Text of the provision
Art. 887. The following are compulsory heirs:
(1) Legitimate children and descendants, with respect to their legitimate parents and ascendants;
(2) In default of the foregoing, legitimate parents and ascendants, with respect to their legitimate children and descendants;
(3) The widow or widower;
(4) Acknowledged natural children, and natural children by legal fiction;
(5) Other illegitimate children referred to in article 287. Compulsory heirs mentioned in Nos. 3, 4, and 5 are not excluded by those in Nos. 1 and 2; neither do they exclude one another. In all cases of illegitimate children, their filiation must be duly proved. The father or mother of illegitimate children of the three classes mentioned, shall inherit from them in the manner and to the extent established by this Code.
(807a)
Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386, approved June 18, 1949, effective August 30, 1950. Reproduced in full; verified verbatim against the LawPhil and ChanRobles official-text renderings.
What this article means
As originally enacted this article listed five classes of compulsory heir: legitimate children and descendants; in their default, legitimate parents and ascendants; the widow or widower; acknowledged natural children and natural children by legal fiction; and the other illegitimate children referred to in Article 287. Those in the last three classes do not exclude one another.
How this article reads today. The first three classes stand. The last two do not: under Articles 163 and 165 of the Family Code there is now a single class of illegitimate children, with no distinction between ‘acknowledged natural’ children, ‘natural children by legal fiction’ and others. Article 176 of the Family Code fixes the legitime of each illegitimate child at one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child.
Questions about this provision
Related provisions
- Article 368 — Surname of Other Illegitimate Children.
- Article 888 — Legitime of Legitimate Children.
Cases citing this article
- Amadea Angela K. Aquino vs. Rodolfo C. Aquino and Abdulah C. Aquino/Rodolfo C. Aquino, G.R. No. 208912 / G.R. No. 209018, December 7, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Martin Roberto G. Tirol vs. Sol Nolasco, G.R. No. 230103, August 27, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Ingrid V. Hilario vs. Thelma Miranda and Irenea Belloc, G.R. No. 196499, November 28, 2018 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Elenita V. Macalinao, Kenneth V. Macalinao and Kristel V. Macalinao vs. Cerina, A.K.A. Cerena N. Macalinao and Cindy N. Ma, G.R. No. 250613, April 3, 2024 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Richelle Busque Ordoña vs. The Local Civil Registrar of Pasig City and Allan D, G.R. No. 215370, November 9, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Compiled automatically from Supreme Court decisions published on LawPhil that expressly cite this article, most frequently cited first. A listing means the decision cites the provision — it is not a statement that the case is the leading authority, and it does not show whether a ruling has since been modified or abandoned. Always read the decision itself.