The SUN HK : Child support and custody tackled in PCG seminar

Consul Saret speaks while the 3 female speakers, along with Vice Consul Revote, listen

Support, custody, recognition and other rights pertaining to a Filipino child were discussed at a seminar held at the Consulate on Sunday, Jan. 7, with legal experts from the Philippines and in Hong Kong providing inputs.

The seminar, titled “Parent Support in the Philippines and in Hong Kong” was the first to be undertaken under the Consulate’s newest public service program “PCG Talks,” with new Consul General Germinia Aguilar-Usudan at the helm.

Sharing their expertise on the topic were Philippine-based lawyers Dean Soledad Deriquito-Mawis of the Lyceum of the Philippines College of Law, assisted by Andrea Yasay; and Hong Kong solicitor Jaerey Velasco.

TAWAG NA!

Mawis started her lecture by explaining the so-called “nationality principle,” which states that Filipinos’ rights and obligations are determined by Philippine laws wherever they may be. Thus, a divorce obtained abroad by a Filipino will generally not be recognized in the Philippines.

The same is true with support. Philippine laws specify that support is personal, cannot be renounced, waived or compromised; cannot be attached; is reciprocal; is variable, meaning the amount required depends on the financial capacity of the person required to give it; and is demandable when needed and payable when demanded. She emphasized that the support has to be demanded before it can be claimed.

Mawis also said that those legally entitled to support are spouses, legal ascendants (parents) and descendants (children). Both illegitimate and legitimate dependents are entitled to support.

PINDUTIN

If the parents of a child are married but separated, the custody of a child aged 7 years and below is given to the mother; beyond this age, the child will be asked which parent he/she wishes to live with.

When the parents are unmarried, the mother is given exclusive custody, but the child can demand support from the father – if he recognized his paternity. There are also grounds where the mother can be deprived of custody if she is deemed unfit, such as when she is a sex worker.

In any event, Mawis said the court will always rule in the best interest of the child.

Members of the Solo Parents Association pose for a shot with the speakers and Consulate officials

Yasay tackled the actions that can be taken when a person required to give support refuses to fulfill the legal obligation. One recourse is to file an ordinary civil action through a petition filed in the family court with jurisdiction over the petitioner’s residence.

Another remedy is to start a criminal action under Republic Act 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act. The complainant can cite the economic abuse provision in the law to demand support.

Velasco who spoke on Hong Kong law, said children are entitled to support from both parents. In case the marriage ends in divorce, the parent with custody can claim for financial support from the other parent until the child reaches the age of 18, although the payments can be extended if the child is still in school, undergoing training, or other justifiable reasons.

The support given to the parent with custody can include rent for suitable accommodation, capital allowance such as a car, and regular payments for maintenance.

An unmarried parent can also claim child maintenance from the other parent to meet the reasonable needs of the child, such as expenses for food, clothes, medical and dental treatment, school tuition and other necessities until the child reaches 18 or finishes full-time education.

While the parent with custody cannot directly claim for support, he or she is entitled to a child carer allowance the amount of which is not pre-set, but should reflect the financial position of both parents.

Consul Paul Saret, head of the assistance to nationals section, explained why some children born to mothers previously married in the Philippines were forced to adopt the surname of their husband, even if the child's father who is in Hong Kong, is willing to acknowledge paternity.

He said the Consulate was previously told by the Department of Foreign Affairs to adopt the practice, as the mother is still legally married to her previous partner in the Philippines. But since 2019, he said the DFA has told the Consulate that they should follow the name written in the birth certificate issued by the Hong Kong government.

Around 50 people attended the talk, mostly women migrant workers. But key Consulate officials like Labor Attache Mel Dizon, Vice-Consul Allan G. Revote, Welfare Officer Dina Daquigan and Social Welfare Officer Rem Marcelino also took part.