Paternity issues

Dear Atty. Angela,

I have a love child with my ex-girlfriend but I have always doubted that the child is my son since he was born only 7 months from the time we had a sexual encounter. I never signed the birth certificate and she refused for the child to undergo DNA testing. Since I have not given financial support, she filed a case of economic abuse under Republic Act No. 9262, or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2024 (Anti-VAWC Act). Is there legal basis for this?

Josh

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Dear Josh,

No, based on the facts, there was failure to prove that the child is your biological son, and that the refusal to provide support was done to inflict psychological harm.

In the case of XXX v. People, G.R. No. 262419 (3 November 2025), the Supreme Court (SC) explained that to convict a person for economic abuse under Section 5(i) of the Anti-VAWC Act, the prosecution must show that: (1) the victim is a woman and/or her child; (2) the woman is the offender’s wife or partner, or someone with whom the offender has a common child; (3) the offender refused to give financial support due; and (4) the refusal was intended to cause mental or emotional suffering.

Here, the SC emphasized that a legal duty to provide financial support arises only after filiation or paternity has been established. It added that when a birth certificate is used to prove filiation, it must be signed by both the mother and the father.

Since the accused’s paternity was not proven in this case, no legal obligation to provide support could be imposed upon the alleged father of the child.

The SC further ruled that even if paternity had been established, criminal liability would still require evidence that the accused deliberately withheld support to make the woman suffer which in your case, was likewise not proven.

Atty. Angela Antonio