Case Digest: Cacho vs. Udan, G.R. No. L-19996, April 30, 1965

Succession | Illegitimate Son, Legitimate Brothers, Iron Curtain Rule

Art. 988. In the absence of legitimate descendants or ascendants, the illegitimate children shall succeed to the entire estate of the deceased.

Art. 1003. If there are no descendants, ascendants, illegitimate children, or a surviving spouse, the collateral relatives shall succeed to the entire estate of the deceased in accordance with the following articles.

Art. 992. An illegitimate child has no right to inherit ab intestato from the legitimate children and relatives of his father or mother; nor shall such children or relatives inherit in the same manner from the illegitimate child.

Ponente:

Reyes, J.B.L., J.:

Facts:

In 1959, Silvina G. Udan died.

She left a purported will naming Francisco G. Udan and Wencesla Cacho as sole heirs.

Wencesla Cacho filed a petition to probate the will.

Rustico G. Udan, Silvina's legitimate brother, opposed the probate. Francisco G. Udan also filed an opposition to the will's probate.

Later, Rustico G. Udan verbally moved to withdraw his opposition due to the appearance of Francisco G. Udan, and the opposition was withdrawn.

In 1961, Francisco G. Udan died.

John G. Udan and Rustico G. Udan, Silvina's legitimate brothers, filed oppositions to the will of Silvina.

CFI-Zambales: Disallowed the oppositions for lack of interest in the estate, ordering the Fiscal to study the possibility of filing escheat proceedings.

Issue:

WoN the oppositor brothers, John and Rustico Udan, may claim to be heirs intestate of their legitimate sister, the late Silvina Udan. NO

Held:

We find that the court below correctly held that they were not, for at the time of her death Silvina's illegitimate son, Francisco Udan, was her heir intestate, to the exclusion of her brothers. This is clear from Articles 988 and 1003 of the governing Civil Code of the Philippines, in force at the time of the death of the testatrix:

ART. 988. In the absence of legitimate descendants or ascendants, the illegitimate children shall succeed to the entire estate of the deceased.

ART. 1003. If there are no descendants, ascendants, illegitimate children, or a surviving spouse, the collateral relatives shall succeed to the entire estate of the deceased in accordance with the following articles.

These legal provisions decree that collateral relatives of one who died intestate inherit only in the absence of descendants, ascendants, and illegitimate children. Albeit the brothers and sisters can concur with the widow or widower under Article 1101, they do, not concur, but are excluded by the surviving children, legitimate or illegitimate (Art. 1003).

That Francisco Udan was the illegitimate son of the late Silvina is not denied by the oppositor; and he is so acknowledged to be in the testament, where said Francisco is termed "son" by the testatrix. As the latter was admittedly single, the son must be necessarily illegitimate (presumptively natural under Article 277).

The trial court, therefore, committed no error in holding that John and Rustico Udan had no standing to oppose the probate of the will. For if the will is ultimately probated John and Rustico are excluded by its terms from participation in the estate; and if probate be denied, both oppositors-appellants will be excluded by the illegitimate son, Francisco Udan, as sole intestate heir, by operation of law.

The death of Francisco two years after his mother's demise does not improve the situation of appellants. The rights acquired by the former are only transmitted by his death to his own heirs at law not to the appellants, who are legitimate brothers of his mother, for the reason that, as correctly decided by the court below, the legitimate relatives of the mother cannot succeed her illegitimate child. This is clear from Article 992 of the Civil Code.

ART. 992. An illegitimate child has no right to inherit ab intestato from the legitimate children and relatives of his father or mother; nor shall such children or relatives inherit in the same manner from the illegitimate child.

For the oppositors-appellants it is argued that while Francisco Udan did survive his mother, and acquired the rights to the succession from the moment of her death (Art. 777, Civ. Code), still he did not acquire the inheritance until he accepted it. This argument fails to take into account that the Code presumes acceptance of an inheritance if the latter is not repudiated in due time (Civ. Code, Art. 1057, par. 2), and that repudiation, to be valid, must appear in a public or authentic instrument, or petition to the court. There is no document or pleading in the records showing repudiation of the inheritance by Francisco Udan. The latter's own opposition (RA. p. 61) to the probate of the alleged will is perfectly compatible with the intention to exclude the proponent Cacho as testamentary coheir, and to claim the entire inheritance as heir ab intestato.

Finally, it is urged that as probate is only concerned with the due execution of a testament, any ruling on the successional rights of oppositors-appellants is at present premature. Inquiry into the hereditary rights of the appellants is not premature, if the purpose is to determine whether their opposition should be excluded in order to simplify and accelerate the proceedings. If, as already shown, appellants cannot gain any hereditary interest in the estate whether the will is probated or not, their intervention would merely result in unnecessary complication.

It may not be amiss to note, however, that the hearing on the probate must still proceed to ascertain the rights of the proponent Cacho as testamentary heir.

It is urged for the applicant that no opposition has been registered against his petition on the issues above-discussed. Absence of opposition, however, does not preclude the scanning of the whole record by the appellate court, with a view to preventing the conferment of citizenship to persons not fully qualified therefor (Lee Ng Len vs. Republic, G.R. No. L-20151, March 31, 1965). The applicant's complaint of unfairness could have some weight if the objections on appeal had been on points not previously passed upon. But the deficiencies here in question are not new but well-known, having been ruled upon repeatedly by this Court, and we see no excuse for failing to take them into account.

WHEREFORE, the order under appeal is affirmed, without prejudice to further proceedings in the case, conformably to this opinion. Costs against appellants John G. Udan and Rustico G. Udan.