The rights of children, whether they are born within wedlock or out of wedlock must be equally protected.

This was stressed by Davao del Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez under his House Bill No. 7500, which sought to amend Executive Order No. 209, series of 1987, as amended, otherwise known as the Family Code of the Philippines.

“The bill seeks to remove the distinction between children born within wedlock and children born out of wedlock, formally known as legitimate and illegitimate children, as provided under Republic Act No. 389, as amended, Executive Order No. 209, series of 1987, as amended, and other pertinent laws of the land,” the former Speaker said in his bill’s explanatory note.

He explained that under the country’s existing laws, illegitimate children have lesser rights compared to legitimate children.

“In terms of inheritance, for instance, the illegitimate child is only entitled to one-half of the inheritance of a legitimate child. This bill seeks to address such inequality before the law, ensuring that all their rights are equally protected,” Alvarez said.

“Further, it provides for the rights of children conceived through traditional and gestational altruistic surgery, an area that is not clearly regulated and this bill seeks to remedy that lack of clarity,” he added.

Under HB 7500,  the final judgment in marriage cases declared as void ab initio or annulled shall provide for the liquidation, participation and distribution of the properties of the spouses, the custody and support of the common children, unless such matters had been adjudicated in previous judicial proceedings.

“In said partition, the value of the legitimise of all children, whether born within or out of wedlock, shall be equal which will be taken from the respective estates of their parents,” it said

The bill provides that the legitime of the children received from the respective estates of their parents shall in no way prejudice the ultimate successional rights of the children accruing upon the death of either or both of the parents.

“The legitime of each child born out of wedlock shall be equal to the legitime of a child born within wedlock,” it said.

HB 7500 provides that children conceived through altruistic surrogacy, whether traditional or gestational, shall be deemed children within wedlock of the commissioning parents, provided that they and the surrogate mother voluntarily execute and sign a written agreement either authorizing or ratifying such agreement before the birth of the child.

The instrument shall be attached to the birth certificate and recorded in the Civil Registry, it said.

“Notwithstanding issuance of any judicial declaration, nullifying or declaring as void said written agreement, the status of the child as a child born within wedlock remains for all intents and purposes that are beneficial to him or her,”  the bill provides.

Under the measure, traditional surrogacy means the surrogate is pregnant with her own biological child, with the intention of relinquishing the child to be raised by the biological father and his spouse. Meanwhile, gestational surrogacy means the surrogate becomes pregnant via embryo transfer with a child of which she is not a biological mother.

HB 7500 provides that if the commissioning parents are foreign citizens, they shall be required to adopt the child, and comply with the provisions of Republic Act 8043 (the Inter-Country Adoption Act of 1995), and only after the requirements have been met shall the child be considered as child born within wedlock.

“As a signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Philippine government is obligated to ensure that the best interests of the child must be the primary consideration in all actions concerning their welfare and future,” Alvarez said.