U.S. Citizen boyfriend, married, financial support for our child?

anonymous
This person has chosen to hide his/her identity.

May bf ako di ko alam may asawa pala siya, may edad narin. After a month ko lang nalaman na meron may anak sila nasa US narin. Grad. na ng college Filipino US citizen so tinangap ko nalang kung ano siya, mahal ko narin siya. Hangang umabot kami ng 9 yrs umuuwi siya every year sama kami. Pag nasa US naman usap kami skype at text hangang na nalaman ng mga anak niya ang relasyun namin at galit sila sa akin. Yong asawa naman niya di na sila nag nag sasama separate na sila. Di pa divorce at ngayon taon na ito umuwi sila kasama ng mga anak niya sa pinas. Itong uwi lang niya ang di ako kinontact at itong uwi lang din niya na kasama mga anak niya 1 month na di ako kinontact so wala na siguro kami.

Meron kaming naipundar pero di sa kanya lahat pera hati kami bahay at business. Sa province naka kuha ako ng prenda mga 1.5 M, 40% lang sa kanya doon may kotse hati din kami naka pangalan sa amin dalawa pareho. May right ba siyang kunin lahat or kahit kaparte lang niya just in case na bumalik siya, di kaya mga anak niya nasa usa or lalaban po ako dahil may anak din kami 1 year old ngayon at apelydo ng bf ko ang dala dala ng baby ko. Pwede ba rin ako humingi sa kanya ng sustento galing sa kanya. Paano po ba US CITIZEN siya or antayin ko lang siya kailan kami kokontackin. Yong bahay po namin 3 years nalang po fully paid na under pag ibig. Gusto ko narin kasi makipag hiwalay sa kanya kasi di na kami kino kontact kahit manlang para sa anak ko. Maraming salamat po sanay ma advice ninyo ako


Question: I have a boyfriend, but I didn't know that he is married already, older than me. I also only knew that they have a child in the United States, around a month later. Their child is already a college graduate and Filipino citizen, so I accepted, since I love my boyfriend. We reached 9 years together, and he would come home every year to be with us. When he is in the United States, we talk on Skype. Until his kids found out about our relationship and got angry about it. He and his wife are already separated, but not yet divorced.

This year he came back to the Philippines with his children. But he did not contact me anymore this time when he came back. It's been a month since, so I think we're not together anymore.

We were able to invest on house and businesses. In the province, I got some things, such as pledges/securities, which were pawned to me for 1.5 Million pesos. But only 40 percent of that is his money. We also bought a car with both our money, and the car is registered under both our names. Does he have the right to get part of these properties, just in case he comes back? I would fight for these properties, since we have a 1 year old child, and the surname is under his name. Can I also ask for financial support from him for our child? He is a U.S. citizen. Should I just wait for him to contact me? I also would like to separate from him, since he is not even contacting me anymore, even just for our child.


 

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Rendy De Guzman
is a none in the Philippines
Sa ilalim ng ating batas, ang isang dayuhan ay hindi pwedeng magkaroon ng real estate property sa Pilipinas. So, ang lahat ng naipundar niyong real property, kahit mayroon siyang contribution duon ay sayo lamang at hindi siya pwedeng humabol sa mga ari-arian mo. Duon naman sa personal property like kotse, kung nakapangalan sa inyong dalawa, ang pagka-alam ko meron kayong coownership so ang division ay depende sa contribution niyong dalawa.
Adelaimar C Arias-Jose
is a Legal expert in the Philippines
Thanks again for your input, Rendy. What you say is generally true, foreigners cannot own property in the PHilippines. This is a general rule.

Kaso, sa facts na binanggit noong nagtatanong, it seems na the US Citizen was a former Filipino citizen, nag migrate lang sa US kaya US Citizen. Under the 1987 Constitution kasi, a former Filipino citizen can still own land in the Philippines but under certain conditions.

Kasi, kung hindi sila former Filipino citizens, bakit sila "uuwi" sa Pilipinas? Diba dapat na ginamit ay "bibisita" sa Pilipinas kung sila'y hindi balikbayan? Doon ko nabatid iyon.

Ownership of land kasi in the Philippines is generally restricted to Filipino citizens only, that is true. Kaso, sabi mo, may bahay kayo, may busiiness at may kotse din. So, kung halimbawa iyong bahay ninyo ay rehistrado sa ilalim ng pangalan ng inyong business din (wari, the business and the family home are located at one single address and piece of property), baka may habol ang lalaki kasi, ang bahay ninyo ay property din ng business ninyo.

Ano ang nakalagay sa PAG-IBIG loan ninyo? Kung ito ay personal lamang sa iyo (PAG-IBIG account mo ang ginamit), then that is evidence in your favor na ikaw ang may-ari ng lupa.

As for the car, kanino ito naka-rehistro? Is it registered personally in your name? In the guy's name? Or is it in the name of the business?

AS for your question regarding support, you can always ask for support through the courts, but how will you be able to run after the US citizen when he is not here in the Philippines? Siguro, kung maghahabla ka, siguraduhin mong nandito siya sa Pilipinas para ang husgado, makapag-serve sa kanya ng mga summons at nang siya'y matawag na humarap sa husgado.

I personally know of a woman who filed a criminal case for child abuse (by the way, ang hindi pag-bibigay ng suporta sa anak ay isang form of child abuse na ngayon) at kataong dumating ang kanyang asawa mula sa trabaho from abroad, nakipag-kita siya sa kanyang asawa, at iyon pala'y may kasama na ang babae na mga plainclothes na pulis. Dinakip ang asawa at dinala sa husgado sa ilalim ng habla na child abuse (criminal case).

So, it is possible, but, well, time consuming and expensive (nagbigay siguro ng malaking pang-gasolina ang pang-meryenda ang babae sa mga pulis). So, it is possible to file a case for support in court but the guy must be present in the Philippines for the Philippine courts to obtain jurisdiction over the guy.
Adelaimar C Arias-Jose
is a Legal expert in the Philippines
Rendy, I appreciate your responses. However, I think that you should be a bit more careful in giving legal advice. We don't really know all the facts. We can only give general information about the law. Mahirap kasing magbigay ng payak na advice lalo na't hindi naman natin alam ang lahat ng mga pangyayari. Please be careful. If people take your advice and act, they might be acting on legal advice that is not fully applicable to their particular set of circumstances.
Rendy De Guzman
is a none in the Philippines
Good evening Atty. Bimbi,
Noted on your advise. BTW, 2nd year law student po ako and I find the issues here quite challenging, not to mention applicable sa mga pinag-aaralan namin.
Cheers.
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