Text of the provision
Art. 201. The amount of support, in the cases referred to in Articles 195 and 196, shall be in proportion to the resources or means of the giver and to the necessities of the recipient.
(296a)
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
There is no fixed peso figure for support. Its amount is set by a two-sided proportion: the resources or means of the giver on one side, and the necessities of the recipient on the other. A wealthier obligor owes more; a needier recipient receives more — and the award must balance both.
Because both variables change over time, the amount is never truly fixed — it is always adjustable under Article 202.
Related provisions
- Article 202 — support rises and falls with changed circumstances.
- Article 196 — support between siblings, one of the cases referred to.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on Article 201 will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.