G.R. No. 116773 January 16 1997 [Parental Authority]
FACTS:
When Maria Paz's husband Reynaldo Eslao died, she entrusted
custody of her youngest child Angelica to her grieving mother-in-law. She then
returned to her mother's house with Leslie. Years later, Maria Paz got married to a Japanese-American
and live with him in the US. After this
she returned to the Philippines to be reunited with her children and bring them
to the US. She then informed Teresita about her desire to take custody of
Angelica her new husband's willingness to adopt her
children. Teresita refused, and accused
Maria of having abandoned Angelica when she was 10 days old. Maria
instituted an action against Teresita over the return of the custody of
Angelica to her. After the trial on the merits, the trial court granted the
petition. CA affirmed in the full decision of the trial court.
ISSUE:
Whether or not Teresita Sagala-Eslao should be given the custody of the child
RULING:
No. The right of
parents to the custody of their minor children is one of the natural rights
incident to parenthood, a right supported by law and sound public policy. The
right is an inherent one, which is not created by the state or decisions of the
courts, but derives from the nature of the parental relationship.
Thus, when Maria entrusted the custody of Angelica to
Teresita, what she gave to the latter was merely temporary custody and it did
not constitute abandonment or renunciation of parental authority. The law
allows a waiver of parental authority only in cases of adoption, guardianship
and surrender to a children's home or an orphan institution.
