G.R. No. L-7071; April 29, 1954
Pedro Crisolo, petitioner, vs. Hon. Higino B. Macadaeg, etc., et al., respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Pedro Crisolo was summoned to answer a complaint filed by Marieta Villa for the support of Maria Erlinda Crisolo, alleged to be his natural daughter. Crisolo denied paternity in his answer. Upon request of the complainant, respondent Judge issued an order, before any hearing and without giving Crisolo an opportunity to object, directing him to pay Marieta Villa P50 monthly for support pendente lite and for the minor’s medical expenses. Crisolo’s motion for reconsideration was denied. Respondents justified the order by stating it was in the interest of justice, as the judge had been shown the child’s birth certificate and a medical certificate showing she suffered from Little’s Disease and had been hospitalized. The complaint merely averred that Maria Erlinda was the natural daughter of Pedro Crisolo but did not allege she was his recognized natural daughter.

ISSUE

Whether the respondent judge acted in excess of jurisdiction or with grave abuse of discretion in ordering support pendente lite for a minor whose paternity and status as a recognized natural child were expressly denied and not established by the complaint.

RULING

Yes. The petition for certiorari is granted and the questioned order is declared null and void. Under the Civil Code, a natural child, as such, has no right to maintenance unless recognized. The complaint did not expressly or impliedly ask for recognition, as it alleged no facts for voluntary or compulsory recognition under the Code; it merely erroneously proceeded on the theory that support was due because the child was his natural daughter. Furthermore, an action for recognition must be between parent and child, not between one parent and the other unless one litigates as the child’s guardian. The birth certificate exhibited, which described the child as legitimate and was signed only by a third-party informant, was incompetent as prima facie evidence of illegitimate paternity. Public records are admissible only for matters the officer has authority to record, and the local civil register had no authority to record such paternity based on a third party’s information. Divested of its official character, the document was hearsay and res inter alios acta against Crisolo. In the absence of a legal basis for support, the order for support pendente lite was issued without jurisdiction.