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REACTION PAPER

Group 1
Alisbo, Margaret
Araneta, Jeshua Rossmand
Atienza, Janice
Cabacungan, Godwin
Cruz, Princess Joy
Cruz, Red Niño
Galamgan-Reyes, Shirley Emily
Navarro, Andres Estabillo
Pagatpatan, Rengelle
Pascual, Maria Kristel
Prejido, Laura
Velasco, Jeffry

GR No. 216425, November 11, 2020, Anacleto Ballaho Alanis III vs CA

The issue of whether or not legitimate children have the right to use
their mother’s surnames as their surname is essentially a question of fact.
The factors that determine the issue includes the State’s policy that ensures
the fundamental equality of men and women as well as to the provision of
Article 364 in the Civil Code that legitimate children shall “principally” use
the surname of the father, but “principally” does not mean “exclusively.”

In reality, the percentage of single mothers have been increasing not

just in our country but also in the world. Women empowerment have been
dislodged in our society. Although we are all under the patriarchal system of
government, the court’s ruling and decision in granting the prayer of the
petitioner, wanting to have his mother’s surname as his last name, evidently
had given aid and granted ABDULHAMID BALLAHO, a name that will be
recognized legally, for “our law’s basic idea is to render public service and
secure justice for those who seek its aid.”1

It is so unlikely and unfair for a person to have a name that is not

recognized and known by many, embodying a name unknown to the identity
of a child or somebody, carrying a name that is foreign for there has no
remembrance of how to be Anacleto Alanis III. Questions raised was, “Why
is that we carry the name of our father and not the name of our mother? Are
we not allowed by the laws or is it just because the society dictates us?”

There is a custom, whenever a child does not follow his/her father's

last name or uses their mother's surname it is assumed that such child has no
father either not recognized or illegitimate child; which is somehow right
1
Legal and Judicial Ethics by Agpalo 2020 edition
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under Article 368 of the Civil Code which stated that “Illegitimate children
referred to in Article 287 shall bear the surname of the mother”. There might
also be assumptions that the child is born out of wed-lock or the father
doesn't want to take part of the child’s life. Some of them might feel pity for
themselves, there might be a discrimination and possibility of being bullied,
and some will get curious in their private life.

However, even if it is allowed by law, there are also factors to

consider as to proper and reasonable causes to grant in changing the name
which have been held valid, namely: (a) when the name is ridiculous,
dishonorable or extremely difficult to write or pronounce; (b) when the
change results as a legal consequence, as in legitimation; (c) when the
change will avoid confusion; (d) when one has continuously used and been
known since childhood by a Filipino name, and was unaware of alien
parentage; (e) a sincere desire to adopt a Filipino name to erase signs of
former alienage, all in good faith and without prejudicing anybody; and (f)
when the surname causes embarrassment and there is no showing that the
desired change of name was for a fraudulent purpose or that the change of
name would prejudice public interest.

In Title IX of the Family Code, Parental Authority, in Articles 209,

210 and 211 provides the parental rights, duties and responsibilities, that the
father’s decision shall prevail but it also states in Article 211 first paragraph
“unless there is a judicial order to the contrary.” It means that there are and
there will be instances that the law allows the possibility that father’s
decision, may not prevail due to undesirable circumstances. In Article 212
provides that “in the absence” of either parent, the present parent shall
continue exercising parental authority. The absence of the father in rearing
his child, the incapacity and incapability to do and act as a father to a family,
because of the absence, the law gives the blessing for the parent present to
exercise the authority. In this case it’s the mother of Abdulhamid Ballaho
that is present in exercising this authority towards her children.

In Wikipedia, Patriarchy is a social system in which men hold primary

power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority,
social privilege and control of property.2 Additionally in Meriam Webster
Dictionary, it says that patriarchy is a social organization marked by the
supremacy of the father in the clan or family, the legal dependence of wives
and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line
broadly: control by men of a disproportionately large share of power. 3

In one study of Philippine Institute for Development Studies, entitled

The Culture of Patriarchy and Its Effects on the Human Rights of Girl-
Children in Cagayan de Oro and Claveria, Misamis Oriental: Implications to
Policy Formulation, it says that Patriarchy. is a system of male headship,
2
Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarchy
3
Merriam Webster https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patriarchy
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male domination, male power—a system of controlling women through

economic dependence, violence, and domestication—a system which
assigns women to the private sphere of home and family and directs males to
the public sphere of work and decision making. It is a set of beliefs and
values supported by institutions and backed by the threat of violence. It lays
down the supposedly “proper relations between men and women, between
women and women, and between men and men It imposes structures which
make some work “naturally” men’s work and other work “naturally”
women’s work. And it gives whatever in men’s work more value, more
significance, more pay (Reardon 1996). 4

Christianity has been one of the sources of patriarchal beliefs and

practices. Religions, which are bible-based, follow the texts faithfully by its
every word. The Bible, which Christians live by, puts the male or men in
charge. It further states that women should be submissive to men and, thus,
the separation of tasks. The assignment of some tasks to one sex and the
exclusion of the other has been one method of stressing separate roles for
male and female. The educational practice of training boys to become
“manly” and girls to become “feminine” has been another. Within the
church, the principal example of such separation has been in restricting the
pastoral and government functions of the Christian community to men, and
frequently females have been excluded even from such inconsequential
liturgical functions as the lighting and extinguishing of candles. The
ecclesiastical government was always in the hands of men (Rhys 1975).
Based on a supposed divine order that was thought to be discerned in the
Scripture, the Church set forth what it regarded as absolute rights and
obligations. One such absolute is the family. As in prior Jewish and Roman
laws, Christianity saw the male as the natural head of his household. This
held true without regard to the wealth or social status of the family. The wife
owed obedience and deference to the husband. To both parents, the children
owed unquestioning submission. As a consequence, often there have been
abuses, as in any other kind of relationships (Rhys 1975). The Spanish
colonizers introduced many patriarchal cultural values and practices in the
country as a strategy for them to systematically attain their goals. All
throughout the colonial decades, the culture of patriarchy had been at work
in all aspects in the lives of Filipinos. Through the church, patriarchy was
built into the structures of society; in the consciousness of men and women;
integrated into the value system, world view, and socialization process; and
reproduced in the family, school, in media, and in the laws. Linked to this
social system is the belief or the ideology that man is superior to woman,
that women are part of men’s property, and hence, should be controlled by
men. This belief forms the basis of many religious laws and practices, and
explains all those social practices that confine women to the home. Double-
standard morality and laws that give more rights to men than to women are
also based on patriarchy (Reardon 1996). Thus, the patriarchal system has
been pointed as the cause of exploitation among women and girls who
4
Philippine Institute for Development Studies, he Culture of Patriarchy and Its Effects on the Human Rights of Girl-Children in
Cagayan de Oro and Claveria, Misamis Oriental: Implications to Policy Formulation Noemi A. Medina et al. DISCUSSION PAPER
SERIES NO. 2015-44
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remain poor, powerless, and disadvantaged in many ways. It curtails their

freedom to move and discover their own talents and skills, their potentials,
and capabilities. What this study envisions to see is the eventual
transformation of the patriarchal system of beliefs into a culture that
practices human rights, and the creation of communities where parents and
children live together in a culture of justice and fairness, where everyone has
gradually adopted human rights as a way of life. 5

Taking the husband’s name is a patriarchal institution. It comes from

the idea that the wife and children are husband’s property. This tradition -
whereby names are passed down from father to children and women gives
up their names at marriage is unquestionably sexist.

Although some would disagree with the decision of the court of

appeals to grant the petition to change the name of the petitioner in the fact
of Alanis III vs Court of Appeals, because it will just create a lot of
problems in the future a lot of changes, in the matter of gender equality this
doesn’t make any sense, because it is the tradition and practices of the
human race that men is dominant in nature I will give you a fact why
“history” was called history, because of the word “his” it is the story of men
my point is it is all normal and this is not discrimination it is a normal
tradition of naming even though the petitioner did not grow up with a father
by his side his origin remains in his blood that can’t be changed. It should
not necessarily change the name nor surname cause it creates a lot of
problems in the identification.

A child using their parent’s last name is one of the many biggest
forms of respect and appreciation a parent could get, if we talk beyond the
realms of ancestry. Instances when one who uses their mother’s last name,
or a woman does not use the surname of her husband should be normalized
rather than to spark intrigue or neighborhood gossip.

Patriarchy, along with it the gender-inequitable attitudes, are drivers

of various forms of systemic oppression. Limiting women authority and
opportunities, rape culture and victim blaming, toxic masculinity which
promotes emotional repression in men and the likes. However, as it is a
social disease, it stems not just from covert prejudice, it occurs also in
identity and lack of maternal acknowledgement — as emphasized by the
high court. In reality, women have oftentimes been the prone to abuses and
also treated as inferior to men because of the pervading patriarchal system in
our society as well as in the government and private institutions.

5
Philippine Institute for Development Studies, he Culture of Patriarchy and Its Effects on the Human Rights of Girl-Children in
Cagayan de Oro and Claveria, Misamis Oriental: Implications to Policy Formulation Noemi A. Medina et al. DISCUSSION PAPER
SERIES NO. 2015-44
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The Republic Act No. 9710, An Act Providing for the Magna Carta of
Women took effect and was approved on August 14, 2009. It gave women
the same rights and privileges as men.

Section 2 of RA 9710 declared and recognizing that the economic,

political, and sociocultural realities affect women’s current condition,
the State affirms the role of women in nation building and ensures the
substantive equality of women and men. It shall promote
empowerment of women and pursue equal opportunities for women
and men and ensure equal access to resources and to development
results and outcome. Further, the State realizes that equality of men
and women entails the abolition of the unequal structures and
practices that perpetuate discrimination and inequality. To realize this,
the State shall endeavor to develop plans, policies, programs,
measures, and mechanisms to address discrimination and inequality in
the economic, political, social, and cultural life of women and men.

The State condemns discrimination against women in all its forms and
pursues by all appropriate means and without delay the policy of
eliminating discrimination against women in keeping with the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW) and other international instruments
consistent with Philippine law. The State shall accord women the
rights, protection, and opportunities available to every member of
society.

The State affirms women’s rights as human rights and shall intensify
its efforts to fulfill its duties under international and domestic law to
recognize, respect, protect, fulfill, and promote all human rights and
fundamental freedoms of women, especially marginalized women, in
the economic, social, political, cultural, and other fields without
distinction or discrimination on account of class, age, sex, gender,
language, ethnicity, religion, ideology, disability, education, and
status.

The State shall provide the necessary mechanisms to enforce women’s

rights and adopt and undertake all legal measures necessary to foster
and promote the equal opportunity for women to participate in and
contribute to the development of the political, economic, social, and
cultural realms.

The State, in ensuring the full integration of women’s concerns in the

mainstream of development, shall provide ample opportunities to
enhance and develop their skills, acquire productive employment and
contribute to their families and communities to the fullest of their
capabilities.
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In pursuance of this policy, the State reaffirms the right of women in

all sectors to participate in policy formulation, planning, organization,
implementation, management, monitoring, and evaluation of all
programs, projects, and services. It shall support policies, researches,
technology, and training programs and other support services such as
financing, production, and marketing to encourage active participation
of women in national development.6

Times have indeed changed. The role of women has dynamically

evolved. Gone are those days when their only supposed role was to take care
of children. Today, we see women performing once perceived manly roles.
Whatever rights men have, women nowadays have, too. That is why
precisely, if a child wishes to use his mother’s surname alone, for a valid
reason, he must be allowed to do so.

The purpose of the law allowing change of name is contemplated by

the provision of Rule 103 of the Rules of Court is to give a person an
opportunity to improve his personality and to provide his best interest.

Now, we all know that if we are all enlightened about the surname, it
will lessen or eliminate the discrimination between the legitimate and
illegitimate children and discrimination to the parents, also it might lessen
the possibility of being bullied. However, there are some questions which
lead me to wonder for more laws: 1. Will this be considered dishonoring the
Father leading to Disinheritance (Article 919 of the Civil Code)? 2. If not
disinherited, will the inheritance of the child be affected? 3. What will be the
middle name of the child if the current middle name will become his/her
surname, as the law is silent about it.

With the Court’s ruling that legitimate children are entitled to bear the
surnames of their mothers the same way as they bear the surnames of their
father. The petition of Anacleto to use his mother’s surname rooted from his
belief that his mother is the head of his known family. This head of the
family is not a man, she’s a woman - a special woman who raised him like a
true good father. The usage of the mother’s surname may sound simple for
some, but it is a big deal for people like us who believe and dreamt to
achieve gender equality and empowerment of women. The mother of
petitioner that was present all throughout the upbringing and rearing of the
petitioner and continuous exercising this authority over the petitioner and his
other siblings.

As any reasonable prudent man will say that there is no any obstacle,
conflict or confusion if we allow the legitimate child in opting to bear the
surname of his mother who completely and singly raised him or her without
the support of his biological father who abandoned them without a
justifiable cause. In view of the foregoing, it is but proper to allow the
petitioner to use her mother’s surname.
6
The Official Gazette https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2009/08/14/republic-act-no-9710/
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The court’s decision to grant the petition is an evidence of the State’s

goal to take appropriate measures to ensure the fundamental equality of
women and men before the law. The idea of losing your surname and taking
on someone else’s as what women who get married are traditionally
expected to do. It’s a very strong symbol of women subjugating her identity
to a man. And their children also follow the surname of their father.

Maybe throughout history men needed that extra bind of the name to
make them more responsible and connected, but it just seems vain,
egotistical and old-fashioned these days. But in this case, the father did not
assume his role as the head of the family.

Families are changing. They are much more fluid than they were in
the 1950s, so it’s hardly surprising that our children’s name are changing
too. As long as both parents agreed and circumstances permits so. It’s not
the name of the fathers that count. For the very modern couple though, not
content to toe the patriarchal line, plumping the surname can be fraught
affair. The most important thing is to keep it away from the children and
don’t make their name a battleground.

Again, a change of name of a child is not based on their parent’s

gender role, we may let them decide which name they would want to use
most especially if it will help them to be a better person on doing so, for the
purpose of the law allowing change of name is contemplated by the
provision of Rule 103 of the Rules of Court is to give a person an
opportunity to improve his personality and to provide his best interest.