The instance/s that the mother of a child below seven (7) years old can be deprived of the child’s custody.
Custody of a child below seven (7) years of age belongs to the mother. This is known as the maternal preference rule. However, it admits of certain exceptions. Article 214 of the Family Code says for “compelling reasons”, such custody may be denied and granted to another party. The doctrinal rule enunciated by the Supreme Court in the case of Tonog vs. Court of Appeals (G.R. No. 122906, February 7, 2002) enumerated some of these compelling reasons as “neglect, abandonment, unemployment and immorality, habitual drunkenness, drug addiction, maltreatment of the child, insanity, and affliction with a communicable illness.” In the said instances, a mother can therefore be deprived of the child’s custody. Continue reading “Child Custody”