SC acquits grandfather in false birth registration case

The Supreme Court has acquitted a grandfather convicted of falsely registering his grandson as his biological child, ruling that prosecutors failed to establish the criminal intent required for simulation of birth.

In an en banc decision dated 26 August 2026, penned by Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, the high tribunal overturned the convictions of Benito Somo under the Revised Penal Code and the Domestic Adoption Act of 1998.

The case arose after Somo obtained a second birth certificate for his grandson, naming himself and his wife as the child's parents.

The child's biological father had authorized the arrangement in writing to avoid confusion over the boy's identity. The second birth certificate was subsequently used for school enrollment and passport applications.

Both the Regional Trial Court and Court of Appeals found Somo guilty under Article 347 of the Revised Penal Code and Section 21(b) of Republic Act No. 8552.

The Supreme Court, however, ruled that the provisions punish the same offense and cannot serve as grounds for separate convictions arising from the same act.

It also classified simulation of birth as mala in se, an offense requiring proof of criminal intent, rather than one established merely by committing a prohibited act.

The Court explained that prosecutors must prove not only the false registration but also the accused's intent to deprive the child of his true identity and civil status.

In Somo's case, the justices found no sufficient evidence of such intent.

The Court noted that the original birth certificate identifying the child's biological parents remained intact and that Somo had subsequently sought adoption and correction of the birth record.

It also found no evidence that Somo intended to defraud the government or conceal his grandson's origins.

The ruling underscores the requirement to establish criminal intent in simulation-of-birth prosecutions and the constitutional protection against multiple punishments for the same offense.