PERSONS: SUPPORT Ma.

Angela Leonor Aguinaldo

TITLE 8: SUPPORT

Article 194. Support compromises everything indispensable for

sustenance, dwelling, clothing, medical attendance, education and
transportation, in keeping with the financial capacity of the family.
The education of the person entitled to be supported referred to in the
preceding paragraph shall include his schooling or training for some
profession, trade or vocation, even beyond the age of majority.
Transportation shall include expenses in going to and from school, or to
and from place of work. (290a)
 As a general rule, support includes whatever is necessary to keep a
person alive
 Eliminates the distinction between natural and civil support
 Natural support has been understood as the basic necessities while
civil support refers to anything beyond the basic necessities

Article 105. Subject to the provisions of the succeeding articles, the

following are obliged to support each other to the whole extent set forth
in the preceding article:
(1) The spouses;
(2) Legitimate ascendants and descendants;
(3) Parents and their legitimate children and the legitimate and
illegitimate children of the latter;
(4) Parents and their illegitimate children and the legitimate and
illegitimate children of the latter; and
(5) Legitimate brothers and sisters, whether of full or half-blood (291a)
 Support is a mandatory obligation
 This article highlights this point with the phrase “obliged to support
each other”
 The very nature of support as a mandatory and essential obligation
nevertheless demands that the same cannot be waived, renounced, or
transmitted or compensated as such obligation is necessary for the
existence, survival, well-being of the individual, ought to be supported
 Such abovementioned acts constitute acts contrary to law, public
policy, morals or good customs pursuant to Article 6 of the Civil Code
 As between spouses, the duty to support and the right to be supported
presuppose a valid marriage between the parties
 The right to support of spouses proceeds from law and their obligations
to mutually help each other, created by their matrimonial bond
 It has been held that the adultery of the wife is a valid defense against
an action for support initiated by the wife
 In a case for support wherein the validity of the marriage is in issue,
the aggrieved party cannot be given support pendete lite by the other
spouse immediately without due hearing because prior to the
rendition of the final judgment declaring the existence or non-
existence of marriage, nothing exist except the allegation of marriage
and a denial thereof
 Once a marriage is annulled, or declared void ab initio, the obligation
to give support ceases
 All members of the family in the direct legitimate ascending and
descending line are obliged to support each other—to ensure that
members of the family do not allow any member of the same family to
become a burden to society
 A valid defense to refuse support by a husband to a child claiming
support is that such child is the fruit of an adulterous relationship, for
in such case, it would not be the child of the person from whom
support is being sought and hence, would not be entitled to support
 Under the law on support, the parents are obliged to support their
children and grandchildren whether legitimately or illegitimately
related to their legitimate children and vice versa—as long as one is
related by blood to the person who is supposed to give support, there
is no reason why the obligation to support him should fall on society
and not on his family
 The parents are likewise obliged to support their illegitimate children
and grandchildren whether legitimately or illegitimately related to their
illegitimate children and vice versa
 It has been held that if in a hearing for support pendente lite, the
status of the child in issue, the alleged child can get support in the
meantime while the case is pending from the alleged parent if his
status as such has been proven provisionally
 The collateral blood relatives are obliged to support each other are
limited to legitimate brothers and sisters, whether full or half-blood

Article 196. Brothers and sisters not legitimately related, whether of the
full or half-blood, are likewise bound to support each other to the full
extent set forth in Article 194, except only when the need for support of
the brother or sister, being of age, is due to a cause imputable to the
claimant's fault or negligence. (291a)
 If an illegitimate brother or sister is of age, and the need for his or her
support is imputable to his own fault or negligence, support doesn’t
become a demandable right and therefore, may not be given at all.

Article 197. In case of legitimate ascendants; descendants, whether

legitimate or illegitimate; and brothers and sisters, whether legitimately
or illegitimately related, only the separate property of the person obliged
to give support shall be answerable provided that in case the obligor has
no separate property, the absolute community or the conjugal
partnership, if financially capable, shall advance the support, which shall
be deducted from the share of the spouse obliged upon the liquidation of
the absolute community or of the conjugal partnership. (n)
 Identifies the source from which the support should be taken out
 It is from the separate property of the person obliged to give support
that support in favor of his or her legitimate ascendants, legitimate
and illegitimate descendants, brothers and sisters whether legitimately
or illegitimately related shall be obtained
 If the legitimate descendants are the common children of the spouses
or the legitimate children of either spouse, the absolute community or
conjugal partnership of gains shall be principally charged for their
support
 If the absolute community or conjugal partnership is financially
capable, it shall advance the support, which shall be deducted from the
share of the spouse obliged upon the liquidation of the absolute
community or of the conjugal partnership if there is no separate
property of the obligor.
 In so far as the illegitimate child of either spouse is concerned, the
mere insufficiency of the separate property is enough to make the
absolute community of property liable in the meantime
 Article 197 doesn’t indicate where the spouse will get the support of
the other spouse. Principally, the absolute community or the conjugal
partnership shall be liable for the support of the spouses

Article 198. During the proceedings for legal separation or for annulment
of marriage, and for declaration of nullity of marriage, the spouses and
their children shall be supported from the properties of the absolute
community or the conjugal partnership. After the final judgment granting
the petition, the obligation of mutual support between the spouses
ceases. However, in case of legal separation, the court may order that the
guilty spouse shall give support to the innocent one, specifying the terms
of such order. (292a)
 Rule 61 of the Rules of Court
 Pending litigation, if there is absolute community of property or
conjugal partnership of gains, support for the spouses and their
children shall be drawn from the absolute community of property or
conjugal partnership of gains
 Mere allegation of adultery will not bar the wife from the right to
receive support pendent elite
 Adultery is a good defense and if properly proved and sustained will
defeat the action

Article 199. Whenever two or more persons are obliged to give support,
the liability shall devolve upon the following persons in the order herein
provided:
(1) The spouse;
(2) The descendants in the nearest degree;
(3) The ascendants in the nearest degree; and
(4) The brothers and sisters. (294a)

Article 200. When the obligation to give support falls upon two or more
persons, the payment of the same shall be divided between them in
proportion to the resources of each.
However, in case of urgent need and by special circumstances, the judge
may order only one of them to furnish the support provisionally, without
prejudice to his right to claim from the other obligors the share due from
them.
When two or more recipients at the same time claim support from one
and the same person legally obliged to give it, should the latter not have
sufficient means to satisfy all claims, the order established in the
preceding article shall be followed, unless the concurrent obligees should
be the spouse and a child subject to parental authority, in which case the
child shall be preferred. (295a)
Article 201. The amount of support, in the cases referred to in Articles
195 and 196, shall be in proportion to the resources or means of the giver
and to the necessities of the recipient. (296a)
 Proportionality

Article 202. Support in the cases referred to in the preceding article shall
be reduced or increased proportionately, according to the reduction or
increase of the necessities of the recipient and the resources or means of
the person obliged to furnish the same. (297a)
 While the law mandates that those related by marriage and family
relationship are generally obliged to support each other, the law is not
that unreasonable as to contemplate a situation where the one giving
support shall be compelled to make such support to the deterrent of
his own being and existence
 Support must be based on the necessities of the recipient and the
resources or means of the person obliged to furnish support
 Because of the changing needs of the recipient and the changing ability
of the provider that any judgment for support doesn’t become final
 The right to support is of such nature that its allowance is essentially
provisional, for during the entire period that a needy party is entitled
to support, his or her alimony may be modified or altered, in
accordance with his increased or decreased needs, and with the means
of the giver. It cannot be given final determination.
 Provisional character

Article 203. The obligation to give support shall be demandable from the
time the person who has a right to receive the same needs it for
maintenance, but it shall not be paid except from the date of judicial or
extrajudicial demand.
Support pendente lite may be claimed in accordance with the Rules of
Court.
Payment shall be made within the first five days of each corresponding
month or when the recipient dies, his heirs shall not be obliged to return
what he has received in advance. (298a)
 Payment of the amount of support starts from the time support has
been judicially or extrajudicially demanded
 Support must be demanded and the right to it established before it
becomes payable
 Right to support doesn’t arise from the mere fact of relationship, even
from the relationship of parents and children, but from imperative
necessity without which it cannot be demanded, and the law presumes
that such necessity doesn’t exist unless support is demanded

Article 204. The person obliged to give support shall have the option to
fulfill the obligation either by paying the allowance fixed, or by receiving
and maintaining in the family dwelling the person who has a right to
receive support. The latter alternative cannot be availed of in case there
is a moral or legal obstacle thereto. (299a)
 The right to elect manner in which the support shall be given is a right
conferred by law upon the person who duty is to give support
 Right is not absolute as to prevent cases being considered wherein,
either because this right would be opposed to the exercise of a
preferential right or because of the existence of some justifiable cause
morally opposed to the removal of the party enjoying the
maintenance, the right of selection must thereby be restricted

Article 205. The right to receive support under this Title as well as any
money or property obtained as such support shall not be levied upon on
attachment or execution. (302a)
 Anything obtained by way of support necessarily implies provisions
made for the survival and well-being of the recipient
 To deprive such recipient of these provisions will clearly be prejudicial
to his or her existence
 Law makes it clear that the right to receive support and the money and
property obtained as such support cannot be made to satisfy a
judgment against the recipient
 In case of contractual support or that given by will, the excess in
amount shall be subject to levy on attachment and execution

Article 206. When, without the knowledge of the person obliged to give
support, it is given by a stranger, the latter shall have a right to claim the
same from the former, unless it appears that he gave it without intention
of being reimbursed. (2164a)

Article 207. When the person obliged to support another unjustly refuses
or fails to give support when urgently needed by the latter, any third
person may furnish support to the needy individual, with right of
reimbursement from the person obliged to give support. This Article shall
particularly apply when the father or mother of a child under the age of
majority unjustly refuses to support or fails to give support to the child
when urgently needed. (2166a)
 The resulting relationship between the stranger and the person obliged
to give support under Articles 206 and 207 is a quasi-contract
 Article 2142 of the Civil Code defines a quasi-contract as a juridical
relation which arises from certain lawful, voluntary, and unilateral acts
to the end that no one shall be unjustly enriched at the expense or
benefit of another
 A lawful valid obligation arises out of a quasi-contract
 Whoever advances the support shall be entitled to be reimbursed
unless the grantor gives it as an act of liberality or without intending to
be reimbursed
 The requirements for a stranger to be reimbursed must be present
 De Marcaida vs. Redfern: for one to recover under the provisions of
Article 1984 of the Civil Code
• It must be alleged that support has been furnished a dependent
of one bound to give support but fails to do so
• That the support was supplied by a stranger
• That the support was given without the knowledge of the person
charged with the duty
 With respect to Article 207, the requisites are the following:
• There is urgent need to be supported on the part of the recipient
• The person obliged to support unjustly refuses or fails to give the
support
• A third person furnishes the support to the needy individual
 Article 207 applies particularly when the father or mother of a child in
the age of majority unjustly refuses to support or fails to give support
to the child when urgently needed

Article 208. In case of contractual support or that given by will, the

excess in amount beyond that required for legal support shall be subject
to levy on attachment or execution.
Furthermore, contractual support shall be subject to adjustment
whenever modification is necessary due to changes of circumstances
manifestly beyond the contemplation of the parties. (n)
 Legal support is what is mandated by law under Article 194
 Contractual support is one which is entered into by the parties usually
with reciprocal duties and obligations
 In case of contractual support or support by will, the excess in amount
beyond that required for legal support shall be subject to levy on
attachment and execution
 Only contractual support and not support given by will is subject to
adjustment whenever modification is necessary due to changes in
circumstances manifestly beyond the contemplation of the parties
 Basis of a contractual support is an agreement