THE LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF REFUSAL OF PAYMENT OF LEGAL

SUPPORT AS AN ADDITIONAL GROUND FOR TERMINATION OF

PARENTAL AUTHORITY: REVISITING THE GROUNDS
PROVIDED UNDER ARTICLES 228 AND 229 OF
THE FAMILY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES

CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

INTRODUCTION

Children are one of the vulnerable sectors in the society. Their rights are

recognized and upheld internationally for the reason provided under the Convention

on the Rights of the Child of 1989 thatbeing defined as any human being below the

age of eighteen years, unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained

earlier, a child is characterized by his youth and vulnerability and who has no means

to support himself.1 It was in 1924 when the rights of the children were formally

recognized with the adoption of the Declaration of Geneva. These rights are human

rights based on what the child needs to survive, grow and reach their full potentials. 2

In a summary of the rights of a child under the Convention on the Rights of the

Child of 1989, it is emphasized that Governments have the responsibility to make sure

1 Humanium, Together For Childrens Rights, Rights of the Child, Accessed on September 24, 2016,
Available from http://www.humanium.org/en/child-rights/

2 Sharron Lovell, Childrens Rights, UNICEF Philippines, 2009

1
childrens rights are respected, protected and fulfilled. When countries ratify the

Convention, they agree to review their laws relating to children. This involves

assessing their social services, legal, health and educational systems, as well as

levels of funding for these services.

Governments are then obliged to take all necessary steps to ensure that the

minimum standards set by the Convention in these areas are being met. 3 But it is to

be noted that the Convention further stated that it does not give more authority to

governments over the children. It does place on governments the responsibility to

protect and assist families in fulfilling their essential role as nurturers of children. 4

Article 27, paragraph 4 of the said Convention emphasizes the need to secure

the recovery of maintenance for the child from the parents or any other person having

responsibility over the child, to wit:

4. States Parties shall take all appropriate

measures to secure the recovery of maintenance
for the child from the parents or other persons
having financial responsibility for the child, both
within the State Party and from abroad. In
particular, where the person having financial
responsibility for the child lives in a State different
from that of the child, States Parties shall promote
the accession to international agreements or the
conclusion of such agreements, as well as the
making of other appropriate arrangements. 5

3 http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf

4 Ibid.

2
 The protection of the natural affection between parents and their children has

always been recognized as an inherent natural right just as much as the protection of

the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, the government is formed. 6 Parents

have duties which are generally provided by law. This includes the duty to provide

adequate support.7

Cardinal rule it is that custody, care and the nurture of the child reside first in

the parents whose primary function and freedom include the preparation for

obligations the state can neither supply nor hinder. An arm that primarily maneuvers

the exercise of the protective measures as to the rights of the child is the parental

authority. Parental authority involves a mass of rights and obligation which the law

grants for the purpose of the childrens physical preservation and development, as

well as the cultivation of their intellect and the education of their hearts and senses. 8

Pursuant to the natural right and duty of parents over the person and property

of their unemancipated children, parental authority and responsibility shall include the

5 Unicef, Convention on the Rights of the Child, Accessed on August 20, 2016, Available from
http://www.unicef.org/crc/

6 State ex rel. Nelson vs. Whaley, 246 Minn. 535

7 Article 46, Chapter 3, Presidential Decree No. 603

8 Incang vs. Court of Appeals 296 SCRA 128

3
caring for and rearing them for civic consciousness and efficiency and the

development of their moral, mental and physical character and well-being. 9

It is the benefit of parental authority which forms the structure and direction of a

childs life. A child needs his parents to serve as reference on how he can make

decisions of his own. Even with the drastic change of the behavior of children and

adolescents towards the relationship with their parents and elders, parents have full

control and responsibility over them. In any of the said cases, parents struggle to be

as authoritative as they can to affect every choice a child makes. After all, parents

would never yearn for their children to be in an injurious situation.

Support is the most sacred and important of all obligations imposed by law and

it is imposed with overwhelming reality. The others may sometimes fail but this one

should never fail unless for a valid cause. 10 Generally, support constitutes whatever is

necessary to keep a person alive. However, in keeping with the financial position of

the family, the amount of support varies.11

Parents and their legitimate children are obliged to mutually support one

another and this obligation extends down to the legitimate grandchildren and great

9 Family Code, Article 209.

10 Sumulong vs. Cembrano, 51 Phil. 719

11 Melencio Sta. Maria, Persons and Family Relations Law, 2011.

4
grandchildren.12 As support is held to be a mandatory obligation, it cannot be refused

to be provided in the absence of valid causes. The Supreme Court has even said that

support as an obligation is predicated on the premise that as long one is related by

blood to the person supposed to give support, there is no reason why the obligation to

support him should fail.13

As a general rule, while they are living together, parents use their parental authority

together, whether or not they are married. But if the parents do not live together

anymore, only one of them has custody of the children, the other parent still keeps

parental authority.14 Aside from authority, parents are obliged to give support to their

children.

As enunciated in the Family Code, support is an obligation that arises from

family relationship and enumerates those entitled to be supported as follows:

Art. 195. Subject to the provisions of the

succeeding articles, the following are obliged to
support each other to the whole extent set forth in the
preceding article:
1. The spouses;
2. Legitimate ascendants and descendants;
3. Parents and their legitimate children and the legitimate
and illegitimate children of the latter;

12 Family Code, Article 195.

13 Montefalcon vs. Vasquez, G.R. No. 165016, June 17, 2008

14 Educaloi.qc.ca, Parental Authority: Rights and Responsibilities of Parents, Accessed on July 31,
2016, Available from https://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/capsules/parental-authority-rights-and-
responsibilities-parents.

5
 4. Parents and their illegitimate children and the legitimate
and illegitimate children of the latter; and
5. Legitimate brothers and sisters, whether of full or half-
blood.15

As children need support and parents are obliged to give such pursuant to the

exercise of parental authority, the law punishes parents deprivation or threat to

deprive his child of financial support. Republic Act 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against

Women and Their Children Act of 2004 considers such act of refusal to give support to

his children as a violation under Section 5, paragraph E, to wit:

SECTION 5. Acts of Violence Against Women and

Their Children.- The crime of violence against women
and their children is committed through any of the
following acts:
XXX
(2) Depriving or threatening to deprive the woman or
her children of financial support legally due her or her
family, or deliberately providing the woman's children
insufficient financial support;16

Currently, there are rampant cases of social problems affecting primarily children such

as broken families, teenage pregnancies, and non-marital relationships which all lead

to resentful behavior of most children born out of these cases. And out of the condition

that the parents do not live together or cannot live together, there are lots of queries

that go hand in hand. Until when can the other parent who exercises parental

15 ATTY. MARIA CLARA B. TANKEH-ASUNCION, Syquia Law Firm, HELPFUL INFO ABOUT
CHILD SUPPORT IN PHILIPPINES, World Law Direct, Accessed on August 13, 2016, Available
from http://www.worldlawdirect.com/forum/international-law-issues/38787-helpful-info-about-child-
support-philippines.html

16 Republic Act 9262, Section 5 (E) (2)

6
authority only exercise such authority? What if the said other parent cannot exercise

such authority when he has his own legitimate family? What if the other parent refuses

intentionally to exercise his parental authority? Until when do the laws allow the other

parent to exercise the authority? What if the parent cannot exercise the authority well,

can it be removed from him?

The Family Code of the Philippines provided for grounds for extinguishment of

parental authority which can be found under Articles 228 and 229. Article 228 provides

for grounds which contemplate instances where there is no fault on the part of the

parents.

Art. 228. Parental authority terminates permanently:

(1) Upon the death of the parents;

(2) Upon the death of the child; or
(3) Upon emancipation of the child. (327a) 17

While under Article 229, the grounds provided are events without the fault of

parents or with their fault but absence of malice.

Art. 229. Unless subsequently revived by a

final judgment, parental authority also terminates:

(1) Upon adoption of the child;

(2) Upon appointment of a general guardian;
(3) Upon judicial declaration of
abandonment of the child in a case filed for the
purpose;
(4) Upon final judgment of a competent court
divesting the party concerned of parental
authority; or

17 Family Code, Article 228

7
 (5) Upon judicial declaration of absence or
incapacity of the person exercising parental
authority. (327a)18

According to the Council for the Welfare of Children's (CWC) latest data, as of

2011, there are over 3,000 neglected and abandoned Filipino children. Since 2003,

children have had the highest magnitude of poor among basic sectors, the National

Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) reported. 19

According to United Nations Childrens Rights and Emergency Relief

Organization, the Philippines has an abandoned children problem. About 1.8 million

children in the country, more than 1% of its entire population, are abandoned or

neglected.20

These situations prevail despite the mandate for parents to take care of their

children not only as a natural obligation but also as statutory one. Worse are even

legitimate children were victims of abandonment and neglect. But the law does not

distinguish as to the entitlement to legal support. The legal obligation of the father to

provide for support to his child is based on Article 195 (3) of the Family Code, which

states that parents and their illegitimate children and the legitimate and illegitimate

18 Family Code, Article 229

19 National Statistics Coordinating Board Committee, 2011

20 Jonathan Kaiman and Sunshine de Leon, The Philippines has 1.8 million abandoned children.
Here's what keeps many from adoption, Los Angeles Times, May 28, 2016, Accessed on October 8,
2016, Available from http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-philippines-orphans-adv-snap-story.html

8
children of the latter have reciprocal legal obligation to provide support to each other. 21

The obligation to give support is considered demandable from the time the person

who has a right to receive the same needs it for maintenance but it shall only be paid

from the date of judicial or extra-judicial demand. For instances of failure and

intentional refusal of the parent to support his child, the researcher intended to

conduct a study on how the said instances can validly terminate parental authority

aside from those enumerated by existing laws.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study aims to determine the legal implications of including refusal to pay legal

support as an additional ground for termination of parental authority and emphasize

the need to set the guidelines in determining the grounds which may terminate

parental authority.

Specifically, this study aims to answer the following questions:

1. What are the legal implications of adding refusal of payment of legal support as

a ground for termination of parental authority?

2. How should refusal of payment of legal support be determined to qualify as an

additional ground for termination of parental authority?

3. What should be the factors in determining additional grounds for termination of

parental authority?
4. How does the Philippines comply with the mandate of International laws with

regard to legal support?

21 The Manila Times, Father has legal obligation to give support to his illegitimate child

9
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

This study intends to analyze the current provisions on support and parental

authority under the Family Code of the Philippines especially Articles 228 to 233

pertaining to Suspension or Termination of Parental Authority. Taking into account the

present status regarding support and exercise of parental authority, the study aims to

provide basis as to make refusal of payment of support as an additional ground to

terminate parental authority and determine the legal effects of the same to the

children as well as to the parents.

Input Process Output

Recommended
guidelines as to
determine
Empirical Research
Articles on Support and additional
Parental Authority under Historical Analysis grounds for
the Family Code termination of
Comparative Analysis parental authority
(Articles 194-233) between Foreign Laws
and Domestic Laws on Recommended
Support refusal to pay
10 legal support as
additional ground
in terminating
parental authority
ASSUMPTIONS

With the determination of refusal of payment of legal support as an additional

ground for termination of parental authority, the researcher was guided by the

following assumptions:

1. Convention on the Rights of the Child is part of the law of the land.
2. Family Code provisions on Support and Parental Authority are in consonance

with the Convention.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The importance of this study is mainly grounded on the need to include refusal

of payment of legal support as an additional ground to terminate parental authority

and the need likewise to provide for guidelines in determining any other possible

grounds so as to uphold and protect the rights of the child.

11
 This study is significant with the rampant cases of children who remain

unsupported by their own parents without any valid reason for such. As the laws are

silent as to grounds which comprises of instances where the parents are at fault or in

bad faith, the need for the conduct of this study is paramount to keep our laws

responsive to the prevailing situations in the society. Thus, Presidential Decree No.

603 and the Family Code of the Philippines would become effective tools in promoting

rights of the children as well as to adhere to International laws in which the Philippines

is a State Party.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

This study is focused on the determination of whether refusal of payment of

support can be an additional ground for termination of parental authority. This shall

cover both legitimate and illegitimate children regardless of whether such children are

raised by a single parent or not.

The provisions of the Family Code regarding support and parental authority are

included in this study. More specifically, the study shall focus on Articles 220 and 228

of the Family Code. This study is limited only on financial support of the parent. This

does not cover foundlings, abandoned, neglected or abused children who are not

under the custody of any of his parent.

12
 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The following literature provides information on the provisions on support and

parental authority and the grounds for termination of the same. Likewise, the

obligation and legal consequences on parents who refuse to give the mandated legal

13
support and the obligation of the Philippines to adhere to International laws are

included in this Chapter.

International Sphere

The U.N. Declaration of the Rights of the Child (DRC) builds upon rights that

had been set forth in a League of Nations Declaration of 1924. The Preamble notes

that children need special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal

protection, before as well as after birth, reiterates the 1924 Declarations pledge that

mankind owes to the child the best it has to give, and specifically calls upon

voluntary organizations and local authorities to strive for the observance of childrens

rights.22

Another push for childrens rights occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, when children

were viewed by some advocates as victims of discrimination or as an oppressed

group. In the international context, the growth of childrens rights in

international and transnational law has been identified as a striking change in the

post-war legal landscape.23 In the United States, the Progressive movement

22 Geraldine Van Bueren, The International Law on the Rights of the Child 10-11
(Dordrecht/Boston/London, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1995. 35 International Studies in Human
Rights)

23 Stephen R. Arnott, Family Law: Autonomy, Standing, and Childrens Rights, 33 William Mitchell
Law Review 809 (2007)

14
challenged courts reluctance to interfere in family matters, promoted broad child

welfare reforms, and was successful in having laws passed to regulate child labor and

provide for compulsory education. It also raised awareness of childrens issues and

established a juvenile court system.24

One of the key principles in the DRC is that a child is to enjoy special protection as

well as opportunities and facilities, by law and by other means, for healthy and

normal physical, mental, moral, spiritual, and social development in conditions of

freedom and dignity. The paramount consideration in enacting laws for this purpose

is the best interests of the child.25

Afterwards, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 came in

the picture. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the most

comprehensive document on the rights of children. Based purely on the number of

substantive rights it sets forth, as distinct from implementation measures, it is the

longest U.N. human rights treaty in force and unusual in that it not only addresses the

granting and implementation of rights in peacetime, but also the treatment of children

in situations of armed conflict. The CRC is also significant because it enshrines, for

the

24 Wendy Zeldin, Childrens Rights: International Laws, Library of Congress, Accessed on October 3,
2016, Available from https://www.loc.gov/law/help/child-rights/international-law.php#_ftnref1

25 Ibid.

15
first time in binding international law, the principles upon which adoption is based,

viewed from the childs perspective.26

Key accomplishments of the CRC have been described as five-fold. 27 First, it

creates new rights for children under international law that previously had not existed,

such as the childs right to preserve his or her identity (Articles 7 and 8), the rights of

vulnerable children like refugees to special protection (Articles 20 and 22), and

indigenous childrens right to practice their culture (Articles 8 and 30). In some

instances, this innovation takes the form of child-specific versions of existing rights,

such as those in regard to freedom of expression (Article 13) and the right to a fair trial

(Article 40). Second, the CRC enshrines in a global treaty rights that hitherto had only

been found in case law under regional human rights treaties (Article 12). Further, CRC

replaced non-binding recommendations with binding standards like for instance the

safeguards in adoption procedures and with regard to the rights of disabled children

(Articles 21 and 23). Fourth, new obligations are imposed on States Parties in regard

to the protection of children, in such areas as banning traditional practices prejudicial

to childrens health and offering rehabilitative measures for victims of neglect, abuse,

and exploitation (Articles 28(3) and 39). Finally, CRC sets forth an express ground

26 Convention on the Rights of the Child, Amnesty International USA, Accessed on October 3, 2016,
Available from http://www.amnestyusa.org/Children/
Convention_on_the_Rights_of_the_Child/page.do?id=1101777&n1=3&n2 =78&n3=1272

27 Ibid.

16
obligating States Parties not to discriminate against childrens enjoyment of CRC

rights.28

Later on, the United Nations adopted two protocols the Optional Protocol to the CRC

on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography 2000 (Sex

Trafficking Protocol) and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the

Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (Child Soldiers Protocol) Child

Soldiers Protocol on May 25, 2000. 29 The Preamble refers to achieving the purposes

of the CRC and to the need for States Parties to implement specific provisions,

among them CRC articles 34 and 35 on broad protections against child trafficking,

sexual exploitation, and abuse. The Preamble also reflects CRC language in regard

to protecting children from economic exploitation and performance of hazardous or

harmful work.30

In strengthening the rights of a child, it should be noted that Universal Declaration of

Human Rights contains two articles specifically referring to children. Article 25(2)

states: motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All

children whether born in or out of wedlock shall enjoy the same social protection.

28 Ursula Kilkelly, The Best of Both Worlds for Childrens Rights? Interpreting the European
Convention on Human Rights in the Light of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Human
Rights Quarterly 311 (2001), Accessed on October 11, 2016, Available from
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/human_rights_quarterly/v023/23.2kilkelly.pdf

29 http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/dopchild.htm

30

17
Article 26 calls for the right to education for all, and deals both with access to and the

aims of education. Thus, education is to be free, at least in the elementary and

fundamental stages; elementary education is to be compulsory; and education should

be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening

of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. 31

What shows to provide protection to children as well is the International Covenant on

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966 particularly the Preamble which provides

that recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all

members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the

world and that these rights derive from the inherent dignity of the human person. 32

Article 10, paragraph 3 of said Covenant states that Special measures of protection

and assistance should be taken on behalf of all children and young persons without

any discrimination for reasons of parentage or other conditions. Children and young

persons should be protected from economic and social exploitation. Further, Article

12 addresses the right of all to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of

physical and mental health, to be fully realized by, among other measures, States

Parties.33

31 Universal Declaration of Human Rights

32 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Accessed on October 14, 2016,
Available from http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CESCR.aspx

33 Ibid.

18
International Laws on Legal Support

The relationship of father to his child is often perceived as an essential part of the

childs overall development. Wollny, Apps and Henricson 34 in their study opined that

family breakdown leads to varying roles of fathers with their childrens growth and

development resulting from certain illicit relationships parents are having. This lack of

a meaningful relationship with their father has the potential to disrupt child well-being

which is closely tied to their lives within their family.

The father-child relationship therefore needs to be recognized as important from

both a financial as well as psychosocial perspective as both are important to the

childs well-being.35 Child maintenance must not only be perceived from a purely

economic standpoint, rather a father must be viewed as an integral stakeholder in the

overall care and development of the child.36

If fathers do not maintain their children and if there are no social security measures

when fathers do not or cannot pay, then obviously women and children will continue to

suffer. Ross (1994) emphasized in his study that child support is among the most

34 Wollny, Apps and Henricson, 2010, op cit.

35 Paulette Andrea Henry, Child Maintenance, Father Child Relationships and Family Well-being,
Macrothink Institute, Accessed on October 16, 2016, Available from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283034578_Child_Maintenance_Father_Child_Relationships
_and_Family_Wellbeing

36 Ibid.

19
important obligations of out-of-home fathers to their children and provision of

adequate support is central to a child's economic well-being. 37

Certain countries punish non-payment of support especially after court order to

do so. In Australia, once an order of support has been adjudicated and the person

liable refused or failed to do so, there can be an administrative enforcement only by

issuing notice. Included as remedies are collection from salary or wages, collection

from social security pensions and benefit, tax refund intercepts, collection from

parental leave payments and departure prohibition orders. 38

In California, once ordered by the court to pay child support, the court will issue

wage assignment to the parents employer for the latter to take the support payments

out from the wages. If there is failure to pay the support even the parent has the

capacity to do so, the failing parent can be held in contempt of court and be

imprisoned. However, if failure to pay is due to loss of job or any other important

change, the failing parent shall pray before the court to reduce the amount of

support.39

37 Ibid.

38 Australian Government, Child Support Guide, Released on August 15, 2016, Accessed on August
20, 2016, Available from http://guides.dss.gov.au/child-support-guide/5/2

39 California Courts, Paying a Child Support Order, Accessed on August 20, 2016, Available from
http://www.courts.ca.gov/1197.htm

20
 In Texas, the term parent is a legal term and generally, child support is money

that a parent pays to another person to help support his or her child. All parents have

a legal duty to financially support their children. This legal duty exists even if there is

no court order for child support. A Texas court may order a parent to support his or her

child until the child turns 18 years-old, graduates from high school, marries, dies, or is

emancipated by court order. If the child is disabled, the court may order a parent to

financially support the child indefinitely. If a parent does not pay their court ordered

child support, he or she could have their property taken away, lose their drivers

license, or even go to jail.40

Lastly, in Canada, in the event that a parent stops paying their child support,

under no circumstances can they be prevented access to their children. Also, in the

same regard, they cannot stop paying their support if a custodial parent denies them

access to their children. Consequently, the consequences for not paying support are

as follows: garnishment of wages for child support payments, arrears and interest,

garnishment of federal payments such as income tax refunds or employment

insurance payments, suspension of drivers license or passport, seizure of bank

accounts and/or assets, reporting lack of payments to the credit bureaus and to

impact credit rating.

International Laws on Parental Authority

40 Texas Law Help Organization, texaslawhelp.org/resource/answers-to-questions-about-child-

support-in-t

21
 Parental authority is the entirety of rights and obligations concerning both

the person and the property of the child and belongs equally to both parents. It

is defined under Romanian Civil Code as a set of rights and obligations granted or

imposed by law to parents, in the interests of their minor children. 41

Also under Romanian law, parental rights and obligations are not

correlated. This means that the rights conferred to parents do not correspond

to certain reciprocal obligations that children would be bound to. In relation to

their minor children, parents practically only have obligations, and parental rights

exist only in their relations with third parties, being designed as tools for

mediation of execution of their obligations to the children. 42

In India, a court may terminate the parental-child legal relationship under the following

circumstances:

1. the parents have relinquished the child;

2. the child has been abandoned;

3. the parent is convicted of a felony in which sexual
intercourse occurred and as a result of the sexual
intercourse the child is born;

4. the parent is a minor adjudicated a delinquent

youth because of an act that, if committed by an
adult, would be a felony in which sexual intercourse

41 Romanian Civil Code, Article 483 (1).

42 Daniel Belingher, Considerations regarding parental authority in Romanian private international

law, Accessed on October 16, 2016, Available from
http://www.tribunajuridica.eu/arhiva/An5v1/13%20Berlingher.pdf

22
 occurred and as a result of the sexual intercourse the
child is born;

5. the parent has subjected a child to any of the

following circumstances:
a. subjected a child to aggravated
circumstances, including but not limited to
abandonment, torture, chronic abuse, or
sexual abuse or chronic, severe neglect;

b. committed, aided, abetted, attempted,

conspired, or solicited deliberate or mitigated
deliberate homicide of a child;

c. committed aggravated assault against a

child;

d. committed neglect of a child that resulted in

serious bodily injury or death; or

e. had parental rights to the child's sibling or

other child of the parent involuntarily terminated
and the circumstances related to the
termination of parental rights are relevant to the
parent's ability to adequately care for the child
at issue;

6. the putative father meets any of the applicable

criteria

7. the child is adjudicated a youth in need of care. 43

In cases of abandonment, the court requires only the production of documentary

requisites prior the termination of parental rights. 44

43 Child and Family Services Policy Manual: Legal Procedure Termination of the Parent-Child Legal
Relationship/Permanent Legal Custody, https://dphhs.mt.gov/Portals/85/cfsd/documents/POLICY/302-
6%20Permanent%20Legal%20Custody.pdf

44 Ibid.

23
Almost the same grounds were considered under every state of Washington, the

District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto

Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In these states, once parental rights of both parents

are terminated, the child becomes legally free to be adopted. The grounds for

involuntary termination of parental rights are specific circumstances under which the

child cannot safely be returned home because of risk of harm by the parent or the

inability of the parent to provide for the childs basic needs. Each State is responsible

for establishing its own statutory grounds, and these vary by State. 45

The most common statutory grounds for determining parental unfitness include:

1. Severe or chronic abuse or neglect

2. Sexual abuse
3. Abuse or neglect of other children in the
household
4. Abandonment of the child
5. Long-term mental illness or deficiency of the
parent(s)
6. Long-term alcohol- or drug-induced incapacity of
the parent(s)
7. Failure to support or maintain contact with the
child
8. Involuntary termination of the rights of the parent
to another child

The above factors become grounds for terminating parental rights when reasonable

efforts by the State to prevent out-of-home placement or to achieve family

45 Childrens Bureau, Grounds for Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights, Accessed on October 10,
2016,Available from https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/groundtermin.pdf.

24
reunification after placement have failed to correct the conditions and/or parental

behaviors that led to State intervention.46

Under the laws of Alabama, if the court finds from clear and convincing evidence that

the parents of a child are unable or unwilling to discharge their responsibilities to their

child, it may terminate the parental rights of the parents. In making this determination,

the court shall consider, but not be limited to, the following:

1. The parent has abandoned the child.

2. Emotional illness, mental illness, or mental deficiency

of the parent, or excessive use of alcohol or
controlled substances has rendered the parent unable
to care for the child.

3. The parent has tortured, abused, cruelly beaten, or

otherwise maltreated the child, or attempted to
torture, abuse, cruelly beat, or otherwise maltreat the
child, or the child is in clear and present danger of
being thus tortured, abused, cruelly beaten, or
otherwise maltreated as evidenced by the treatment
of a sibling.

4. The parent has been convicted of and imprisoned for

a felony.

5. The parent has committed any of the following:

Murder or manslaughter of another child
of that parent
Aiding, abetting, attempting, conspiring, or
soliciting to commit murder or manslaughter
of another child of that parent
A felony assault or abuse that results in
serious bodily injury to the surviving child or
another child of that parent

46 Ibid.

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 6. Unexplained serious physical injury to the child
proved to be the result of the intentional conduct or
willful neglect of the parent.

7. Reasonable efforts to rehabilitate the parent have

failed.

8. Parental rights to a sibling of the child have been

involuntarily terminated.

9. The parent has failed to provide for the material

needs of the child or to pay a reasonable portion of
support of the child when the parent is able to do so.

10. The parent has failed to maintain regular visits with

the child in accordance with a visitation plan.

11. The parent has failed to maintain consistent contact

or communication with the child.47

For Arizona, best interest of the child was the basis in the formulation of grounds to

terminate parent-child relationship. It is to be noted that failure of an alleged parent

who is not the childs legal parent to take a test requested by the department or

ordered by the court to determine if the person is the childs natural parent is prima

facie evidence of abandonment unless good cause is shown by the alleged parent for

that failure. Some of the grounds are:

1. The parent has abandoned the child.

2. The parent has neglected or willfully abused a

child.

3. The parent is unable to discharge parental

responsibilities because of mental illness, mental
deficiency, or a history of chronic abuse of
dangerous drugs or alcohol, and there are

47 Ibid

26
 reasonable grounds to believe that the condition
will continue for a prolonged period.

4. The parent has been convicted of a felony of such

nature as to prove the unfitness of that parent,
including murder or manslaughter of another child
of the parent, or if the sentence of that parent is of
such length that the child will be deprived of a
normal home for a period of years.

5. The potential father failed to file a paternity action

within 30 days of completion of service of notice
as prescribed in 8-106(G).
6. The putative father failed to file a notice of claim of
paternity.

7. The parents have relinquished their rights to a

child to an agency or have consented to the
adoption.

8. The identity of the parent is unknown and

continues to be unknown following 3 months of
diligent efforts to identify and locate the parent.

9. The parent has had parental rights to another child

terminated within the preceding 2 years for the
same cause and is currently unable to discharge
parental responsibilities due to the same cause. 48

Recognition of the best interest of the child as basis for the grounds where parental

authority or parental rights are terminated is an indication of adherence to the

mandate of the United Nations. More importantly, it is a stigma that children are

protected by laws of each and every State.

48 Ibid.

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 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter states the methods and methodology employed in the research.

A. Methods of Research

The researcher used descriptive research design with focus on the

grounds of termination of parental authority and propriety of including refusal of

payment of legal support as another ground without the need of judicial order.

Descriptive research aims to find out what prevails in the present:

conditions or relationships, held opinions and belief, processes and effects and

developing trends. Descriptive research is designed to study what is. Primarily, it is

concerned with conditions and things existing at the time of the study but it also

considers past events and influences which are deemed related to what is studied in

the present.49

Descriptive research is the most widely-used research design as indicated by

numerous theses, dissertations and researches. The primary aim of which is to

49 Venancio Ardales, Basic Concepts and Methods in Research (Ermita, Manila: Educational
Publishing House, 2008).

28
describe existing beliefs, opinions or conditions of a social group, compare sub-

groups in terms of selected variables and to determine the relationship between or

among variables covered.50

B. Data and Reference Sources

In the conduct of this study different kinds of documents were examined. The

researcher consulted relevant statutes, textbooks, theses, international documents,

law journals, including articles posted in the website.

Data and references include material documents from United Nations,

International Human Rights, and local laws, textbooks on Persons and Family

Relations and jurisprudence.

C. Collection Techniques

Simple data collection technique was adopted by the researcher by

employing diligent examination of references such as books, theses from other

libraries, as well as the internet.

D. Analytical Treatment of Data

50 Ibid.

29
 To analyze the collected data, comparative method shall be used

primarily. The researcher shall examine and analyze the concept of rights of the

children with particular attention to the right to receive support from parents and

grounds for termination of parental authority based on the best interest of the child.

Provisions of the Family Code on Parental authority and Support and the

commentaries of known authors of Persons and Family Relations Law books and the

meetings of the Code Commission regarding said provisions shall be analyzed with

the objective of conforming to the mandates of the international law.

30