File a Petition for Child Custody in court

File a Petition for Child Custody in court "I am a father of two, one is out of wedlock and the other is from my legal wife. My legal wife left me five years ago for no definite reason. She left home with our daughter and refused to let me know of their whereabouts. I searched for them for about a year and decided to move on. I was deprived of my daughter for about five years, with no information at all. Suddenly, I received a demand letter, demanding child support and demanded me to go to our province and talk about it together with her lawyer. I was unable to go due to financial issues. Travel tickets are so expensive that I don’t have the capacity to purchase. I am employed as a call center agent and my salary is sometimes not enough. I am willing to support my child provided that I will have the custody, since I fear that my hard earned money will not purely be spent for the needs of my child. What necessary action will I do? I feel helpless and continuously being harassed.Derzma Dear Derzma,It is your obligation as a father to give support to your daughter. This is mandated by law, a duty which you cannot avoid. Article 195 of the Family Code of the Philippines specifically provides that parents and their legitimate children are obliged to give support to each other. The obligation to give support shall be demandable from the time the person who has a right to receive the same needs it for maintenance, but it shall not be paid except from the date of judicial or extrajudicial demand (Art. 203, Family Code of the Philippines). Since your daughter is in need of your support, as a logical conclusion, your wife decided to send you a letter in her behalf informing you of the same. Nevertheless, under the Family Code of the Philippines, the person obliged to give support has two options to fulfill his obligation. He may either pay or give the amount fixed or receive and maintain in the family dwelling the person who has a right to receive support. However, the latter alternative cannot be availed of in case there is a moral or legal obstacle thereto (Art. 205, Family Code of the Philippines). Based on the above provision, you may opt to just take the custody of your daughter instead of paying or giving her the amount she needs for support, since it appears that there is no moral or legal obstacle for you to do so. This way, you will be sure that your daughter will directly benefit from the money you will be spending. However, if her mother is insistent that she alone shall have custody of the child, you may file a Petition for Child Custody in court praying that the custody of your daughter be awarded to you. Again, we find it necessary to mention that this opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. The opinion may vary when the facts are changed or elaborated. We hope that we were able to guide you with our opinion on the matter." - https://www.affordablecebu.com/