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Agustin vs. Court of Appeals
G.R. No. 162571. June 15, 2005.*
ARNEL L. AGUSTIN, petitioner, vs. HON. COURT OF APPEALS
AND MINOR MARTIN JOSE PROLLAMANTE, REPRESENTED
BY HIS MOTHER/GUARDIAN FE ANGELA PROLLAMANTE,
respondents.
Actions; Pleadings and Practice; Recognition; That the two causes
of action, one to compel recognition and the other to claim inheritance,
may be joined in one complaint is not new in our jurisprudence.That
the two causes of action, one to compel recognition and the other to claim
inheritance, may be joined in one complaint is not new in our
jurisprudence. As early as [1922] we had occasion to rule thereon in Briz
vs. Briz, et al. (43 Phil. 763 [1922]) wherein we said: The question
whether a person in the position of the present plaintiff can in any event
maintain a complex action to compel recognition as a natural child and at
the same time to obtain ulterior relief in the character of heir, is one
which in the opinion of this court must be answered in the affirmative,
provided always that the conditions justifying the joinder of the two
distinct causes of action are present in the particular case. In other words,
there is no absolute necessity requiring that the action to compel
acknowledgment should have been instituted and prosecuted to a
successful conclusion prior to the action in which that same plaintiff
seeks additional relief in the character of heir. Certainly, there is nothing
so peculiar to the action to compel acknowledgment as to require that a
rule should be here applied different from that generally applicable in
other cases. x x x The conclusion above stated, though not heretofore
explicitly formulated by this court, is undoubtedly to some extent
supported by our prior decisions. Thus, we have held in numerous cases,
and the doctrine must be considered well settled, that a natural child
having a right to compel acknowledgment, but who has not been in fact
legally acknowledged, may maintain partition proceedings for the
division of the inheritance against his coheirs x x x; and the same person
may intervene in proceedings for the distribution of the estate of his
deceased natural father, or mother x x x. In neither of these situations has
it been thought necessary for the plaintiff to show a prior decree
compelling acknowledgment. The obvious reason
_______________
*

THIRD DIVISION.
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is that in partition suits and distribution proceedings the other persons

who might take by inheritance are before the court; and the declaration of
heirship is appropriate to such proceedings.
Civil Law; Family Code; Filiation; Paternity; DNA Testing;
Parentage will still be resolved using conventional methods unless we
adopt the modern and scientific ways available; fortunately, we have now
the facility and expertise in using DNA test for identification and
parentage testing.Parentage will still be resolved using conventional
methods unless we adopt the modern and scientific ways available.
Fortunately, we have now the facility and expertise in using DNA test for
identification and parentage testing. The University of the Philippines
Natural Science Research Institute (UP-NSRI) DNA Analysis Laboratory
has now the capability to conduct DNA typing using short tandem repeat
(STR) analysis. The analysis is based on the fact that the DNA of a
child/person has two (2) copies, one copy from the mother and the other
from the father. The DNA from the mother, the alleged father and child
are analyzed to establish parentage. Of course, being a novel scientific
technique, the use of DNA test as evidence is still open to challenge.
Eventually, as the appropriate case comes, courts should not hesitate to
rule on the admissibility of DNA evidence. For it was said, that courts
should apply the results of science when competently obtained in aid of
situations presented, since to reject said result is to deny progress.
Actions; Pleadings and Practice; Appeals; Certiorari; Grave Abuse
of Discretion; Where the power is exercised in an arbitrary manner by
reason of passion, prejudice, or personal hostility, and it must be so
patent or gross as to amount to an evasion of a positive duty or to a
virtual refusal to perform the duty enjoined or to act at all in
contemplation of law.Grave abuse of discretion implies such capricious
and whimsical exercise of judgment as is equivalent to lack of
jurisdiction or, in other words, where the power is exercised in an
arbitrary manner by reason of passion, prejudice, or personal
hostility, and it must be so patent or gross as to amount to an evasion
of a positive duty or to a virtual refusal to perform the duty enjoined
or to act at all in contemplation of law. The special civil action for
certiorari is a remedy designed for the correction of errors of jurisdiction
and not errors of judgment. The raison detre for the rule is when a court
exercises its jurisdiction, an error committed while so engaged does not
deprive it of the
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jurisdiction being exercised when the error is committed. If it did, every

error committed by a court would deprive it of its jurisdiction and every
erroneous judgment would be a void judgment. In such a scenario, the
administration of justice would not survive. Hence, where the issue or
question involved affects the wisdom or legal soundness of the
decisionnot the jurisdiction of the court to render said decisionthe
same is beyond the province of a special civil action for certiorari. The
proper recourse of the aggrieved party from a decision of the CA is a
petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45 of the Revised Rules of
Court. On the other hand, if the error subject of the recourse is one of
jurisdiction, or the act complained of was perpetrated by a quasi-judicial
officer or agency with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or
excess of jurisdiction, the proper remedy available to the aggrieved party
is a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 of the said Rules.

SPECIAL CIVIL ACTION in the Supreme Court. Certiorari.

The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.
Ciriaco A. Macapagal for petitioner.
Alexander Bansil for respondent.
CORONA, J.:
At issue in this petition for certiorari1 is whether or not the Court of
Appeals (CA) gravely erred in exercising its discretion, amounting
to lack or excess of jurisdiction, in issuing a decision2 and
resolution3 upholding the resolution and order of
_______________
Under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court.
CA Decision dated January 28, 2004 in CA-G.R. SP No. 80961, penned by
Associate Justice Martin S. Villarama, Jr. and concurred in by Associate Justices
Mario L. Guaria III and Jose C. Reyes, Jr. of the Seventeenth Division; Rollo, pp.
32-39.
3 CA Resolution dated March 8, 2004 (affirming the January 28, 2004 CA
Decision) in CA-G.R. SP No. 80961, penned by Associate Justice Martin S.
Villarama, Jr. and concurred in by Associate Justices Mario L. Guaria III and Jose C.
Reyes, Jr. of the Seventeenth Division.; Rollo, pp. 41-43.
318
1
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the trial court,4 which denied petitioners motion to dismiss private

respondents complaint for support and directed the parties to submit

themselves to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) paternity testing.
Respondents Fe Angela and her son Martin Prollamante sued
Martins alleged biological father, petitioner Arnel L. Agustin, for
support and support pendente lite before the Regional Trial Court
(RTC) of Quezon City, Branch 106.5
In their complaint, respondents alleged that Arnel courted Fe in
1992, after which they entered into an intimate relationship. Arnel
supposedly impregnated Fe on her 34th birthday on November 10,
1999. Despite Arnels insistence on abortion, Fe decided otherwise
and gave birth to their child out of wedlock, Martin, on August 11,
2000 at the Capitol Medical Hospital in Quezon City. The babys
birth certificate was purportedly signed by Arnel as the father. Arnel
shouldered the pre-natal and hospital expenses but later refused Fes
repeated requests for Martins support despite his adequate financial
capacity and even suggested to have the child committed for
adoption. Arnel also denied having fathered the child.
On January 19, 2001, while Fe was carrying five-month old
Martin at the Capitol Hills Golf and Country Club parking lot, Arnel
sped off in his van, with the open car door hitting Fes leg. This
incident was reported to the police. In July 2001, Fe was diagnosed
with leukemia and has, since then, been undergoing chemotherapy.
On March 5, 2002, Fe and Martin sued Arnel for support.6
_______________
Resolution dated November 8, 2002 and order dated February 5, 2003 in Civil
Case No. Q-02-46301, both penned by Presiding Judge Natividad Giron-Dizon of the
Regional Trial Court of Quezon City Branch 106; Rollo, pp. 157-159 and 171-172.
5 Docketed as Civil Case No. Q-02-46301. Rollo, pp. 55-60.
6 Rollo, pp. 55-60.
319
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In his amended answer, Arnel denied having sired Martin because
his affair and intimacy with Fe had allegedly ended in 1998, long
before Martins conception. He claimed that Fe had at least one
other secret lover. Arnel admitted that their relationship started in
1993 but he never really fell in love with (Fe) not only because
(she) had at least one secret lover, a certain Jun, but also because she
proved to be scheming and overly demanding and possessive. As a
result, theirs was a stormy on-and-off affair. What started as a

romantic liaison between two consenting adults eventually turned

out to be a case of fatal attraction where (Fe) became so obsessed
with (Arnel), to the point of even entertaining the idea of marrying
him, that she resorted to various devious ways and means to alienate
(him) from his wife and family . . . . Unable to bear the prospect of
losing his wife and children, Arnel terminated the affair although he
still treated her as a friend such as by referring potential customers to
the car aircon repair shop7 where she worked. Later on, Arnel found
out that Fe had another erstwhile secret lover. In May 2000, Arnel
and his entire family went to the United States for a vacation. Upon
their return in June 2000, Arnel learned that Fe was telling people
that he had impregnated her. Arnel refused to acknowledge the child
as his because their last intimacy was sometime in 1998.8
Exasperated, Fe started calling Arnels wife and family. On January
19, 2001, Fe followed Arnel to the Capitol Hills Golf and Country
Club parking lot to demand that he acknowledge Martin as his child.
According to Arnel, he could not get through Fe and the discussion
became so heated that he had no alternative but to move on but
without bumping or hitting any part of her body.9 Finally, Arnel
claimed that the signature and the community tax certificate (CTC)
attributed to him in the acknowledgment of Martins birth certificate
were falsified. The CTC erroneously
_______________
Rollo, p. 103.
Rollo, p. 104.
9 Rollo, p. 105.
7
8

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reflected his marital status as single when he was actually married
and that his birth year was 1965 when it should have been 1964.10
In his pre-trial brief filed on May 17, 2002, Arnel vehemently
denied having sired Martin but expressed willingness to consider
any proposal to settle the case.11
On July 23, 2002, Fe and Martin moved for the issuance of an
order directing all the parties to submit themselves to DNA paternity
testing pursuant to Rule 28 of the Rules of Court.12
Arnel opposed said motion by invoking his constitutional right
against self-incrimination.13 He also moved to dismiss the complaint

for lack of cause of action, considering that his signature on the birth
certificate was a forgery and that, under the law, an illegitimate child
is not entitled to support if not recognized by the putative father.14 In
his motion, Arnel manifested that he had filed criminal charges for
falsification of documents against Fe (I.S. Nos. 02-5723 and 027192) and a petition for cancellation of his name appearing in
Martins birth certificate (docketed as Civil Case No. Q-02-46669).
He attached the certification of the Philippine National Police Crime
Laboratory that his signature in the birth certificate was forged.
The trial court denied the motion to dismiss the complaint and
ordered the parties to submit themselves to DNA paternity testing at
the expense of the applicants. The Court of Appeals affirmed the
trial court.
Thus, this petition.
In a nutshell, petitioner raises two issues: (1) whether a complaint
for support can be converted to a petition for recog_______________
Rollo, pp. 101-109.
Rollo, pp. 111-114.
12 Rollo, pp. 132-137.
13 Rollo, pp. 138-139.
14 Rollo, pp. 140-143.
10
11

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Agustin vs. Court of Appeals
nition and (2) whether DNA paternity testing can be ordered in a
proceeding for support without violating petitioners constitutional
right to privacy and right against self-incrimination.15
The petition is without merit.
First of all, the trial court properly denied the petitioners motion
to dismiss because the private respondents complaint on its face
showed that they had a cause of action against the petitioner. The
elements of a cause of action are: (1) the plaintiffs primary right and
the defendants corresponding primary duty, and (2) the delict or
wrongful act or omission of the defendant, by which the primary
right and duty have been violated. The cause of action is determined
not by the prayer of the complaint but by the facts alleged.16
In the complaint, private respondents alleged that Fe had amorous
relations with the petitioner, as a result of which she gave birth to
Martin out of wedlock. In his answer, petitioner admitted that he had

sexual relations with Fe but denied that he fathered Martin, claiming

that he had ended the relationship long before the childs conception
and birth. It is undisputed and even admitted by the parties that there
existed a sexual relationship between Arnel and Fe. The only
remaining question is whether such sexual relationship produced the
child, Martin. If it did, as respondents have alleged, then Martin
should be supported by his father Arnel. If not, petitioner and Martin
are strangers to each other and Martin has no right to demand and
petitioner has no obligation to give support.
Preliminaries aside, we now tackle the main issues.
Petitioner refuses to recognize Martin as his own child and denies
the genuineness and authenticity of the childs birth certificate which
he purportedly signed as the father. He also
_______________
Rollo, pp. 10-11 and 21.
Nicanor G. de Guzman, Jr. v. Court of Appeals, et al., G.R. No. 92029, 20
December 1990, 192 SCRA 507.
322
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claims that the order and resolution of the trial court, as affirmed by
the Court of Appeals, effectively converted the complaint for
support to a petition for recognition, which is supposedly proscribed
by law. According to petitioner, Martin, as an unrecognized child,
has no right to ask for support and must first establish his filiation in
a separate suit under Article 28317 in relation to Article 26518 of the
Civil Code and Section 1, Rule 10519 of the Rules of Court.
The petitioners contentions are without merit.
The assailed resolution and order did not convert the action for
support into one for recognition but merely allowed the respondents
to prove their cause of action against petitioner who had been
denying the authenticity of the documentary evidence of
acknowledgement. But even if the assailed resolution and order
effectively integrated an action to compel rec_______________
17 Art. 283. In any of the following cases, the father is obliged to recognize the
child as his natural child:

1. (1)In cases of rape, abduction or seduction, when the period of the offense coincides more
or less with that of the conception;
2. (2)When the child is in continuous possession of status of a child of the alleged father by

the direct acts of the latter or of his family;

3. (3)When the child was conceived during the time when the mother cohabited with the
supposed father;
4. (4)When the child has in his favor any evidence or proof that the defendant is his father.
5. (5)
18 Art. 265. The filiation of legitimate children is proved by the record of birth
appearing in the Civil Register, or by an authentic document or a final judgment.
19 SECTION 1. Venue.Where judicial approval of a voluntary recognition of a
minor natural child is required, such child or his parents shall obtain the same by
filing a petition to that effect with the Court of First Instance of the province in which
the child resides. In the City of Manila, the petition shall be filed in the Juvenile and
Domestic Relations Court.
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Agustin vs. Court of Appeals
ognition with an action for support, such was valid and in
accordance with jurisprudence. In Tayag v. Court of Appeals,20 we
allowed the integration of an action to compel recognition with an
action to claim ones inheritance:
. . . In Paulino, we held that an illegitimate child, to be entitled to support
and successional rights from the putative or presumed parent, must prove
his filiation to the latter. We also said that it is necessary to allege in the
complaint that the putative father had acknowledged and recognized the
illegitimate child because such acknowledgment is essential to and is the
basis of the right to inherit. There being no allegation of such
acknowledgment, the action becomes one to compel recognition which
cannot be brought after the death of the putative father. The ratio
decidendi in Paulino, therefore, is not the absence of a cause of action for
failure of the petitioner to allege the fact of acknowledgment in the
complaint, but the prescription of the action.
Applying the foregoing principles to the case at bar, although
petitioner contends that the complaint filed by herein private respondent
merely alleges that the minor Chad Cuyugan is an illegitimate child of the
deceased and is actually a claim for inheritance, from the allegations
therein the same may be considered as one to compel recognition.
Further, that the two causes of action, one to compel recognition and
the other to claim inheritance, may be joined in one complaint is not
new in our jurisprudence.
As early as [1922] we had occasion to rule thereon in Briz vs. Briz, et
al. (43 Phil. 763 [1922]) wherein we said:
The question whether a person in the position of the present plaintiff can in any event
maintain a complex action to compel recognition as a natural child and at the same
time to obtain ulterior relief in the character of heir, is one which in the opinion of this
court must be answered in the affirmative, provided always that the conditions
justifying the joinder of the two distinct causes of action are present in the particular

case. In other words, there is no absolute necessity requiring that the action to
compel acknowledgment
_______________
20

G.R. No. 95299, 9 June 1992, 209 SCRA 665.

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should have been instituted and prosecuted to a successful conclusion prior to

the action in which that same plaintiff seeks additional relief in the character of
heir. Certainly, there is nothing so peculiar to the action to compel acknowledgment
as to require that a rule should be here applied different from that generally applicable
in other cases. x x x
The conclusion above stated, though not heretofore explicitly formulated by this
court, is undoubtedly to some extent supported by our prior decisions. Thus, we have
held in numerous cases, and the doctrine must be considered well settled, that a
natural child having a right to compel acknowledgment, but who has not been in
fact legally acknowledged, may maintain partition proceedings for the division of
the inheritance against his coheirs x x x; and the same person may intervene in
proceedings for the distribution of the estate of his deceased natural father, or mother
x x x. In neither of these situations has it been thought necessary for the plaintiff to
show a prior decree compelling acknowledgment. The obvious reason is that in
partition suits and distribution proceedings the other persons who might take by
inheritance are before the court; and the declaration of heirship is appropriate to such
proceedings. (Underscoring supplied)

Although the instant case deals with support rather than inheritance,
as in Tayag, the basis or rationale for integrating them remains the
same. Whether or not respondent Martin is entitled to support
depends completely on the determination of filiation. A separate
action will only result in a multiplicity of suits, given how intimately
related the main issues in both cases are. To paraphrase Tayag, the
declaration of filiation is entirely appropriate to these proceedings.
On the second issue, petitioner posits that DNA is not recognized
by this Court as a conclusive means of proving paternity. He also
contends that compulsory testing violates his right to privacy and
right against self-incrimination as guaranteed under the 1987
Constitution. These contentions have no merit.
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Given that this is the very first time that the admissibility of DNA
testing as a means for determining paternity has actually been the
focal issue in a controversy, a brief historical sketch of our past
decisions featuring or mentioning DNA testing is called for.

In the 1995 case of People v. Teehankee21 where the appellant

was convicted of murder on the testimony of three eyewitnesses, we
stated as an obiter dictum that while eyewitness identification is
significant, it is not as accurate and authoritative as the scientific
forms of identification evidence such as the fingerprint or the DNA
test result (emphasis supplied).
Our faith in DNA testing, however, was not quite so steadfast in
the previous decade. In Pe Lim v. Court of Appeals,22 promulgated in
1997, we cautioned against the use of DNA because DNA, being a
relatively new science, (had) not as yet been accorded official
recognition by our courts. Paternity (would) still have to be resolved
by such conventional evidence as the relevant incriminating acts,
verbal and written, by the putative father.
In 2001, however, we opened the possibility of admitting DNA as
evidence of parentage, as enunciated in Tijing v. Court of Appeals:23
A final note. Parentage will still be resolved using conventional methods
unless we adopt the modern and scientific ways available. Fortunately,
we have now the facility and expertise in using DNA test for
identification and parentage testing. The University of the Philippines
Natural Science Research Institute (UP-NSRI) DNA Analysis Laboratory
has now the capability to conduct DNA typing using short tandem repeat
(STR) analysis. The analysis is based on the fact that the DNA of a
child/person has two (2) copies, one copy from the mother and the other
from the father. The DNA from the
_______________
21
22
23

319 Phil. 128; 249 SCRA 54 (1995).

336 Phil. 741; 270 SCRA 1 (1997).
G.R. No. 125901, 8 March 2001, 354 SCRA 17.

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mother, the alleged father and child are analyzed to establish parentage.
Of course, being a novel scientific technique, the use of DNA test as
evidence is still open to challenge. Eventually, as the appropriate case
comes, courts should not hesitate to rule on the admissibility of DNA
evidence. For it was said, that courts should apply the results of science
when competently obtained in aid of situations presented, since to reject
said result is to deny progress.

The first real breakthrough of DNA as admissible and authoritative

evidence in Philippine jurisprudence came in 2002 with our en banc
decision in People v. Vallejo24 where the rape and murder victims

DNA samples from the bloodstained clothes of the accused were

admitted in evidence. We reasoned that the purpose of DNA testing
(was) to ascertain whether an association exist(ed) between the
evidence sample and the reference sample. The samples collected
(were) subjected to various chemical processes to establish their
profile.
A year later, in People v. Janson,25 we acquitted the accused
charged with rape for lack of evidence because doubts persist(ed) in
our mind as to who (were) the real malefactors. Yes, a complex
offense (had) been perpetrated but who (were) the perpetrators?
How we wish we had DNA or other scientific evidence to still our
doubts!
In 2004, in Tecson, et al. v. COMELEC26 where the Court en
banc was faced with the issue of filiation of then presidential
candidate Fernando Poe, Jr., we stated:
In case proof of filiation or paternity would be unlikely to satisfactorily
establish or would be difficult to obtain, DNA testing, which examines
genetic codes obtained from body cells of the illegitimate child and any
physical residue of the long dead parent could be resorted to. A positive
match would clear up filiation or paternity. In
_______________
24
25
26

G.R. No. 144656, 9 May 2002, 382 SCRA 192.

G.R. No. 125938, 4 April 2003, 400 SCRA 584.
G.R. Nos. 161434, 161634, and 161824, 3 March 2004, 424 SCRA 277.

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Tijing vs. Court of Appeals, this Court has acknowledged the strong
weight of DNA testing. . .

Moreover, in our en banc decision in People v. Yatar,27 we affirmed

the conviction of the accused for rape with homicide, the principal
evidence for which included DNA test results. We did a lengthy
discussion of DNA, the process of DNA testing and the reasons for
its admissibility in the context of our own Rules of Evidence:
Deoxyribonucleic Acid, or DNA, is a molecule that encodes the genetic
information in all living organisms. A persons DNA is the same in each
cell and it does not change throughout a persons lifetime; the DNA in a
persons blood is the same as the DNA found in his saliva, sweat, bone,
the root and shaft of hair, earwax, mucus, urine, skin tissue, and vaginal
and rectal cells. Most importantly, because of polymorphisms in human
genetic structure, no two individuals have the same DNA, with the
notable exception of identical twins.

xxx
xxx
xxx
In assessing the probative value of DNA evidence, courts should
consider, inter alia, the following factors: how the samples were
collected, how they were handled, the possibility of contamination of the
samples, the procedure followed in analyzing the samples, whether
proper standards and procedures were followed in conducting the tests,
and the qualification of the analyst who conducted the tests.
In the case at bar, Dr. Maria Corazon Abogado de Ungria was duly
qualified by the prosecution as an expert witness on DNA print or
identification techniques. Based on Dr. de Ungrias testimony, it was
determined that the gene type and DNA profile of appellant are identical
to that of the extracts subject of examination. The blood sample taken
from the appellant showed that he was of the following gene types: vWA
15/19, TH01 7/8, DHFRP29/10 and CSF1PO 10/11, which are identical
with semen taken from the victims vaginal canal. Verily, a DNA match
exists between the semen found in the
_______________
27

G.R. No. 150224, 19 May 2004; 428 SCRA 504.

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victim and the blood sample given by the appellant in open court during
the course of the trial.
Admittedly, we are just beginning to integrate these advances in
science and technology in the Philippine criminal justice system, so we
must be cautious as we traverse these relatively uncharted waters.
Fortunately, we can benefit from the wealth of persuasive jurisprudence
that has developed in other jurisdictions. Specifically, the prevailing
doctrine in the U.S. has proven instructive.
In Daubert v. Merrell Dow (509 U.S. 579 [1993]; 125 L. Ed. 2d 469)
it was ruled that pertinent evidence based on scientifically valid
principles could be used as long as it was relevant and reliable. Judges,
under Daubert, were allowed greater discretion over which testimony
they would allow at trial, including the introduction of new kinds of
scientific techniques. DNA typing is one such novel procedure.
Under Philippine law, evidence is relevant when it relates directly to a
fact in issue as to induce belief in its existence or nonexistence. Applying
the Daubert test to the case at bar, the DNA evidence obtained through
PCR testing and utilizing STR analysis, and which was appreciated by
the court a quo is relevant and reliable since it is reasonably based on
scientifically valid principles of human genetics and molecular biology.

Significantly, we upheld the constitutionality of compulsory DNA

testing and the admissibility of the results thereof as evidence. In

that case, DNA samples from semen recovered from a rape victims
vagina were used to positively identify the accused Joel Kawit
Yatar as the rapist. Yatar claimed that the compulsory extraction of
his blood sample for DNA testing, as well as the testing itself,
violated his right against self-incrimination, as embodied in both
Sections 12 and 17 of Article III of the Constitution. We addressed
this as follows:
The contention is untenable. The kernel of the right is not against all
compulsion, but against testimonial compulsion. The right against selfincrimination is simply against the legal process of extracting from the
lips of the accused an admission of guilt. It does not apply where the
evidence sought to be excluded is not an incrimination but as part of
object evidence.
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Over the years, we have expressly excluded several kinds of object
evidence taken from the person of the accused from the realm of
self-incrimination. These include photographs,28 hair,29 and other
bodily substances.30 We have also declared as constitutional several
procedures performed on the accused such as pregnancy tests for
women accused of adultery,31 expulsion of morphine from ones
mouth32 and the tracing of ones foot to determine its identity with
bloody footprints.33 In Jimenez v. Caizares ,34 we even authorized
the examination of a womans genitalia, in an action for annulment
filed by her husband, to verify his claim that she was impotent, her
orifice being too small for his penis. Some of these procedures were,
to be sure, rather invasive and involuntary, but all of them were
constitutionally sound. DNA testing and its results, per our ruling in
Yatar,35 are now similarly acceptable.
Nor does petitioners invocation of his right to privacy persuade
us. In Ople v. Torres,36 where we struck down the proposed national
computerized identification system embodied in Administrative
Order No. 308, we said:
In no uncertain terms, we also underscore that the right to privacy does
not bar all incursions into individual privacy. The right is not intended to
stifle scientific and technological advancements that enhance public
service and the common good . . . Intrusions into the right must be
accompanied by proper safeguards that enhance public service and the
common good.

_______________
People v. Gallarde, 382 Phil. 718; 325 SCRA 835 (2000).
People v. Rondero, 378 Phil. 123; 320 SCRA 383 (1999).
30 U.S. v. Tan Teng, 23 Phil. 145 (1912).
31 Villaflor v. Summers, 41 Phil. 62 (1920).
32 U.S. v. Ong Siu Hong, 36 Phil. 735 (1917).
33 U.S. v. Salas, 25 Phil. 337 (1913).
34 109 Phil. 273 (1960).
35 Supra.
36 354 Phil. 948; 293 SCRA 141 (1998).
28
29

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Historically, it has mostly been in the areas of legality of searches
and seizures,37 and the infringement of privacy of communication38
where the constitutional right to privacy has been critically at issue.
Petitioners case involves neither and, as already stated, his
argument that his right against self-incrimination is in jeopardy
holds no water. His hollow invocation of his constitutional rights
elicits no sympathy here for the simple reason that they are not in
any way being violated. If, in a criminal case, an accused whose
very life is at stake can be compelled to submit to DNA testing, we
see no reason why, in this civil case, petitioner herein who does not
face such dire consequences cannot be ordered to do the same.
DNA paternity testing first came to prominence in the United
States, where it yielded its first official results sometime in 1985. In
the decade that followed, DNA rapidly found widespread general
acceptance.39 Several cases decided by various State Supreme Courts
reflect the total assimilation of DNA testing into their rules of
procedure and evidence.
The case of Wilson v. Lumb40 shows that DNA testing is so
commonly accepted that, in some instances, ordering the procedure
has become a ministerial act. The Supreme Court of St. Lawrence
County, New York allowed a party who had already acknowledged
paternity to subsequently challenge his prior acknowledgment. The
Court pointed out that, under the
_______________
37 Republic v. Sandiganbayan, et al., G.R. No. 104768, 21 July 2003, 407 SCRA
10; People v. Valdez, 363 Phil 481; 304 SCRA 140 (1999); Aniag v. Comelec, et al.,
G.R. No. 104961, 7 October 1994, 237 SCRA 424; MHP Garments v. Court of

Appeals, et al., G.R. No. 86720, 2 September 1994, 236 SCRA 227; 20th Century Fox
v. Court of Appeals, et al., No. L-76649-51, 19 August 1988, 164 SCRA 655; People
v. Burgos, 228 Phil. 1; 144 SCRA 1 (1986); Villanueva v. Querubin, 150-C Phil. 519;
48 SCRA 345 (1972).
38 Waterous Drug v. National Labor Relations Commission, et al., 345 Phil. 982;
280 SCRA 735 (1997); Zulueta v. Court of Appeals, et al., 324 Phil. 63; 253 SCRA
699 (1996).
39 Greco v. Coleman, 615 N.W. 2d 218 (Mich. 2000).
40 181 Misc 2d 1033 (1999).
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Agustin vs. Court of Appeals
law, specifically Section 516 of the New York Family Court Act, the
Family Court examiner had the duty, upon receipt of the challenge,
to order DNA tests:41
516-a. Acknowledgment of paternity. (a) An acknowledgment of
paternity executed pursuant to section one hundred eleven-k of the social
services law or section four thousand one hundred thirty-five-b of the
public health law shall establish the paternity of and liability for the
support of a child pursuant to this act. Such acknowledgment must be
reduced to writing and filed pursuant to section four thousand one
hundred thirty-five-b of the public health law with the registrar of the
district in which the birth occurred and in which the birth certificate has
been filed. No further judicial or administrative proceedings are required
to ratify an unchallenged acknowledgment of paternity.
(b) An acknowledgment of paternity executed pursuant to section one
hundred eleven-k of the social services law or section four thousand one
hundred thirty-five-b of the public health law may be rescinded by either
signators filing of a petition with the court to vacate the acknowledgment
within the earlier of sixty days of the date of signing the acknowledgment
or the date of an administrative or a judicial proceeding (including a
proceeding to establish a support order) relating to the child in which
either signator is a party. For purposes of this section, the date of an
administrative or a judicial proceeding shall be the date by which the
respondent is required to answer the petition. After the expiration of sixty
days of the execution of the acknowledgment, either signator may
challenge the acknowledgment of paternity in court only on the basis of
fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact, with the burden of proof on the
party challenging the voluntary acknowledgment. Upon receiving a
partys challenge to an acknowledgment, the court shall order
genetic marker tests or DNA tests for the determination of the childs
paternity and shall make a finding of paternity, if appropriate, in
accordance with this article. Neither signators legal obligations,
including the obligation for child support arising from the

acknowledgment, may be suspended during the challenge to the

acknowledgment except for good cause as the court may find. If a party
petitions to rescind an acknowledgment
_______________
41

NYSCL, Ch. 686, Article 5, Part 1, Section 516.

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and if the court determines that the alleged father is not the father of the
child, or if the court finds that an acknowledgment is invalid because it
was executed on the basis of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact, the
court shall vacate the acknowledgment of paternity and shall immediately
provide a copy of the order to the registrar of the district in which the
childs birth certificate is filed and also to the putative father registry
operated by the department of social services pursuant to section three
hundred seventy-two-c of the social services law. In addition, if the
mother of the child who is the subject of the acknowledgment is in receipt
of child support services pursuant to title six-A of article three of the
social services law, the court shall immediately provide a copy of the
order to the child support enforcement unit of the social services district
that provides the mother with such services.
(c) A determination of paternity made by any other state, whether
established through the parents acknowledgment of paternity or through
an administrative or judicial process, must be accorded full faith and
credit, if and only if such acknowledgment meets the requirements set
forth in section 452(a)(7) of the social security act. (emphasis supplied)

DNA testing also appears elsewhere in the New York Family Court
Act:42
532. Genetic marker and DNA tests; admissibility of records or reports
of test results; costs of tests.
a) The court shall advise the parties of their right to one or more
genetic marker tests or DNA tests and, on the courts own motion or the
motion of any party, shall order the mother, her child and the alleged
father to submit to one or more genetic marker or DNA tests of a type
generally acknowledged as reliable by an accreditation body designated
by the secretary of the federal department of health and human services
and performed by a laboratory approved by such an accreditation body
and by the commissioner of health or by a duly qualified physician to aid
in the determination of whether the alleged father is or is not the father of
the child. No such test shall be ordered, however, upon a written
finding by the court that it is not in the best interests of the child on
the basis of

_______________
42

NYSCL, Ch. 686, Article 5, Part 3, Section 532.

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res judicata, equitable estoppel, or the presumption of legitimacy of a

child born to a married woman. The record or report of the results of
any such genetic marker or DNA test ordered pursuant to this section or
pursuant to section one hundred eleven-k of the social services law shall
be received in evidence by the court pursuant to subdivision (e) of rule
forty-five hundred eighteen of the civil practice law and rules where no
timely objection in writing has been made thereto and that if such timely
objections are not made, they shall be deemed waived and shall not be
heard by the court. If the record or report of the results of any such
genetic marker or DNA test or tests indicate at least a ninety-five
percent probability of paternity, the admission of such record or
report shall create a rebuttable presumption of paternity, and shall
establish, if unrebutted, the paternity of and liability for the support
of a child pursuant to this article and article four of this act.
(b) Whenever the court directs a genetic marker or DNA test pursuant
to this section, a report made as provided in subdivision (a) of this section
may be received in evidence pursuant to rule forty-five hundred eighteen
of the civil practice law and rules if offered by any party.
(c) The cost of any test ordered pursuant to subdivision (a) of this
section shall be, in the first instance, paid by the moving party. If the
moving party is financially unable to pay such cost, the court may direct
any qualified public health officer to conduct such test, if practicable;
otherwise, the court may direct payment from the funds of the appropriate
local social services district. In its order of disposition, however, the court
may direct that the cost of any such test be apportioned between the
parties according to their respective abilities to pay or be assessed against
the party who does not prevail on the issue of paternity, unless such party
is financially unable to pay. (emphasis supplied)

In R.E. v. C.E.W.,43 a decision of the Mississippi Supreme Court,

DNA tests were used to prove that H.W., previously thought to be an
offspring of the marriage between A.C.W. and C.E.W., was actually
the child of R.E. with whom C.E.W.
_______________
43

752 So. 2d 1019 (Miss. 1999).

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Agustin vs. Court of Appeals

had, at the time of conception, maintained an adulterous relationship.
In Erie County Department of Social Services on behalf of
Tiffany M.H. v. Greg G.,44 the 4th Department of the New York
Supreme Courts Appellate Division allowed G.G., who had been
adjudicated as T.M.H.s father by default, to have the said judgment
vacated, even after six years, once he had shown through a genetic
marker test that he was not the childs father. In this case, G.G. only
requested the tests after the Department of Social Services, six years
after G.G. had been adjudicated as T.M.H.s father, sought an
increase in his support obligation to her.
In Greco v. Coleman,45 the Michigan Supreme Court while ruling
on the constitutionality of a provision of law allowing nonmodifiable support agreements pointed out that it was because of the
difficulty of determining paternity before the advent of DNA testing
that such support agreements were necessary:
As a result of DNA testing, the accuracy with which paternity can be
proven has increased significantly since the parties in this lawsuit entered
into their support agreement . . . (current testing methods can determine
the probability of paternity to 99.999999% accuracy). However, at the
time the parties before us entered into the disputed agreement, proving
paternity was a very significant obstacle to an illegitimate childs access
to child support. The first reported results of modern DNA paternity
testing did not occur until 1985. (In fact, since its first reported results in
1985, DNA matching has progressed to general acceptance in less than a
decade ). Of course, while prior blood-testing methods could exclude
some males from being the possible father of a child, those methods
could not affirmatively pinpoint a particular male as being the father.
Thus, when the settlement agreement between the present parties was
entered in 1980, establishing paternity was a far more difficult ordeal
than at present. Contested paternity actions at that time were
_______________
44
45

273 AD 2d 919 (NY 2000).

Supra.

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often no more than credibility contests. Consequently, in every contested

paternity action, obtaining child support depended not merely on whether
the putative father was, in fact, the child's biological father, but rather on
whether the mother could prove to a court of law that she was only
sexually involved with one man--the putative father. Allowing parties the

option of entering into private agreements in lieu of proving paternity

eliminated the risk that the mother would be unable meet her burden of
proof.

It is worth noting that amendments to Michigans Paternity law have

included the use of DNA testing:46
722.716 Pretrial proceedings; blood or tissue typing determinations as to
mother, child, and alleged father; court order; refusal to submit to typing
or identification profiling; qualifications of person conducting typing or
identification profiling; compensation of expert; result of typing or
identification profiling; filing summary report; objection; admissibility;
presumption; burden of proof; summary disposition.
Sec. 6.
(1) In a proceeding under this act before trial, the court, upon
application made by or on behalf of either party, or on its own
motion, shall order that the mother, child, and alleged father submit
to blood or tissue typing determinations, which may include, but are
not limited to, determinations of red cell antigens, red cell
isoenzymes, human leukocyte antigens, serum proteins, or DNA
identification profiling, to determine whether the alleged father is
likely to be, or is not, the father of the child. If the court orders a
blood or tissue typing or DNA identification profiling to be
conducted and a party refuses to submit to the typing or DNA
identification profiling, in addition to any other remedies available,
the court may do either of the following:
(a) Enter a default judgment at the request of the appropriate
party.
_______________
46

MCLA 722.716 6.
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Agustin vs. Court of Appeals

(b) If a trial is held, allow the disclosure of the fact of the refusal
unless good cause is shown for not disclosing the fact of refusal.
(2) A blood or tissue typing or DNA identification profiling shall be
conducted by a person accredited for paternity determinations by a
nationally recognized scientific organization, including, but not limited
to, the American association of blood banks.
xxx
xxx
xxx
(5) If the probability of paternity determined by the qualified
person described in subsection (2) conducting the blood or tissue
typing or DNA identification profiling is 99% or higher, and the

DNA identification profile and summary report are admissible as

provided in subsection (4), paternity is presumed. If the results of the
analysis of genetic testing material from 2 or more persons indicate a
probability of paternity greater than 99%, the contracting laboratory
shall conduct additional genetic paternity testing until all but 1 of the
putative fathers is eliminated, unless the dispute involves 2 or more
putative fathers who have identical DNA.
(6) Upon the establishment of the presumption of paternity as
provided in subsection (5), either party may move for summary
disposition under the court rules. This section does not abrogate the right
of either party to child support from the date of birth of the child if
applicable under section 7. (emphasis supplied)

In Rafferty v. Perkins,47 the Supreme Court of Mississippi ruled that

DNA test results showing paternity were sufficient to overthrow the
presumption of legitimacy of a child born during the course of a
marriage:
The presumption of legitimacy having been rebutted by the results of the
blood test eliminating Perkins as Justin's father, even considering the
evidence in the light most favorable to Perkins, we find that no
reasonable jury could find that Easter is not Justin's father based upon the
99.94% probability of paternity concluded by the DNA testing.
_______________
47

757 So. 2d 992 (Miss. 2000).

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Agustin vs. Court of Appeals
In S.J.F. and J.C.F. v. R.C.W.,48 the North Dakota Supreme Court
upheld an order for genetic testing given by the Court of Appeals,
even after trial on the merits had concluded without such order being
given. Significantly, when J.C.F., the mother, first filed the case for
paternity and support with the District Court, neither party requested
genetic testing. It was only upon appeal from dismissal of the case
that the appellate court remanded the case and ordered the testing,
which the North Dakota Supreme Court upheld.
The case of Kohl v. Amundson,49 decided by the Supreme Court
of South Dakota, demonstrated that even default judgments of
paternity could be vacated after the adjudicated father had, through
DNA testing, established non-paternity. In this case, Kohl, having
excluded himself as the father of Amundsons child through DNA
testing, was able to have the default judgment against him vacated.
He then obtained a ruling ordering Amundson to reimburse him for

the amounts withheld from his wages for child support. The Court
said (w)hile Amundson may have a remedy against the father of the
child, she submit(ted) no authority that require(d) Kohl to support
her child. Contrary to Amundsons position, the fact that a default
judgment was entered, but subsequently vacated, (did) not foreclose
Kohl from obtaining a money judgment for the amount withheld
from his wages.
In M.A.S. v. Mississippi Dept. of Human Services,50 another case
decided by the Supreme Court of Mississippi, it was held that even if
paternity was established through an earlier agreed order of filiation,
child support and visitation orders could still be vacated once DNA
testing established someone other than the named individual to be
the biological father. The Mississippi High Court reiterated this
doctrine in Williams v. Williams.51
_______________
615 N.W. 2d 533 (ND 2000).
49 620 N.W.2d 606 (SD 2001).
50 842 So. 2d 527 (Miss. 2003).
51 843 So. 2d 720 (Miss. 2003).
48

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The foregoing considered, we find no grave abuse of discretion on
the part of the public respondent for upholding the orders of the trial
court which both denied the petitioners motion to dismiss and
ordered him to submit himself for DNA testing. Under Rule 65 of
the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, the remedy of certiorari is only
available when any tribunal, board or officer has acted without or in
excess of its or his jurisdiction, or with grave abuse of discretion
amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction, and there is no appeal,
nor any plain, speedy and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of
law.52 In Land Bank of the Philippines v. The Court of Appeals53
where we dismissed a special civil action for certiorari under Rule
65, we discussed at length the nature of such a petition and just what
was meant by grave abuse of discretion:
Grave abuse of discretion implies such capricious and whimsical exercise
of judgment as is equivalent to lack of jurisdiction or, in other words,
where the power is exercised in an arbitrary manner by reason of
passion, prejudice, or personal hostility, and it must be so patent or

gross as to amount to an evasion of a positive duty or to a virtual

refusal to perform the duty enjoined or to act at all in contemplation
of law.
The special civil action for certiorari is a remedy designed for the
correction of errors of jurisdiction and not errors of judgment. The raison
dtre for the rule is when a court exercises its jurisdiction, an error
committed while so engaged does not deprive it of the jurisdiction being
exercised when the error is committed. If it did, every error committed by
a court would deprive it of its jurisdiction and every erroneous judgment
would be a void judgment. In such a scenario, the administration of
justice would not survive. Hence, where the issue or question involved
affects the wisdom or legal soundness of the decisionnot the
jurisdiction of the court to render said decisionthe same is beyond the
province of a special civil action for certiorari.
_______________
Section 1, Rule 65, Rules of Court.
53 G.R. No. 129368, 25 August 2003, 409 SCRA 455.
52

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The proper recourse of the aggrieved party from a decision of the CA is a

petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45 of the Revised Rules of
Court. On the other hand, if the error subject of the recourse is one of
jurisdiction, or the act complained of was perpetrated by a quasi-judicial
officer or agency with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or
excess of jurisdiction, the proper remedy available to the aggrieved party
is a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 of the said Rules. (emphasis
supplied)

In the instant case, the petitioner has in no way shown any

arbitrariness, passion, prejudice or personal hostility that would
amount to grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Court of
Appeals. The respondent court acted entirely within its jurisdiction
in promulgating its decision and resolution, and any error made
would have only been an error in judgment. As we have discussed,
however, the decision of the respondent court, being firmly anchored
in law and jurisprudence, was correct.
Epilogue
For too long, illegitimate children have been marginalized by fathers
who choose to deny their existence. The growing sophistication of
DNA testing technology finally provides a much needed equalizer

for such ostracized and abandoned progeny. We have long believed

in the merits of DNA testing and have repeatedly expressed as much
in the past. This case comes at a perfect time when DNA testing has
finally evolved into a dependable and authoritative form of evidence
gathering. We therefore take this opportunity to forcefully reiterate
our stand that DNA testing is a valid means of determining paternity.
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the petition is hereby
DENIED. The Court of Appeals decision dated January 28, 2004 in
CA-G.R. SP No. 80961 is hereby AFFIRMED in toto.
Costs against petitioner.
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Cruz vs. Coca-Cola Bottlers, Phils., Inc.

SO ORDERED.
Panganiban (Chairman), Sandoval-Gutierrez, CarpioMorales and Garcia, JJ., concur.
Petition denied, judgment affirmed in toto.
Note.While a birth certificate is a formidable piece of evidence
prescribed by both the Civil Code and Article 172 of the Family
Code for purposes of recognition and filiation, it offers only prima
facie evidence of filiation and may be refuted by contrary evidence.
(Solinap vs. Locsin, Jr., 370 SCRA 711 [2001])
o0o
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