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    Colorado v. Court of Appeals, No. L-39948, 28 February 1985, 135 SCRA 47

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    Edgar Joshua Timbang
    This case concerns whether five brothers, Leonardo, Alfonso, Juan, Antonio and Porfirio Colorado, were legitimated as the natural children of Flaviano Colorado. The Court of Appeals had ruled they were not legitimated. The Supreme Court upheld this ruling, finding that under the old Civil Code acknowledgment of natural children had to be formal and express in a public document, not tacit, for legitimation to occur upon the parents' subsequent marriage. As the acknowledgment requirements were not met, Flaviano Colorado's marriage did not legitimate the five brothers.

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    Colorado v. Court of Appeals, No. L-39948, 28 February 1985, 135 SCRA 47

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    Edgar Joshua Timbang
    143 views2 pages
    This case concerns whether five brothers, Leonardo, Alfonso, Juan, Antonio and Porfirio Colorado, were legitimated as the natural children of Flaviano Colorado. The Court of Appeals had ruled they were not legitimated. The Supreme Court upheld this ruling, finding that under the old Civil Code acknowledgment of natural children had to be formal and express in a public document, not tacit, for legitimation to occur upon the parents' subsequent marriage. As the acknowledgment requirements were not met, Flaviano Colorado's marriage did not legitimate the five brothers.

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    This case concerns whether five brothers, Leonardo, Alfonso, Juan, Antonio and Porfirio Colorado, were legitimated as the natural children of Flaviano Colorado. The Court of Appeals had ruled they were not legitimated. The Supreme Court upheld this ruling, finding that under the old Civil Code acknowledgment of natural children had to be formal and express in a public document, not tacit, for legitimation to occur upon the parents' subsequent marriage. As the acknowledgment requirements were not met, Flaviano Colorado's marriage did not legitimate the five brothers.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    143 views2 pages

    Colorado v. Court of Appeals, No. L-39948, 28 February 1985, 135 SCRA 47

    Uploaded by

    Edgar Joshua Timbang
    This case concerns whether five brothers, Leonardo, Alfonso, Juan, Antonio and Porfirio Colorado, were legitimated as the natural children of Flaviano Colorado. The Court of Appeals had ruled they were not legitimated. The Supreme Court upheld this ruling, finding that under the old Civil Code acknowledgment of natural children had to be formal and express in a public document, not tacit, for legitimation to occur upon the parents' subsequent marriage. As the acknowledgment requirements were not met, Flaviano Colorado's marriage did not legitimate the five brothers.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    of 2

    Colorado vs.

    Court of Appeals, 135 SCRA 47, February 28, 1985


    CUEVAS, J.:

    Appeal by way of CERTIORARI from the decision of the then Court of Appeals (now
    Intermediate Appellate Court) in CA-G.R. No. 49528-R. entitled “Gregorio Corpuz, et
    al., vs. Carmen Colorado, et al.”, dated October 4, 1974 which modified the decision
    of the then Court of First Instance of Zambales (now Regional Trial Court) in Civil
    Case No. 163-I, by declaring that petitioners Leonardo, Alfonso, Juan Antonio and
    Porfirio, all surnamed Colorado, are not the legitimated children of the late Flaviano
    Colorado.

    LEGAL DOCTRINE: Acknowledged natural children; Legitimation.


    FACTS:

     Petitioners Leonardo, Alfonso, Juan, Antonio and Porfirio fall surnamed


    Colorado are the natural children of Flaviano Colorado and Juliana del Rosario.
    The eldest, Leonardo, was born on May 16, 1915; while the youngest, Porfirio, on
    July 8, 1922. Before he died on August 31, 1922, Flaviano Colorado married
    Juliana del Rosario in articulo mortis on August 30, 1922.

     Flaviano had four daughters by two previous marriages: Victoria Colorado, by


    his first wife, Agustina Sales, Carmen Colorado, Andrea Colorado and Fortunata
    Colorado, by his second wife, Felipa Beltran who died on July 27, 1913.

     In 1925, the properties left by Flaviano Colorado were orally partitioned among
    his widow. Juliana del Rosario, and his children Victoria Colorado, Carmen
    Colorado, Andrea Colorado, Fortunata Colorado, Leonardo Colorado, Alfonso
    Colorado, Juan Colorado, Antonio Colorado and Porfirio Colorado. The last five,
    being then minors, were represented by their mother Juliana.

     Claiming that the properties left by his father Flaviano had not yet been
    partitioned among his heirs, Antonio Colorado on January 27, 1967 sold to
    Gregorio Corpuz his supposed undivided share over the two parcels in question.
    On February 10, 1967, Dolores Vda. de Colorado (widow of Juan Colorado),
    acting for and in behalf of her children, also sold their shares over these same
    (two) parcels to Gregorio Corpuz.

     Thereafter, Gregorio Corpuz advised Carmen Colorado of the sale and


    demanded that the two parcels be partitioned and to deliver to him the shares of
    Antonio and Juan Colorado.

     Carmen Colorado refused, claiming that these properties belong exclusively to


    her and her late sisters as their share in the extrajudicial partition in 1923 of the
    properties left by their late father Flaviano Colorado. As a result of Carmen’s
    refusal to honor and recognize the sale and partition of the two parcels of land in
    her possession, Gregorio Corpuz instituted a complaint against her.
    ISSUE:
    Whether or not the Court of Appeals erred in applying the formal requisites for
    acknowledgment of natural children as specified by Articles 131 and 133 to the
    legitimation of natural children by subsequent marriage of their parents as provided for
    by Articles 120 to 125 of the Spanish Civil Code.
    HELD/RULING:

     No. As it is, appellants failed to consider that Article 133 of the old Civil Code
    which falls under Chapter IV, Title V, Book I thereof, deals not only with
    “Illegitimate Children” but also of “Acknowledgment of Natural Children”
    which is Section 1 of the Chapter (IV) dealing with illegitimate children. It will be
    noted that acknowledged natural children are placed in the same class or
    category as illegitimate children. And this is so, because unless the parents of the
    acknowledged natural child subsequently marry each other, the child although
    acknowledged, remains illegitimate.

     Article 121 properly falls under Chapter III on “legitimated children” because in
    this instance the parents of the child marry each other and the marriage
    legitimated the acknowledged natural child. In other words, the parents should
    be married to each other in order to effect the legitimation of their acknowledged
    natural children. And once legitimated, the child becomes legitimate child. Since
    the parents marry each other, the acknowledgment of the natural children needs
    no judicial approval

     The acknowledgment required by Article 121 must be made in the manner


    provided far by Article 131 which states— “the acknowledgment of a natural
    child must be made in the record of birth, in a will, or in some other public
    documents.” Under the old Civil Code, recognition of natural children must be
    expressed or formal, not tacit Without such express recognition, the marriage of
    the natural father to the children’s mother will not effectuate legitimation ipso
    facto under Art 131 thereof.

     Petitioners vainly attempted to prove that Flaviano Colorado acknowledged the


    five brothers by presenting the photograph showing Flaviano Colorado together
    with Juliana del Rosario and his children Victoria Colorado, Carmen Colorado,
    Fortunata Colorado, Andrea Colorado, Alfonso Colorado and Leonardo
    Colorado. Such photo gives them no support whatsoever in the light of Article
    131. Not being a record of birth nor a will, nor a public document, it does not
    suffice for the purpose.

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