G.R. No. 33658 & 33659; March 24, 1931
Heradio F. Donado, plaintiff-appellee, vs. Matilde Menendez Donado, Mercedes Montehermoso and Miguel Peñaranda, defendants-appellants.

FACTS

Heradio F. Donado filed two complaints seeking to be declared an acknowledged natural child of Gertrudis Donado and to participate in her estate. Gertrudis Donado died on April 26, 1919. The defendants, including Gertrudis’s legitimate daughter Mercedes Montehermoso, opposed the claim. The trial court ruled in favor of Heradio, declaring him an acknowledged natural child entitled to a share in the inheritance and ordering partition of the properties. The defendants appealed, raising multiple errors, including challenging the validity of the acknowledgment, the applicable law (prior law vs. the Civil Code), the investigation of paternity, and the order for partition.

ISSUE

The main issues are: (1) Whether Heradio F. Donado was validly acknowledged as a natural child of Gertrudis Donado; (2) What law governs his right to inherit—the law in force prior to the Civil Code or the Civil Code itself; (3) Whether the defendants can investigate paternity to impugn the acknowledgment; (4) Whether Heradio’s action has prescribed; and (5) Whether partition can be ordered without first determining the source of the properties in dispute.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part.
1. Heradio F. Donado was validly acknowledged as a natural child under the Civil Code. The voluntary acknowledgment made separately by the mother under the Civil Code, even though the child was born under the prior law, is governed by the Civil Code and cannot be attacked in a manner that involves investigating the identity of the unacknowledged father, as such investigation is prohibited under the present law.
2. The right to inherit is governed by the Civil Code. Since Gertrudis Donado died while the Civil Code was in force, Heradio’s right to her inheritance is governed by the Civil Code under its transitory provisions (Rule 12), notwithstanding any right acquired by the legitimate daughter under the prior law, as the origins of their rights are different.
3. The action has not prescribed. Heradio filed his complaint on October 19, 1928, and his mother died on April 26, 1919. The ten-year prescriptive period for actions involving real property under the Code of Civil Procedure had not yet elapsed.
4. Partition cannot be ordered without first determining the source of the properties. The cross-complaint alleged that a portion of the property claimed derived from the legitimate father of defendant Mercedes Montehermoso. Therefore, the case was remanded to the trial court for further proceedings to receive evidence on the source of the property before partition.
The judgment was affirmed insofar as it adjudged Heradio F. Donado entitled to participate in his mother’s inheritance, but reversed insofar as it ordered immediate partition.

AI Generated by Armztrong.