Illegitimate Children, Property Rights, and the Rule of Law
I have spent all morning drinking coffee and reading The Family Code of the Philippines (Exectuive Order No. 209).
It is long and boring. EO's, they blur the lines between the separation of powers. In all honesty, I am not very fond of it. It is discriminatory and attacks the liberties of individuals (as much as it tries or was intended to protect them). But for as long as I reside within the imaginary lines that surround this potentially great nation, I must know this law by heart now more than ever. It is the law of the land and may the rule of law always prevail.
The reason I am wary of this executive order is because, as a libertarian, my principles compel me to defend voluntary contracts between individuals (ie. marriages or unions) and believe that no government or other coercive group of people may intervene or impose anything on these agreements and only when these contracts are breached may it be settled by the police or courts or by private arbitration. Anyway, I am straying away from the topic so here we go:
I strongly believe that children, whether legitimate or illegitimate (born outside the State's or Church's definition of marriage), have equal rights to life, liberty, and property. If the birth of an illegitimate child breaches a voluntary contract between two individuals, it would be ridiculous to put the burden on the illegitimate child who had nothing to do with the contracts in the first place. Unfortunately, The Family Code seems to be against me on this (I say "seems" because I am no lawyer and am basing everything on my own interpretation; of course I will be consulting people who have more knowledge and authority regarding this matter and perhaps research more on relevant topics in the Civil Code of the Philippines).
For instance, in Article 176, it states "...The legitime of each illegitimate child shall consist of one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child...". Here, from how I interpret it, we put the burden on the illegitimate child and not on the the breacher of contract.
Indeed, there is a lot of needed law reform regarding this matter. Surely there are a lot of you who might get emotional about this topic. Those of you who are "blessed" to be considered by our State as "legitimate". But I do believe that if we try to be objective about it and set aside the emotional aspects of it, perhaps you will understand my positions.
You see, your resident blogger and defender of liberty (yours truly) is an "illegitimate" child and this is why this issue is something very personal and close to my heart. Personally, I don't really care about inheritance or succession because I am blessed with a hardworking mother who has provided way more than enough for me and still continue to. It just so happens that recent circumstances are pushing me to learn every thing I can about this issue.
I'm pretty sure I don't have money to hire or consult a really good lawyer in the case that I would need to. Also, I am not very fond of mandatory curriculums and contemporary schooling methods and so I have long dismissed the issue of becoming one myself. Whatever, I'm wasting so much time being so distracted about this (my brain tends to become very obsessive, sometimes). C'est La Vie.
I strongly believe that children, whether legitimate or illegitimate (born outside the State's or Church's definition of marriage), have equal rights to life, liberty, and property. If the birth of an illegitimate child breaches a voluntary contract between two individuals, it would be ridiculous to put the burden on the illegitimate child who had nothing to do with the contracts in the first place. Unfortunately, The Family Code seems to be against me on this (I say "seems" because I am no lawyer and am basing everything on my own interpretation; of course I will be consulting people who have more knowledge and authority regarding this matter and perhaps research more on relevant topics in the Civil Code of the Philippines).
For instance, in Article 176, it states "...The legitime of each illegitimate child shall consist of one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child...". Here, from how I interpret it, we put the burden on the illegitimate child and not on the the breacher of contract.
Indeed, there is a lot of needed law reform regarding this matter. Surely there are a lot of you who might get emotional about this topic. Those of you who are "blessed" to be considered by our State as "legitimate". But I do believe that if we try to be objective about it and set aside the emotional aspects of it, perhaps you will understand my positions.
You see, your resident blogger and defender of liberty (yours truly) is an "illegitimate" child and this is why this issue is something very personal and close to my heart. Personally, I don't really care about inheritance or succession because I am blessed with a hardworking mother who has provided way more than enough for me and still continue to. It just so happens that recent circumstances are pushing me to learn every thing I can about this issue.
I'm pretty sure I don't have money to hire or consult a really good lawyer in the case that I would need to. Also, I am not very fond of mandatory curriculums and contemporary schooling methods and so I have long dismissed the issue of becoming one myself. Whatever, I'm wasting so much time being so distracted about this (my brain tends to become very obsessive, sometimes). C'est La Vie.
If you liked this post then you might also like:
1. Freedom of Information Bill in the Philippines
2. Libertarianism in Harry Potter
3. The Unschooled Life of Astra Taylor
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