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| 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.
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.
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.
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| 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.
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