Text of the provision
Art. 179. Legitimated children shall enjoy the same rights as legitimate children.
(272a)
Family Code of the Philippines, Executive Order No. 209, approved July 6, 1987. The Code took effect on August 3, 1988 (Republic v. Orbecido III, G.R. No. 154380, October 5, 2005). Reproduced in full.
What this article means
Legitimation is the legal process that upgrades a qualifying illegitimate child to legitimate status when the parents later marry. This article states its central effect: once legitimated, a child enjoys exactly the same rights as a legitimate child — the surname, support and successional rights of Article 174.
Legitimation is not a partial or lesser status; it fully assimilates the child to a legitimate one.
Related provisions
- Article 174 — the rights of legitimate children, now shared.
- Article 180 — legitimation retroacts to birth.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on Article 179 will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.
Note. The text of the provision above is reproduced in full from the official enactment. The annotation, case summaries and commentary around it are the work of Vivas & Nobles Law Office and are general legal information, not legal advice. Whether this provision applies to a particular marriage depends on facts that only a lawyer reviewing your situation can assess.