Unmarried Father Seeking Custody

My situation is. I have a nineteen month old son. The mother of the child and I are not married. We were suffering from being unemployed for the past months and it was really hard for us. On the day that I finally got a job, when I got home ay wala na po ang aking mag-ina. Saka ko na lamang po nalaman na dinala umuwi sila ng Davao at lubos po akong nasaktan.

Kami po ay hindi kasal but my son carries my name. I am 31 years old and the mother is 22. I already explained to her that it is part of the relationship to have ups and downs pero hindi po nakikinig ang mother. I tried to work everything out para mabuo kami at lumaki ang bata sa piling ng mga magulang.

My Question is, ano po ang laban ko para makuha ang custody ng bata? May trabaho po ako at may kakayahan para itaguyod ang bata at ang kanyang ina naman ay kasalukuyang walang trabaho. Dagdag pa rito ay madalas nyang pamamalo sa bata. Ano po ba ang mga dapat kong gawin upang makuha ko ang bata kung sakali mang hindi ko na maayos ang problema namin bilang mga magulang. Mahal ko po ang ina ng bata at kahit pa na siya ang ina, may karapatan po ba ako na ihabla siya ng kidnapping sa nangyari? At ang huli ay, kung kukunin ko ang bata ng hindi nya alam, maaari po ba akong makasuhan?

Attorney, sana po ay matulungan nyo ako. Ako po ay isang ama na lubusang nagmamahal sa kanyang anak.

I truly sympathize with you, but the law does not. parental authority over an illegitimate child resides only with the mother.

if you file a case of kidnapping, it will probably not prosper because the mother has the right to custody of the child.

the child has a right to support. if you fail to give, even if you are not together, you may be liable for economic violence.

it is also not enough that you are earning better, you have to show that the mother is unfit. pamamalo, by itself, is not enough. worse, there is a powerful legal doctrine that a child below 8 years old shall not be removed from the mother unless for good reasons.

as an acknowledged father, you have visitation rights.

there are legal theories that submit that if the child lived together with the parents, then parental authority is vested on the parents, regardless if they are married. unfortunately, there are no supreme court decisions that support this position.

if you wish to try, and I do not recommend it, your remedy is to file a petition for issuance of a writ of habeas corpus and custody of minor. you can file it in the Court of Appeals so it can be enforced in any part of the Philippines.

I instead recommend that you enter into a written agreement with the mother that you will provide support, and there will be a schedule when the child can stay with you. good luck.

Thank you, AttyLLL. I have seen that there will be much touble if I resort to this method. It is perhaps better if I will just try to win them back again. After all, it is my aim to make my family whole again.

I guess consulting to you is one of my desperate thoughts or being in a situation where I have foresaw that I will never see my child again. But do not get me wrong, I have learn so much and the most important of all is that there are so much trouble and so much to lose if I do not take care of my family. You have aided me in a greater way and I hope that I will not need your help again in the future for the same issue within my family.

Thank you and I wish all of the Filipino will have the same interest and choice to consult the law before taking action. More Power.

yes, persuasion is better than force. good luck.

Hello. I have already posted my own forum, and I would really need to get an answer, ASAP. We are running out of time.
My friend who is now a single dad would like to know if he could file case of abandonment to his child's mother. They are not married, and the mother left them for another man and is now pregnant. My friend would like to gain full custody of his child and would like to appoint me as his child's legal guardian. If that will not be possible (for me to be the legal guardian) what are my friend's chances of gaining full custody of his child. The 2 year old child is under his care, and the mother doesn't even bother to visit his son even when he was sick. He does not want for the day to come that the mother will take his child. Is it possible to ask for the mother to sign a waiver na wala na siya karapatan habulin ang bata? visitation is okay, but for her to get the child and be under her custody is a big no because we only fear that she will only leave the child under other's care, just like what she did with her first child (from another guy as well.) We find her unfit to take care of a child because it is in her history that she will get pregnant, and leave the child to their father and find another man. Please advice. Thanks.

klara, answered in your own thread