Juridical capacity
Ricky donated P 1 Million to the unborn
1. At age 18, Marian found out that she
was pregnant. She insured her own life
and named her unborn child as her sole
beneficiary. When she was already due to
give birth, she and her boyfriend Pietro,
the father of her unboarn child, were
kidnapped in a resort in Bataan where
they were vacationing. The military gave
chase and after one week, they were
found in an abandoned hut in Cavite.
Marian and Pietro were hacked with bolos.
Marian and the baby delivered were both
found dead, with the baby's umbilical cord
already cut. Pietro survived. (A). Can
Marian's baby be the beneficiary of the
insurance taken on the life of the mother?
(2%)
SUGGESTED ANSWER: Yes, the baby can
be the beneficiary of the life insurance of
Marian. Art. 40 NCC provides that "birth
determines personality; but the conceived
child shall be considered born for all
purposes that are favorable to it, provided
that it be born later with the conditions
specified in Art. 41. Article 41 states that
"for civil purposes, the fetus shall be
considered born if it is alive at the time it
is completely delivered from the mother's
womb. However, if the fetus had an intra-
uterine life of less than seven months, it is
not deemed born if it dies within twenty-
four (24) hours after its complete delivery
from the maternal womb. The act of
naming the unborn child as sole
beneficiary in the insurance is favorable to
the conceived child and therefore the
fetus acquires presumptive or provisional
personality. However, said presumptive
personality only becomes conclusive if the
child is born alive. The child need not
survive for twenty-four (24) hours as
required under Art. 41 of the Code
because "Marian was already due to give
birth," indicating that the child was more
than seven months old.
2.
child of his pregnant girlfriend, which she
accepted. After six (6) months of
pregnancy, the fetus was born and
baptized as Angela. However, Angela died
20 hours after birth. Ricky sought to
recover the P 1 Million. Is Ricky entitled to
recover? Explain. (5%)
SUGGESTED ANSWER: Yes, Ricky is
entitled to recover the P1,000,000.00. The
NCC considers a fetus a person for
purposes favorable to it provided it is born
later in accordance with the provision of
the NCC. While the donation is favorable
to the fetus, the donation did not take
effect because the fetus was not born in
accordance with the NCC.
To be considered born, the fetus that had
an intrauterine life of less than seven (7)
months should live for 24 hours from its
complete delivery from the mothers
womb. Since Angela had an intrauterine
life of less than seven (7) months but did
not live for 24 hours, she was not
considered born and, therefore, did not
become a person. Not being a person, she
has no juridical capacity to be a donee,
hence, the donation to her did not take
effect. The donation not being effective,
the amount donated may be recovered. To
retain it will be unjust enrichment.
Legal Capacity
3. Roberta, a Filipino, 17 years of age,
without the knowledge of his parents, can
acquire a house in Australia because
Australian Laws allow aliens to acquire
property from the age of 16.
SUGGESTED ANSWER: TRUE. Since
Australian Law allows alien to acquire
property from the age of 16, Roberta may
validly own a house in Australia, following
the principle of lex rei sitae enshrined in
Art. 16, NCC, which states "Real property
as well as personal property is subject to
the law of the country where it is
situated." Moreover, even assuming that
legal capacity of Roberta in entering the
contract in Australia is governed by
Philippine Law, she will acquire ownership
over the property bought until the
contract is annulled.
ALTERNATIVE ANSWER: FALSE. Laws
relating to family rights and duties, or to
the status, condition or legal capacity of
persons are binding upon the citizens of
the Philippines, even though living abroad
(Art. 15, NCC). The age of majority under
Philippine law is 18 years (R.A. No. 6809);
hence, Roberta, being only 17 years old,
has no legal capacity to acquire and own
land.

Correction of Entries; Clerical Error

Act (2008)

Gianna was born to Andy and Aimee, who

at the time Gianna's birth were not
married to each other. While Andy was
single at the time, Aimee was still in the
process of securing a judicial declaration
of nullity on her marriage to her ex-
husband. Gianna's birth certificate, which
was signed by both Andy and Aimee,
registered the status of Gianna as
"legitimate", her surname carrying that of
Andy's and that her parents were married
to each other. (A). Can a judicial action for
correction of entries in Gianna's birth
certificate be successfully maintained to:

a). Change her status from "legitimate" to

"illegitimate" (1%);
and b). Change her surname from that of
Andy's to Aimee's maiden surname? (1%