Short answer. Yes. Article 174 of the Family Code gives every legitimate child the right to bear both the surname of the father and the surname of the mother, in accordance with the Civil Code provisions on surnames. This is one of three core rights that the law expressly confers on legitimate children.
What the law says
To bear the surnames of the father and the mother, in conformity with the provisions of the Civil Code on Surnames
Family Code, Article 174 — Rights of Legitimate Children. Read the full provision →
The right to both surnames
Article 174 of the Family Code states that legitimate children shall have the right "to bear the surnames of the father and the mother, in conformity with the provisions of the Civil Code on Surnames." This is an express statutory right, not merely a custom. In the Philippines, the standard practice is to use the father's surname as the primary family name while the mother's maiden surname appears as the middle name — but the underlying right belongs to the child and cannot simply be denied.
The three rights of legitimate children under this article
Article 174 organizes the rights of legitimate children into three: the right to the surnames of both parents; the right to receive support from parents, ascendants, and in proper cases siblings; and the right to inherit under their legitime and other successional rights in the Civil Code. The surname right is listed first. These rights flow automatically from the child's legitimate status — they do not depend on any separate legal action to claim them.
What the Civil Code on Surnames adds
Article 174 cross-references the Civil Code provisions on surnames for the details of how these rights work in practice. Those provisions address the order in which surnames appear, what happens in cases of acknowledgment, and similar specifics. The Family Code establishes the entitlement; the surname provisions flesh out the mechanics. A legitimate child who is being denied the right to carry either parent's surname, or whose records do not reflect both surnames correctly, may need to pursue administrative or judicial correction of civil registry records.
Why this matters practically
The surname a child bears appears on every government-issued document — birth certificate, school records, passport, national identity card. Getting it right from the start matters. If the birth certificate was registered with only one parent's surname, or if there are discrepancies across documents, correcting those records involves specific procedures before the civil registrar or the courts. The right under Article 174 gives legitimate children the legal basis to insist on full recognition of both surnames in official records.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- In Re: Petition for Change of Name and/or Correction/Cancellation of Entry in Civil Registry of Julian Lin Carulasan Wang vs. Cebu City Civil Registrar. P.E.T. Case No. 002 March 29, 2005 Ronald Allan Poe vs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, G.R. No. 159966, March 30, 2005 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Anacleto Ballaho Alanis III vs. Court of Appeals, Cagayan de Oro City and Hon, G.R. No. 216425, November 11, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →