Can child support depend on seeing your child? Here’s what the law says

MANILA, Philippines — Actor Patrick Garcia’s admission that he last provided financial support for his son with actress Jennylyn Mercado in 2017 has put child support obligations under the spotlight.

Garcia said he stopped giving financial support because he was no longer seeing his son, Alex Jazz, whom he shares with Mercado.

He made the admission in an interview with Ogie Diaz uploaded on YouTube on September 29, nearly 18 years after he and Mercado separated while she was pregnant with their son.

Garcia said he last saw Jazz in December 2017 and that he also last gave financial support that year.

“Hindi ko nakikita e, paano ko ibibigay?” Garcia said when asked why he stopped providing financial support.

He acknowledged, however, that he had been inconsistent with providing money and spending time with his son, saying he should have done better.

But does not contact remove a parent's obligation to provide support? 

What does child support cover?

The Family Code requires parents to support their children, whether legitimate or illegitimate.

Article 195 of the Family Code lists “parents and their legitimate children and the legitimate and illegitimate children of the latter” and “parents and their illegitimate children and the legitimate and illegitimate children of the latter” among those who are legally obliged to support each other.

Support is not limited to food.

Under Article 194, “Support comprises everything indispensable for sustenance, dwelling, clothing, medical attendance, education and transportation, in keeping with the financial capacity of the family.”

The provision also states that education may include “schooling or training for some profession, trade or vocation, even beyond the age of majority.”

Is there a fixed amount?

The law does not prescribe a specific peso amount or percentage of a parent’s income that must be given as child support.

Article 201 provides that “the amount of support” shall be “in proportion to the resources or means of the giver and to the necessities of the recipient.”

The amount therefore depends on the child’s needs and the parent’s capacity to provide.

It may also be adjusted. Article 202 states that support “shall be reduced or increased proportionately,” depending on changes in the recipient’s needs and the resources or means of the person obliged to provide it.

When can support be demanded?

Article 203 provides that the obligation to give support is demandable from the time the person entitled to receive it needs it for maintenance.

However, the law states that support “shall not be paid except from the date of judicial or extra-judicial demand.”

This means the timing of a demand for support can have legal implications in determining when the obligation becomes enforceable.

What if a parent stops providing support?

A parent seeking support for a child may ask the courts to require the other parent to provide it.

In certain circumstances, failure to provide financial support may also be covered by Republic Act 9262, or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act.

The law recognizes economic abuse, including acts that make or attempt to make a woman or her child financially dependent.

Still, failure to provide financial support does not automatically constitute a criminal offense under RA 9262. The circumstances of the case and the requirements of the law must be established.

The Supreme Court has also ruled that paternity must first be established before a person can be convicted under RA 9262 for economic abuse involving a child whose paternity he disputes.

Does marriage matter?

The Family Code expressly requires parents to support both legitimate and illegitimate children.

This means the obligation to support a child does not disappear because the parents were not married.

If paternity is disputed, however, establishing the parent-child relationship may first be necessary before support can be enforced against the alleged father.