Text of the provision

Art. 232. If the person exercising parental authority has subjected the child or allowed him to be subjected to sexual abuse, such person shall be permanently deprived by the court of such authority.

(n)

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

This is the gravest sanction in the Title. A person who subjects a child to sexual abuse — or allows the child to be subjected to it — is permanently deprived of parental authority by the court. Unlike the suspension in Article 230 or the revivable terminations in Article 229, this deprivation does not revive.

Notably, the abuser's failure to protect counts as much as active abuse: "allowed him to be subjected to" reaches the parent who knowingly permits the harm.

Related provisions

Cases interpreting this article

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.