand from them respect and obedience;
(7) To impose discipline on them as may be required under the
circumstances; and
(8) To perform such other duties as are imposed by law upon parents
and guardians. (316a)
Art. 221.
Parents and other persons exercising parental authority shall be
civilly liable for the injuries and damages caused by the acts or
omissions of their unemancipated children living in their company and under their
parental authority subject to the appropriate defenses provided
by law. [2180(2)a and (4)a ]
Art. 222.
The courts may appoint a guardian
of the child's property or a guardian ad litem when the best interests of the child so requires.
(317)
Art. 223.
The parents or, in their absence or incapacity, the individual,
entity or institution exercising parental authority, may petition
the proper court of the place where the child resides, for an order
providing for disciplinary measures over the child. The child shall
be entitled to the assistance of counsel, either of his choice or
appointed by the court, and a summary hearing shall be conducted
wherein the petitioner and the child shall be heard.
However, if in the same proceeding
the court finds the petitioner at fault, irrespective of the merits
of the petition, or when the circumstances so warrant, the court
may also order the deprivation or suspension of parental authority
or adopt such other measures as it may deem just and proper. (318a)
Art. 224.
The measures referred to in the preceding article may include the
commitment of the child for not more than thirty days in entities
or institutions engaged in child care or in children's homes duly
accredited by the proper government agency.
The parent exercising parental
authority shall not interfere with the care of the child whenever
committed but shall provide for his support. Upon proper petition
or at its own instance, the court may terminate the commitment of
the child whenever just and proper. (391a)
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Chapter
4. Effect of
Parental Authority Upon the Property of the Children
Art. 225.
The father and the mother shall jointly exercise legal guardianship
over the property of the unemancipated
common child without the necessity of a court appointment. In case
of disagreement, the father's decision shall prevail, unless there
is a judicial order to the contrary.
Where the market value of the property
or the annual income of the child exceeds P50,000,
the parent concerned shall be required to furnish a bond in such
amount as the court may determine, but not less than ten per centum
(10%) of the value of the property or annual income, to guarantee
the performance of the obligations prescribed for general guardians.
A verified petition for approval
of the bond shall be filed in the proper court of the place where
the child resides, or, if the child resides in a foreign country,
in the proper court of the place where the property or any part
thereof is situated.
The petition shall be docketed
as a summary special proceeding in which all incidents and issues
regarding the performance of the obligations referred to in the
second paragraph of this Article shall be heard and resolved.
The ordinary rules on guardianship
shall be merely suppletory except when
the child is under substitute parental authority, or the guardian
is a stranger, or a parent has remarried, in which case the ordinary
rules on guardianship shall apply. (320a)
Art. 226.
The property of the unemancipated child
earned or acquired with his work or industry or by onerous or gratuitous
title shall belong to the child in ownership and shall be devoted
exclusively to the latter's support and education, unless the title
or transfer provides otherwise.
The right of the parents over the
fruits and income of the child's property shall be limited primarily
to the child's support and secondarily to the collective daily needs
of the family. (321a, 323a)
Art. 227.
If the parents entrust the management or administration of any of
their properties to an unemancipated child,
the net proceeds of such property shall belong to the owner. The
child shall be given a reasonable monthly allowance in an amount
not less than that which the owner would have paid if the administrator
were a stranger, unless the owner, grants the entire proceeds to
the child. In any case, the proceeds thus given in whole or in part
shall not be charged to the child's legitime.
(322a)
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Chapter
5. Suspension
or Termination of Parental Authority
Art. 228.
Parental authority terminates permanently:
(1) Upon the
death of the parents;
(2) Upon the death of the child; or
(3) Upon emancipation
of the child.
(327a)
Art. 229.
Unless subsequently revived by a final judgment, parental authority
also terminates:
(1) Upon adoption
of the child;
(2) Upon appointment of a general guardian;
(3) Upon judicial declaration of abandonment of the child in a
case filed for the purpose;
(4) Upon final judgment of a competent court divesting the party
concerned of parental authority; or
(5) Upon judicial declaration of absence or incapacity of the
person exercising parental authority. (327a)
Art. 230.
Parental authority is suspended upon conviction of the parent or
the person exercising the same of a crime which carries with it
the penalty of civil interdiction. The authority is automatically
reinstated upon service of the penalty or upon pardon or amnesty
of the offender. (330a)
Art. 231.
The court in an action filed for the purpose or in a related case
may also suspend parental authority if the parent or the person
exercising the same:
(1) Treats the child with excessive
harshness or cruelty;
(2) Gives the child corrupting orders, counsel or example;
(3) Compels the child to beg; or
(4) Subjects the child or allows him to be subjected to acts of
lasciviousness.
The grounds enumerated above are
deemed to include cases which have resulted from culpable negligence
of the parent or the person exercising parental authority.
If the degree of seriousness so
warrants, or the welfare of the child so demands, the court shall
deprive the guilty party of parental authority or adopt such other
measures as may be proper under the circumstances.
The suspension or deprivation may
be revoked and the parental authority revived in a case filed for
the purpose or in the same proceeding if the court finds that the
cause therefor has ceased and will not be repeated. (33a)
Art. 232.
If the person exercising parental authority has subjected the child
or allowed him to be subjected to sexual abuse, such person shall
be permanently deprived by the court of such authority. (n)
Art. 233.
The person exercising substitute parental authority shall have the
same authority over the person of the child as the parents.
In no case shall the school administrator,
teacher or individual engaged in child care exercising special parental
authority inflict corporal punishment upon the child. (n)
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