Karapatan ng illegitimate child na beneficiary ng insurance proceeds

ni Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta - @Magtanong Kay Attorney | September 18, 2021

Dear Chief Acosta,

Ako ay illegitimate child. Ang aking ama ay pumanaw noong nakaraang buwan at napag-alaman kong ako ay isa sa kanyang beneficiaries sa insurance policy. Ang kanyang asawa ay mariing tumututol dito at nais ako ipatanggal bilang isang beneficiary sapagkat ako diumano ay illegitimate child. Maaari ba 'yun? – Lio

Dear Lio,

Ang mga batas na sumasaklaw tungkol sa inyong katanungan ay ang Presidential Decree (PD) No. 612, as amended by Republic Act No. 10607 o ang Insurance Code of the Philippines at ang Republic Act No. 386 o ang Civil Code of the Philippines. Nakasaad sa Section 53 ng PD No. 612, as amended ang sumusunod: “Section 53. The insurance proceeds shall be applied exclusively to the proper interest of the person in whose name or for whose benefit it is made unless otherwise specified in the policy”

Samantala, nakasaad sa Article 739 ng Republic Act No. 386 na:

“Article 739. The following donations shall be void:

(1) Those made between persons who were guilty of adultery or concubinage at the time of the donation;

(2) Those made between persons found guilty of the same criminal offense, in consideration thereof;

(3) Those made to a public officer or his wife, descendants and ascendants, by reason of his office.”

Kaugnay nito, inilahad ng Korte Suprema sa kaso ng Maramag vs. Maramag (G.R. No. 181132, June 5, 2009, Ponente: Honorable former Associate Justice Antonio Eduardo B. Nachura) ang sumusunod:

“…the only persons entitled to claim the insurance proceeds are either the insured, if still alive; or the beneficiary, if the insured is already deceased, upon the maturation of the policy. The exception to this rule is a situation where the insurance contract was intended to benefit third persons who are not parties to the same in the form of favorable stipulations or indemnity. In such a case, third parties may directly sue and claim from the insurer.

Petitioners are third parties to the insurance contracts with Insular and Grepalife and, thus, are not entitled to the proceeds thereof. Accordingly, respondents Insular and Grepalife have no legal obligation to turn over the insurance proceeds to petitioners. The revocation of Eva as a beneficiary in one policy and her disqualification as such in another are of no moment considering that the designation of the illegitimate children as beneficiaries in Loreto’s insurance policies remains valid. Because no legal proscription exists in naming as beneficiaries the children of illicit relationships by the insured, the shares of Eva in the insurance proceeds, whether forfeited by the court in view of the prohibition on donations under Article 739 of the Civil Code or by the insurers themselves for reasons based on the insurance contracts, must be awarded to the said illegitimate children, the designated beneficiaries, to the exclusion of petitioners. It is only in cases where the insured has not designated any beneficiary, or when the designated beneficiary is disqualified by law to receive the proceeds, that the insurance policy proceeds shall redound to the benefit of the estate of the insured.” (Binigyang-diin)

Alinsunod sa mga nabanggit na probisyon ng batas at desisyon ng Korte Suprema, ang insurance proceeds ay mapupunta sa kung sinuman ang itinalaga sa insurance policy, liban lamang kung ito ay labag sa batas. Ang pagtanggap ng insurance proceeds ay maihahalintulad sa pagtanggap ng donasyon, at ang sinumang ipinagbabawal sa batas na tumanggap ng donasyon, ay hindi rin maaaring tumanggap ng insurance proceeds. Malinaw sa nabanggit na probisyon na ang illegitimate child ay hindi ipinagbabawal sa batas na tumanggap ng isang donasyon. Samakatwid, ang inyong pagiging illegitimate child ay hindi dahilan upang kayo ay pagkaitan ng insurance proceeds, na kung saan kayo ay nakapangalan sa insurance policy bilang beneficiary.

Nawa ay nasagot namin ang inyong mga katanungan. Nais naming ipaalala sa inyo na ang opinyon na ito ay nakabase sa inyong mga naisalaysay sa inyong liham at sa pagkakaintindi namin dito. Maaaring maiba ang opinyon kung mayroong karagdagang impormasyon na ibibigay. Mas mainam kung personal kayong sasangguni sa isang abogado.

Maraming salamat sa inyong patuloy na pagtitiwala.