In the name of the father

Be it for royalty succession, a biblical consequence or simply hubris for bringing someone into the world after his own image, a baby boy born brings such source of pride to the father. The more boys born, the prouder a father becomes. More will carry the name of the father, spread seeds even, and grow the family tree, to perpetuate or immortalize the clan and the name. An opportunity to make legendary a population under the same surname.

Our Civil Code vests in the father’s name such value that to carry it is an express right given only to the spouse and legitimate children. Illegitimate children are only allowed to bear their mother’s name unless their father expressly gives his recognition by a written instrument. This evidence can be a signature of the father at the back of the birth certificate, a public document or a signed handwritten letter. Without these, the illegitimate child cannot use the father’s surname, but can still prove filiation by other means for purposes of support and inheritance.

A brutal and sad awakening happened, however, to Graciano, an illegitimate child who had always been recognized and supported by his father as his own. His legitimate siblings even know him personally. When his father died, he filed a claim as an heir to the estate. He has no papers signed by his father recognizing his filiation, but he has other evidence to show he was recognized as an illegitimate son when his father was still alive. The court denied his claim because the law on the matter is this: if an illegitimate child does not have the documents signed by the father to prove filiation, one can only present evidence in other forms if the father was still alive, but not after his death. Not even a DNA analysis will help after the father’s death. This rule is to avoid a situation where various unverified claimants come forward to say they are children of the deceased when he can no longer speak for himself to affirm or deny the claim.

If illegitimate children cannot force the issue of use of the father’s surname without the written approval of the father, can the father enforce the use of his name by the illegitimate child, especially if he provides proper recognition and support?

The Supreme Court also had occasion to state that while the key guideline is the best interest of the child, it is neither the father nor the mother who has the right to decide on whether such child should use the father’s surname. Even if the father gives the required written recognition, the illegitimate child can refuse the use of the father’s surname and still use the mother’s. This does not, however, change anything on the child’s ability to command support and inheritance from his putative father.

Perhaps the use of the surname cannot be forced, also because the illegitimate child is not a piece of real estate property, where one can compel titling over his name if he proves ownership.

Since it is a special Sunday, it may not be completely off to cite a couple of my favorite historical figures, if only to show that apart from being a father of surnames, one can also be a father of great deeds.

One is Abraham Lincoln, regarded by many historians as the highest-ranked pound-per-pound president of the United States. He is my favorite not because of his Gettysburg Address, but because he abolished slavery in America under the most difficult political circumstances—a time of Civil War. The secessionist South slaveowner states formed a confederation to wage war against the Union (now the United States) that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

It would have been an easy exit to compromise and say, okay, let’s end the war, you can keep your slaves, but these are the rules to treat them humanely. Not Father Abe, who fought not only for slaves in America but for humanity, the hard way, costing him his life shortly after he outlawed slavery and won the war. Because of him, democracy in America is not a farce. He also said something that applies even to our leaders in the Philippines today. He said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

My other favorite is Mahatma Gandhi, regarded as the father of India, and the father of non-violent protest—the principle followed by Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and our very own Ninoy Aquino. His advocacy for self-rule brought him to jail several times. To protest British impositions, he led a 400km peaceful protest march (longer than Manila to Baguio). He engaged in a long fast to death to stop the religious war between Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan, shortly after India was granted independence by Britain. He also said something that can guide all complainers and critics in our country. He said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

I mentioned the two gentlemen of history above as a preamble to what I really wanted to say this Sunday: You may not be the savior of mankind, but if the only lives you nurtured and guided well are those of your children, you are no less heroic. If your arms are empty, and you only have your children to wrestle with, you are no less fulfilled. If you treat your kids like mature people and care for them still like your little kids when they are all grown-up, then you must have been a son yourself to a great father. Happy Father’s Day to all my father readers!