G.R. No. L-14462. June 30, 1961. INTESTATE ESTATE OF THE LATE DON GIL MONTILLA, MERCEDES MONTILLA, administratrix-appellee, vs. GERTRUDES MONTILLA, intervenor-appellant.
FACTS

On January 24, 1947, Gil Montilla, Jr. petitioned for the appointment of his mother, Doña Mercedes Montilla, as judicial administratrix of the estate of his father, Don Gil Montilla, who died on July 20, 1946. The petition listed the deceased’s heirs as his child from a first marriage, his children from a second marriage with Mercedes, and Mercedes herself as the surviving spouse. The court granted letters of administration to Mercedes on February 21, 1947. Eight years later, on March 18, 1955, Gertrudes Montilla filed a motion to intervene, claiming to be an acknowledged natural child of the deceased and thus a forced heir entitled to a share of the estate.
The lower court allowed the intervention and received evidence. Gertrudes presented exhibits to prove her filiation: Exhibit “A” was a church marriage record identifying her as the daughter of Gil Montilla and Ines Serrano; Exhibit “B” was the will of the deceased’s sister, Petronila Montilla, referring to Gertrudes as Gil’s daughter; Exhibits “C” and “D” were private letters from Gil Montilla addressed to Gertrudes, signed “Tu padre.” The trial court applied the old Civil Code, found the evidence insufficient for acknowledgment, and denied her petition.

ISSUE

The pivotal issue is whether the provisions of the old Civil Code or the new Civil Code govern the requirement for the acknowledgment of a natural child, given that the decedent died before the effectivity of the new Code.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s order, ruling that the old Civil Code applies. The legal logic is anchored on Article 2263 of the new Civil Code, a specific transitional provision which states that rights to the inheritance of a person who died before the effectivity of the new Code (August 30, 1950) shall be governed by the Civil Code of 1889. Since Don Gil Montilla died on July 20, 1946, the old Code controls.
Under the old Civil Code, Articles 129 and 131 prescribe the solemn forms for acknowledgment: it must be made by the father or mother in a record of birth, a will, or some other public document. The Court examined Gertrudes’s evidence and found it deficient. Exhibits “A,” “C,” and “D” were mere private writings, not the public documents required by Article 131. While Exhibit “B” was a will, it was executed by the decedent’s sister, not by Gil Montilla himself, and thus could not constitute a valid acknowledgment by a parent as mandated by Article 129. The Court cited precedents holding that acknowledgment under the old Code must be precise, express, and solemn.
The appellant’s argument to apply the new Civil Code, citing its Article 2253 on the immediate effect of newly declared rights, was rejected. The Court held that the right of acknowledgment is not a new right declared for the first time in the new Code. Furthermore, Article 2263 is a particular provision specifically governing inheritance rights where the decedent died under the prior law, and it prevails over the general transitional rule in Article 2253. Consequently, Gertrudes Montilla failed to prove she was an acknowledged natural child under the applicable old Civil Code.