Pregnant woman seeks support from married OFW lover

Pregnant woman seeks support from married OFW lover "I am five months pregnant. The father of my unborn baby and I are not married. We are both overseas Filipino workers here in Korea. I have his text messages and emails stating that he acknowledges our unborn child. He was giving me money for three consecutive months which I returned because what I wanted from him was to send me a letter of support, promising me that he will give 25-30 percent of his salary for our baby. He initially agreed that he will give P18,000.00 monthly. Now, he no longer sends money since he also has to support his family in the Philippines. He also refused to sign the Affidavit of Support that we agreed on at first. What case can I file against him? Can I have his passport cancelled so that he will not be allowed to travel anymore? Ms. OFWDear Ms. OFW, The Family Code of the Philippines states that parents are obliged to support their legitimate and illegitimate children (Article 195, id). Said provision presupposes that the child is already living or in existence. In your case, your child has yet to be born. Thus, you can only ask for support from the father of your child once the latter has been born and acknowledged by the father. But the decision to acknowledge the child is only up to him. No one can force him to do something which is against his will. Otherwise, it may run counter to the provisions of law.If the father of your child does not acknowledge the latter and he continues to refuse to sign the Affidavit of Support, it will be necessary for you to prove your child’s filial relationship to his father. Under the law, illegitimate children may establish their illegitimate filiation in the same way and on the same evidence as legitimate children. (Article 175, id) Accordingly, illegitimate filiation may be proved through: (1) The record of birth appearing on the civil register or a final judgment (2) An admission of legitimate filiation in a public document or a private handwritten instrument and signed by the child’s father (3) The open and continuous possession of the status of a legitimate child or (4) through any other means allowed by the Rules of Court and special laws. (Article 172, id). In your case, it may be difficult to prove said filiation considering that what you have are only mobile text messages and electronic mails. While you are not prohibited from submitting the same in court, it will still be left to the court’s discretion whether or not such would satisfy the requirements under the law.With regard to your query relative to the cancellation of the passport of your unborn child’s father, we regret to inform you that such is not possible because your situation is not one of the grounds under the law for cancellation of passport. As provided for under Section 8 of the Philippine Passport Act of 1996, “The application for passport may be denied, cancelled or restricted only on the following grounds: x x x (b) Cancellation 1. When the holder is a fugitive from justice 2. When the holder has been convicted of a criminal offense: Provided, That the passport may be restored after service of sentence or 3. When a passport was acquired fraudulently or tampered with x x x”. Even assuming that later on, you gain a basis for the cancellation of his passport, we suggest to think it over because he might not be able to provide for your child’s support anymore if you have his passport cancelled as he will not be able to travel for his work in Korea. It would be best if you communicate with him so that you can both have an amicable settlement regarding your claim for child support.We hope that we were able to answer your queries. The foregoing advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net or via text message (key in: Times dearpao and send to 2299)." - https://www.affordablecebu.com/