Parental authority over an adopted child

Dear PAO,

Two years ago, my brother and his wife, who both work on a cruise ship, legally adopted Den, a 2-year-old boy. I took care of Den when both were away because of the nature of their work. I grew fond of him over the course of time. Sadly, his adoptive parents died due to a shipwreck. As their next of kin, I took Den home. Since then, I have been taking care of my nephew without any problem until one day, the biological parents showed up at my house and told me that they wanted Den back. They told me they should be the ones who should rear their son now that the adoptive parents are gone. I told them that they were not his parents anymore and that, as his aunt, I should be the one who should take care of him. Who between us is correct?

poster

Rona

Dear Rona,

Adoption is the process of making a child, whether related or not to the adopter, possess in general, the rights accorded to a legitimate child. It is a juridical act, a proceeding in rem which creates between two persons a relationship similar to that which results from legitimate paternity and filiation.

The modern trend is to consider adoption not merely as an act to establish a relationship of paternity and filiation, but also as an act which endows the child with a legitimate status (In the Matter of the Adoption of Stephanie Nathy Astorga Garcia, GR 148311, March 31, 2005, penned by Associate Justice Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez). Republic Act 11222, however, provides for and allows a simpler and less costly administrative adoption proceeding where the child has been living with a person, not her mother, who tampered with the civil registry to make it appear in the birth records that such child was born to her for at least three years before the effectivity of said legislation.

One of the legal effects of adoption, under the second paragraph of Article 189 of the Family Code, is that [t]he parental authority of the parents by nature over the adopted shall terminate and be vested in the adopters, except that if the adopter is the spouse of the parent by nature of the adopted, parental authority over the adopted shall be exercised jointly by both spouses.

The Supreme Court, however, pronounced that parental authority should be deemed to have reverted in favor of the biological parents in case the adopting parents die during the minority of the adopted child. The court continued, "[C]onsidering that adoption is a personal relationship and that there are no collateral relatives by virtue of adoption, who would be left to look after the adopted child if the adopter passed away?" (Bernardina P. Bartolome vs Social Security System and Scanmar Maritime Services Inc. GR 192531, Nov. 12, 2014, penned by Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr.)

The relationship established by the adoption is limited to the adopting parents and does not extend to their other relatives, except as expressly provided by law (In the matter of the Adoption of the Minor, Edwin Villa y Mendoza, Luis E. Santos Jr. and Edipola V. Santos vs Republic of the Philippines, GR L-22523, Sept. 29, 1967, penned by Associate Justice Eugenio Angeles).

To sum up, according to jurisprudence, while the parental authority of the biological parents shall cease and be lodged with the adoptive parents, the same, however, shall return to the former when the latter die during the minority of the adopted. Moreover, unfortunately, you cannot call Den your nephew because there are no collateral relatives by virtue of adoption.

We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.

Editor's note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney's Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net

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