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| Filipina women are awaiting a court ruling on the legal custody of their kids. Photograph: Dondi Tawatao |
Yes, if you are working in Greece the father of your children can ask for the custody of your children in the same pending case for nullity.
If that happens and you want to oppose his move, you can return to the Philippines and file your opposition stating your reasons which may include any or some of the following:
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- any existing agreement on the custody of the children signed by the father outside court
- your continuous desire to allow your children to maintain an open and loving relationship with their father
- the health, safety and welfare of your children
- any history of child or spousal abuse by their father
- habitual use of alcohol, dangerous drugs or regulated substances of the other parent
- marital misconduct
- where the children are now is the most suitable physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological and educational environment for their development and growth
- the preference of your children
SAME CATEGORY : CHILD CUSTODY RULE
Can Father of Illegitimate Child Obtain Custody when Mother is Abroad?
An illegitimate child is one who is born of parents who were not legally married to one another at the time of the child’s birth, and who remain unmarried to one another.
By law and jurisprudence, the mother of an illegitimate child has sole parental authority and is entitled to keep the child in her company. This rule continues to apply even when the father of the child acknowledges filiation (paternity), although the court may order the father to provide support as a result of the acknowledgment, but not custody.
In one case (Briones vs. Miguel, GR 156343, Oct. 18, 2004), the Supreme Court upheld the illegitimate child’s mother’s custody even when the mother was working in Japan and eventually brought the child out of the country to live with her there.
True, there are exceptions to this rule but only when there are compelling reasons to deprive the mother of custody. Examples are neglect or abandonment, unemployment, immorality, habitual drunkenness, drug addiction, maltreatment of the child, insanity, and affliction with a communicable disease.
Merely working abroad while entrusting the child to the care of the maternal grandparents or other immediate family member does not seem to be one of the grounds for taking away custody from the mother. It cannot be considered as abandonment or neglect as well.
