GR 34115; (February, 1931) (Digest)
G.R. No. 34115 ; February 21, 1931
FRANCISCO SALVAÑA and MODESTA SALIENDRA, petitioners-appellants, vs. LEOPOLDO GAELA, in his private capacity and as Justice of the Peace of Lucban, Tayabas, respondent-appellee.
FACTS
Petitioners Francisco Salvaña and Modesta Saliendra, the legitimate parents of 15-year-old Felicisima Salvaña, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus to recover custody of their daughter from respondent Leopoldo Gaela. Felicisima was living in Gaela’s home of her own free will, having left her parents due to alleged maltreatment and their insistence that she marry a man she did not love. She was six months pregnant by Ambrosio Daza, with whom she had eloped. The Court of First Instance dismissed the petition, finding the parents sought to interfere with their daughter’s personal liberty by forcing an unwanted marriage, and ordered the appointment of a guardian for the minor.
ISSUE
Whether a writ of habeas corpus is available to parents to recover custody of an unemancipated minor daughter who is staying with a third party voluntarily, and whether the parents’ conduct justifies denying them custody.
RULING
Yes, habeas corpus is available. Under Section 525 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the writ extends to cases where rightful custody of a person is withheld from one entitled thereto. Parents, as natural guardians under Section 553 of the same Code and Article 154 of the Civil Code, are entitled to the custody of their unemancipated minor children and may recover such custody via habeas corpus. The minor’s voluntary stay with a third party does not bar the writ, as the right to custody includes the right to regain possession.
However, the court may deny custody if the parents are unfit. Here, the parents’ attempt to compel their daughter into an unwanted marriage, coupled with past harsh treatment, constituted excessive cruelty under Article 171 of the Civil Code, justifying deprivation of custody. The trial court’s order for the appointment of a guardian, in the best interests of the minor, was proper. The judgment dismissing the petition for custody was affirmed.
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