Facts:
On February 21, 1990, Spouses Alvin Clouse, a natural-born
US Citizen and Evelyn Clouse, a former Filipino who became a naturalized US
citizen, filed a petition to adopt Solomon Alcala, a minor who is Evelyn's
youngest brother. The trial court granted the petition. Republic, through the
Office of the Solicitor General appealed contending that the lower court erred
in granting the petition for the spouses are not qualified to adopt under
Philippine Law.
Issue:
Whether or
not Spouses Clouse are qualified to adopt
Held:
Under Articles 184 and 185 of Executive Order (E.O.)
No. 209, otherwise known as "The Family Code of the Philippines",
private respondents spouses Clouse are clearly barred from adopting Solomon
Joseph Alcala.
Article 184, paragraph (3) of Executive Order No. 209
expressly enumerates the persons who are not qualified to adopt, viz.:
(3) An alien, except:
(a) A
former Filipino citizen who seeks to adopt a relative by consanguinity;
(b) One
who seeks to adopt the legitimate child of his or her Filipino spouse; or
(c) One
who is married to a Filipino citizen and seeks to adopt jointly with his or her
spouse a relative by consanguinity of the latter.
Aliens
not included in the foregoing exceptions may adopt Filipino children in
accordance with the rules on inter-country adoption as may be provided by law.
There can be no question that private respondent Alvin A.
Clouse is not qualified to adopt Solomon Joseph Alcala under any of the
exceptional cases in the aforequoted provision. In the first place, he is not a
former Filipino citizen but a natural born citizen of the United States of
America. In the second place, Solomon Joseph Alcala is neither his relative by
consanguinity nor the legitimate child of his spouse. In the third place, when
private respondents spouses Clouse jointly filed the petition to adopt Solomon
Joseph Alcala on February 21, 1990, private respondent Evelyn A. Clouse was no
longer a Filipino citizen. She lost her Filipino citizenship when she was
naturalized as a citizen of the United States in 1988.
Private respondent Evelyn A. Clouse, on the other hand, may
appear to qualify pursuant to paragraph 3(a) of Article 184 of E.O. 209. She
was a former Filipino citizen. She sought to adopt her younger brother.
Unfortunately, the petition for adoption cannot be granted in her favor alone
without violating Article 185 which mandates a joint adoption by the husband
and wife. It reads:
Article 185.
Husband and wife must jointly adopt, except in the following cases:
(1) When
one spouse seeks to adopt his own illegitimate child; or
(2) When
one spouse seeks to adopt the legitimate child of the other.
Article
185 requires a joint adoption by the husband and wife, a condition that must be
read along together with Article 184.
Under the Family Code, joint adoption by husband and
wife is mandatory. This is
in consonance with the concept of joint parental authority over the child,
which is the ideal situation. As the
child to be adopted is elevated to the level of a legitimate child, it is but
natural to require the spouses to adopt jointly. The rule also insures harmony
between the spouses.
Note:
The alien husband can now adopt under Sec. 7 (b) of R.A. No. 8552 (Domestic Adoption Act of 1998). The Supreme Court has held in several cases that when husband and wife are required to adopt jointly, each one of them must be qualified to adopt in his or her own right. However, the American husband must comply with the requirements of the law including the residency requirement of 3 years. Otherwise, the adoption will not be allowed. (Desiderio P. Jurado, Civil Law Reviewer, 2006
ed., p. 232) ???? double check
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