Republic Act No. 9858 – Legitimization of Children Born to Minor Parents
Tags: article 177, family code, legitimate children, republic act no 9858
Children born out of wedlock to parents who were not allowed by law to marry for being minors are now qualified for legitimation. This has been made possible by Republic Act No. 9858, which has amended Article 177 of the Family Code of the Philippines. Previously, Article 177 stated that only children born out of wedlock to parents who were not disqualified from getting married at the time of conception could be legitimized. Effectively, this legal irony excluded children whose parents were barred from getting married because they were underage. With the new law, legitimation would automatically take place upon marriage of the parents. Moreover, couples who had children when they were below the marrying age would not need to go through the process of having to adopt their own offspring just so their kids could enjoy the rights of legitimate children.