Short answer. Yes. Section 7 of Rule 61 lets you seek reimbursement from the person legally obliged to give support, in a separate action, if the recipient who was ordered to return your support pendente lite payments fails to do so. Your remedy against the actual father exists precisely because the recipient could not repay you.
What the law says
When the judgment or final order of the court finds that the person who has been providing support pendente lite is not liable therefor, it shall order the recipient thereof to return to the former the amounts already paid with legal interest from the dates of actual payment
Rule 61, Section 7 — Restitution. Read the full provision →
What the law says
without prejudice to the right of the recipient to obtain reimbursement in a separate action from the person legally obliged to give the support
Rule 61, Section 7 — Restitution. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Should the recipient fail to reimburse said amounts, the person who provided the same may likewise seek reimbursement thereof in a separate action from the person legally obliged to give such support.
Rule 61, Section 7 — Restitution. Read the full provision →
Step one: restitution from the recipient
Once you are cleared, Section 7 of Rule 61 puts the immediate obligation on the person who received the support pendente lite, not on anyone else yet. When the judgment or final order of the court finds that the person who has been providing support pendente lite is not liable therefor, it shall order the recipient thereof to return to the former the amounts already paid with legal interest from the dates of actual payment. The recipient is the first one ordered to pay you back, and legal interest runs from each date you actually paid, not from when the case was decided.
The recipient is not left without a remedy either
The rule anticipates that the recipient may not be the one who should have shouldered the support at all. Returning your money to you is without prejudice to the right of the recipient to obtain reimbursement in a separate action from the person legally obliged to give the support. In other words, the recipient can turn around and sue whoever was actually obligated to support the child, to recover what they now owe you. That is a separate action from the original support proceeding.
Your remedy if the recipient still can't pay
This is the situation you are asking about. Should the recipient fail to reimburse said amounts, the person who provided the same may likewise seek reimbursement thereof in a separate action from the person legally obliged to give such support. If the recipient cannot return what you paid, you are not left to absorb the loss — you can pursue the same separate action against the person legally obligated to give the support, seeking reimbursement directly from them instead. That action is distinct from the original support case and from the recipient's own claim against that person.