Through all the family cases that we’ve handled, we’ve come to accept, without discounting the contrary, the sad fact that bad blood exists between the opposing parties (e.g., estranged spouses in annulment/separation/property cases, siblings and relatives in estate proceedings). In particular, with respect to custody-support cases over children, it’s easily understandable that custody is one of the more contested issues. However, the issue on child support should not be as complicated.
Well, it shouldn’t be as complicated, but reality makes it so.
Articles 195 and 196 of the Family Code enumerate the persons who are under obligation to support each other, thus: (1) The spouses; (2) Legitimate ascendants and descendants; (3) Parents and their legitimate children and the legitimate and illegitimate children of the latter; (4) Parents and their illegitimate children and the legitimate and illegitimate children of the latter; (5) Legitimate brothers and sisters, whether of full or half-blood; and (6) Brothers and sisters not legitimately related, whether of the full or half-blood, except only when the need for support of the brother or sister, being of age, is due to a cause imputable to the claimant’s fault or negligence.
On the other hand, the amount of support should be in proportion to the resources or means of the giver and the necessities of the recipient, pursuant to Articles 194, 201 and 202 of the Family Code:
Art. 194. Support comprises everything indispensable for sustenance, dwelling, clothing, medical attendance, education and transportation, in keeping with the financial capacity of the family.
The education of the person entitled to be supported referred to in the preceding paragraph shall include his schooling or training for some profession, trade or vocation, even beyond the age of majority. Transportation shall include expenses in going to and from school, or to and from place of work.
Art. 201. The amount of support, in the cases referred to in Articles 195 and 196, shall be in proportion to the resources or means of the giver and to the necessities of the recipient.
Art. 202. Support in the cases referred to in the preceding article shall be reduced or increased proportionately, according to the reduction or increase of the necessities of the recipient and the resources or means of the person obliged to furnish the same.
If you’re a parent, it is safe to assume that you would want the best for your child and you wouldn’t hesitate to provide adequate support. However, it’s unfortunate that when it comes to support for the common children (whether legitimate or illegitimate), so many fathers still fail (or worse, simply refuse) to provide adequate support. Whatever the reason is, and regardless of whether or not these reasons are correct, the problem became pervasive, so much so that Congress saw it fit to “criminalize” (only against fathers) the withholding of support in certain instances. Not everyone knows that this is covered under Republic Act No. 9262, otherwise known as the “Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004.”
Not everyone also knows that R.A. 9262 provides for criminal sanctions or penalties for failure to provide support or withholding custody, in certain cases. Well, now you know.
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Tinkering with internet tools comes with the bonus of better understanding how existing laws apply to the third wave - that of technology, particularly the internet. This is also a great medium to disseminate and discuss ideas across borders, time, color or creed. 
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Hi. I just wanna ask something with regards to my son’s monthly allowance from his father..Because Me and my ex-husband agreed to a compromise agreement after we filed an annulment case last july of 2007 and i learned that the case was granted only last year. My concern is this.. I received last month an affidavit from my former husband that his business is not doing good nowadays and he is telling me that he can not give the 10k a month allowance for my son but in our compromise agreement we signed an agreement which include the monthly allowance he’ll be giving for my son monthly and it is mandatory. So what will i do now that he refuse to give that allowance monthly?
Hot debate. What do you think?
0
sir,
good day po… pwede po ba ako makahingi ng e-mail add niyo…
thanks
pls explain a legal about art 9262
k thank you…
hi atty.
i been thinking this for a while, if i should demand for legal support from my husband. we were married last 2008 due to unplanned pregnancy, but throughout my entire pregnancy i never really felt any financial support from him and even after giving birth to our son, he haven’t give any support just twice of 1 thousand. i shouldered everything for my son, even the baptismal and his 1st bday (which my husband never attended) and all the medication my son needed. and when my son got hospitalized i am asking for my husband to come to the hospital to use his PhilHealth since i won’t be able to use mine but he never showed up. I was force to borrowed money from lending.
As of now we don’t have any communication, even his own parents never knew where he was. I don’t know if he’s living with someone else or does he have another family. I have a quite nice job but of course there are times that my salary won’t be enough to cover everything especially my son is growing, in no time he will be going to school… i am wondering should i file for legal support when I know that my earning is way better than his… but i know it’s my son’s right to receive support from his father (at least financial support since he was never been around while our son is growing up)
dear atty fred,
i am a single mothe of a 9 month old baby boy.
nag file ako ng case (RA 9262) against the father of my son and we are just waiting for the resolution now. nag harap rin kami sa provost martial since he is an officer of NAVY, but i think malabo ng mabigyan ako ng justice dun dahil nga PMA’er sya. and that will surely take time bago maactionan sabi ng officer dun.
the time i got pregnant, the guy broke up with me and has chosen another girl who happened to be my friend. this is now his wife.
he told and sent messages that he will support the baby and i but unfortunately, none of those messages have materialized. in fact, he hid from me. during my prgnancy, i find ways to reach him and asked almost begged for help for financial support but to no avail. he told me to keep away from him. and told me that he has nothing to do with the child.
ang masakit pa, after he abandoned us and nung i gave birth sa baby, he refused to acknowledge the baby and kept on saying that he is not the father of the baby and telling lies to ruin my reputation in our community such as i am an easy girl and having so many boyfriends when in fact he was the 2nd and last BF i had.
ang tanong ko po, anong chance po na mananalo kami sa case and makakakuha ng support ang anak ko? ang sa demand letter ko pa sa kanya P10k lang po, pwede ko po bang idemand na iincrease yon kapag bigger na rin ang expenses ng anak namin lalo na pag nag aaral na?
thank you po. hope for your reply.
hi
i am a single mom, i have a 11mos baby…. her father is austrian national were not married… we are separated, ayaw nia po magbigay ng suporta sa bata…ung house n tinirahan.. naka pangalan po sa akin madalas po xa magdala ng babae don.. anu po magandang dapat gawin…….. txn
gud day atty!
my husband and i got married november of last year.. i am now 6 months pregnant of our first baby. unfortunately, he left me a month ago.. we had a light argument because i was accusing him of having a third party.. on the first week that he left, he was still texting me and i asked him to come home, he said now is not the right time for him to come home and that he needs time to be alone.. on the second week, i discovered that all my accusations for him having a third party was true.. i quarreled him over the phone and he got so pissed off.. he stopped to contact me up until now. we haven’t talked or settled anything yet about our relationship cause i also left our place for me to get away with the emotional stress because i’m pregnant.. he left me and his work and now he’s jobless.. in my absence, i found out my husband and the woman i’m accusing him with came out of the open and really displayed their relationship in public.. i even read in his email addressing the other woman as his wife and accordingly, he claims the son of the other woman as his child.. i don’t know if they are living together but they do consider themselves as a couple to other people.. i would like to seek for advice as to what possible legal actions could i do with regards to my problem?
respectfully yours,
christine
hi atty,
may anak akong sa isang abogado, for 16 years hindi ako nanghingi ng tulong sa kanya ,but since mag college na ang anak ko sa kanya nagtry akong humingi ng tulong ,ok naman sa kanya pero gusto nya doon sa kanya yong bata,ang problema nasa iceland kami nasa pilipinas sya ,ayoko kasi may pamilya sya at marami syang anksa labas isa na ang anak ko don .pwede kayang manghingi ako ng tulong para sa pag-aarl ng anak ko ? pero dito sa akin ang anak ko?,nagalit kasi sya ng binanggit ko ang ra.9262 hinamon nya akong magsapang demanda.pwede ko ba syang ireklamo sa IBP ?tingin ko kasi wala akong laban sa kanya , ano ba ang dapat kong gawin ? 19 nga pala ako when igot pregnant at 40 naman sya ,niloko rin nya ako sabi nya hiwalay sya ng asawa nya kaya nong nalaman kong hindi pala iniwan ko sya .
Good Pm, Atty.
I’m s single parent to a 6 y/o daughter. I sued the father of my child for criminal case under R.A. 9262-not giving support. And just last week I recvd the result from the qc prosec ofice stating that case is dismissed. I’m so depressed w/ what happened. All am asking is for him to support my child, do i still have a chance to get what’s due to my child? the father and I are working in the same company, he has a family of his own now. Previously, in 2005 we made an agreement through our hrd of the support but it it only lasted for a year & since then he didn;t give any. though in our previous talks in the brangay, he is willing to pay his arrears but when i asked if he could increase the support he said “no”. And that’s the time I asked for a legal aid pero wala rin pong nangyari. Now, what if pumayag ako na yung dating amount na lang ang kaniyang ibigay at bayaran na lang niya ang kaniyang arrears, pwede po ba ‘yon at sino o kanino ako lalapit. He is a government employee while i’m a job contract base only. Pls. enlighten me on this. Thank you very much.
last june 22, 2010 i was a victim of ra 9262. my bf and i had a fight bec i was trying to read the messages in his mobile phone. he hit me several times in my shoulder and thigh. He even hit my left hand and pulled my left thump and as a result namaga po at may incomplete fracture po yung finger ko. he strangled my neck twice. i went to the doctor for check up and secure medico legal a day after the incident after which i went to the police station to report what happened. my bf and i have a 3yr old daughter and he is not even giving monthly support. pag magbigay sya eh mataas na yung P500.00 sa isang buwan. I filed a case of ra 9262 and the fiscal said she will resolve the case before oct. 4, 2010. the fiscal called us for mediation pero hindi kami nagkasundo bec gusto nya one hundred thousand lang ibigay nya sa akin. i filed 2 cases 1) frustrated homicide 2) violation of ra 9262 bec of the incident. after the incident we still talk at kumakain or meryenda kami pero pinaguusapan namin yung kaso at madalas yung bata. sbi nya gusto nya kami pa rin daw pero hindi ko na sya mahal. nawala na pagmmahal ko sa kanya. can he use as a defense yung pagkikita namin sa labas? can he be acquited? thanks and more power.
pwede po bang magtanong.. kasi po 10 yrs kami may relasyon ng tatay ng anak ko.. pero hindi kami kasal at hindi kami nagsasama simula nung mabuntis nya ko ay humiwalay na sya… itatanong ko lang po kung may karapatan bang mabigyan ng sustento ang anak ko… at kapag hinihingian ko po sya ng sustento lagi nya sinasabi na wala syang pera pero nalaman ko na nagdadala sya ng babae sa hotel.. gusto ko po sana makakuha ng full support nya para sa anak namin… wala na po akong ibang hinihingi sa kanya kung hindi full support para sa pag aaral ng anak ko… meron po bang chance ang anak ko sa monthly allowance na para sa kanya… salamat po…
gud afternun sir, just wanted to ask if what other option i have, to get a support for my 3 children. i’ve seek a legal support back then but sad to say after all the process and spendings ive endured, nothing happened my husband resigned right away from his job. now his connected to a prestigious company with a good position but sad to say wala pa rin talaga cyang support. we’re separated for more than 2 years already and all i wanted is for him to at least take a responsibility for our children. an obligation he’d been taking forgranted all this time…..
hi atty.
sana po matulungan nyo ako ormabigyan ng magandang advice na dapat pong gawin koh. may anak po ako sa isang Taiwanese noonguna nagsusuport po sya pero na stop po last year at mag isan taon na po ngayon. sa totoo lng poh during na magkasama kami at two months na po ako buntis ay nalaman ko na may 3yrs sya girlfriend at after amonths nalaman ko na buntis na din ung girl knowing alam na poh nung girls na magkakababby na kami. nung una napag usapan na susustentuhan kaming dalawa ngayon po yung isang girl na lang ang continues supporting nya.at balita ko poh halos buwan buwan ay umuuwi po sya ng pilpinas para po sa isang anak nya. ang gusto ko lang po ay magkaroon din ng sustento ang anak namin. sana po matulungan nyo po ako sa dapat ko po gawin.
salamat po!
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