Text of the provision

Art. 49. During the pendency of the action and in the absence of adequate provisions in a written agreement between the spouses, the Court shall provide for the support of the spouses and the custody and support of their common children.

The Court shall give paramount consideration to the moral and material welfare of said children and their choice of the parent with whom they wish to remain as provided to[sic] in Title IX. It shall also provide for appropriate visitation rights of the other parent.

(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. The notation (n) indicates a new provision with no direct Civil Code antecedent. The phrase "provided to in Title IX" carries a stray "to," identically in LawPhil and ChanRobles; marked [sic].

What this article means

While a nullity or annulment case is still pending — and the spouses have no adequate written agreement of their own — the court must step in and provide for the support of the spouses and the custody and support of their common children, plus visitation rights for the parent who does not have custody.

The governing standard is the moral and material welfare of the children, and their own choice of which parent to remain with is given weight as provided in Title IX of the Code (parental authority), not treated as automatically controlling.

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.