When the mother herself denies someone as her son, no one else, even the Supreme Court, can question that. It is only her who knows if that person came out from her womb.
Facts
Petitioner claims that he is the son of Chua Bing Guan and Sy Kua and filed on May 19, 1983, a petition for the settlement of the estate of the late Sy Kao in the RTC of Quezon City. The private respondent moved to dismiss for lack of a cause of action and the petitioner’s capacity to file the petition because Chua Keng Giap is not the son of the above-mentioned couple as testified by the mother herself.
| Petitioner | Respondent |
| Paternity and not the maternity of the petitioner is to be decided. Therefore, the testimony of the mother should not be credited. | • Res judicata: The latter, it was claimed, had been declared as not the son of the spouses Chua Bing Guan and Sy Kao in S.P. No. Q-12592, for the settlement of the estate of the late Chua Bing Guan. • Mother’s testimonials: Sy Kua herself testified that she is not her son.Petitioner: |
Issue
Is Chua Keng Giap is the son of Chua Bing and Sy Kua?
Ruling
No. Who better than Sy Kao/Kua herself would know of Chua Keng Giap was really her son? More than anyone else, it was Sy Kao who could say — as indeed she has said these many years — that Chua Keng Giap was not begotten of her womb. The issue of his claimed filiation has long been settled, and with finality, by no less than this Court. That issue cannot be resurrected now because it has been laid to rest in Sy Kao v. Court of Appeals, decided on September 28, 1984. In that case, Sy Kao flatly and unequivocally declared that she was not the petitioner’s mother. Petition Denied.
English