Liyao vs Liyao

Liyao vs. Liyao

GR No. 138961, March 7, 2002

FACTS:

William Liyao Jr., the illegitimate son of the deceased, as represented by her mother (Corazon), filed a petition ordering Juanita Tanhoti-Liyao, Pearl L. Tan, Tita L. Tan and Linda Liyao to recognize and acknowledge the former as a compulsory heir of the deceased and to be entitled to all successional rights.  Liyao Jr. was in continuous possession and enjoyment of the status as the child of the deceased having been recognized and acknowledged as such child by the decedent during his lifetime.  There were two sides of the story.  Corazon maintained that she and the deceased were legally married but living separately for more than 10 years and that they cohabited from 1965 until the death of the deceased.  On the other hand, one of the chidren of the deceased stated that her mom and the deceased were legally married and that her parents were not separated legally or in fact.

ISSUE: WON the petitioner can impugn his own legitimacy to be able to claim from the estate of the deceased.

HELD:

Impugning the legitimacy of the child is a strictly personal right of the husband, or in exceptional cases, his heirs for the reason that he was the one directly confronted with the scandal and ridicule which the infidelity of his wife produced and he should be the one to decide whether to conceal that infidelity or expose it in view of the moral and economic interest involved.  Hence, it was then settled that the legitimacy of the child can only be impugned in a direct action brought for that purpose, by the proper parties and within the period limited by law.

Furthermore, the court held that there was no clear, competent and positive evidence presented by the petitioner that his alleged father had admitted or recognized his paternity.