Dear PAO,
I got married in April 2006. Four months thereafter, my
husband abandoned me and our daughter. He never provided support. I saw
on Facebook just recently that he already has a new family. I want to
file an action for support but I do not know where he lives. I also want to know whether he and
his girlfriend got married. Please advise me on what I should do.
Jo
Dear Jo,
You
and your daughter have a right to demand support from your husband
because it is a part of his obligation as your spouse and as the father
of your child. Such obligation is clearly stated under Article 195 of
the Family Code of the Philippines, which provides that, “x x x the
following are obliged to support each other to the whole extent set
forth in the preceding article: (1) The spouses; x x x (3) Parents and
their legitimate children and the legitimate and illegitimate children
of the latter; x x x”
Accordingly, you may file an action for
support against him before the Regional Trial Court, acting as a Family
Court, of the place where you and your daughter reside. You must
particularly indicate in your claim your financial necessities as well
as those of your daughter, whether it be for your sustenance, dwelling,
clothing, medical attendance, education and transportation. You must
likewise be able to prove that your husband has the financial capacity
to provide for such necessities because according to Article 201, id:
“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.”
It is worth mentioning
that, while a case may be filed even if the complainant has no knowledge
of the exact whereabouts of the respondent, it is still vital for the
former to know such detail in order for the case to prosper swiftly.
This is so because the respondent will be served with the pleadings and
notices relative to the case he is facing in order to give him the
opportunity to answer and raise his defenses. If his whereabouts is
unknown, it may cause the delay of the proceedings. Thus, it is
advisable for you to determine first where your husband is presently
residing.
Insofar as your desire to know whether or not your
husband and his alleged girlfriend got married, you may consider
verifying with the National Statistics Office (NSO) as marriages entered
into here in the Philippines are commonly registered with the NSO.
However, be advised that the lack of record in the NSO is not a
guarantee that they have not contracted marriage because it is possible
that they entered into a contract of marriage but such fact was not
registered with the office of the Local Civil Registrar or the NSO.
source: Manila Times' Column by
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