Text of the provision
Art. 54. Children conceived or born before the judgment of annulment or absolute nullity of the marriage under Article 36 has become final and executory shall be considered legitimate. Children conceived or born of the subsequent marriage under Article 53 shall likewise be legitimate.
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
Article 54 protects children from the legal fallout of their parents' marriage being undone. It creates two categories of legitimate children who might otherwise be thought illegitimate:
First, children conceived or born before a judgment of nullity or annulment under Article 36 (psychological incapacity) becomes final are legitimate. Even though the marriage is ultimately declared void from the beginning, a child born while it still stood is not punished for the parents' incapacity. Second, children of a subsequent marriage validly contracted under Article 53 are likewise legitimate.
Why it is limited to Article 36
The first sentence is deliberately tied to Article 36. Psychological incapacity is a ground that, by its nature, is often not apparent until well into the marriage — children may already exist by the time the incapacity is established and the marriage declared void. The provision spares those children the status of illegitimacy that a strict "void from the beginning" logic would otherwise impose.
Related provisions
- Article 36 — psychological incapacity, the ground this legitimacy rule is tied to.
- Article 53 — the valid subsequent marriage whose children are also legitimate.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on the legitimacy of children under Article 54 will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.