The consent of the adopter’s legitimate children, who are at least 10 years old, is required for a petition for adoption to prosper, the Supreme Court’s Third Division ruled.
In a decision penned by Associate Justice Maria Filomena Singh and made public Jan. 4, it denied the petition for review on certiorari filed by Nena Bagcat-Gullas, which questioned the rulings of the Court of Appeals affirming the decision of a Regional Trial Court, setting aside the adoption decree previously granted in her favor.
Minor Jo Anne and her biological mother Settie used to live at the house of Bagcat-Gullas and her husband, Jose, who supported them as Settie had no source of income. Jo Anne has no known father.
When Settie eventually abandoned Jo Anne, the couple provided for the kid’s needs and treated her as if she was their own child.
On May 5, 2016, the couple filed with the RTC a petition for adoption and correction of entries in the birth of record of Jo Anne.
The RTC initially granted the petition for adoption but set such ruling aside upon motion by the legitimate children of Jose, who claimed that they were indispensable parties to the petition as children of the adopter.
The RTC then reinstated the case and issued summons to be served on the respondents, which was opposed by the couple before the RTC and the CA, but their motions were eventually denied, prompting the filing of the present petition before the SC.
In dismissing the petition, the SC emphasized that Section 9(c) of Republic Act 8552, or the Domestic Adoption Act of 1998, is clear that the written consent of the adopter’s legitimate children, aged at least 10 years old, is required for the adoption to be valid.
The “consent of the adopter’s other children is necessary as it ensures harmony among the prospective siblings. It also sufficiently puts the other children on notice that they will have to share their parent’s love and care, as well as their future legitimes (legal right share) with another person”, the High Court explained in a press release. ||
