A Philippine Legal Article

In Philippine law, the basic answer is generally no: children cannot ordinarily file a criminal case for concubinage on behalf of their mother against their father and the alleged mistress. Under the Revised Penal Code, concubinage is a private crime, and the law specifically requires that the offended spouse file the complaint. In a typical marital situation, that offended spouse is the wife.

That said, the issue becomes more complex once related civil, criminal, and family-law remedies are considered. While children usually cannot prosecute concubinage in their own right, there are situations where they may have other legal remedies, may become complainants or witnesses in related cases, or may be affected by proceedings involving violence, abuse, property, support, custody, inheritance, or psychological harm.

This article explains the rule in depth in the Philippine setting.

1. What is concubinage under Philippine law?

Concubinage is a crime penalized under the Revised Penal Code. It is committed by a married man who, under circumstances defined by law, engages in prohibited relations with a woman who is not his wife. The law typically contemplates acts such as:

keeping a mistress in the conjugal dwelling,
having sexual intercourse under scandalous circumstances with a woman not his wife, or
cohabiting with her in another place.

The woman involved may also be held liable as a co-accused, but only if she knew the man was married.

Concubinage is distinct from simple infidelity in a moral sense. Not every extramarital affair automatically amounts to criminal concubinage. The law requires specific acts and specific proof.

2. Why can children generally not file the case themselves?

Because concubinage is a private crime.

Under Philippine criminal law, certain offenses are not prosecuted in the usual way by just anyone who knows about them. For private crimes, the law requires that the complaint be filed by the specific person directly offended. For concubinage, that person is the offended spouse.

In practical terms:

If the father is the allegedly offending husband,
and the mother is the legal wife,
the mother must be the one to initiate the criminal complaint.

The children, even if deeply affected, are not the offended spouse for purposes of the criminal action for concubinage.

So even if:

the children witnessed the father living with another woman,
the family home was disrupted,
the children suffered humiliation or emotional distress,

they still do not become the proper complainants for concubinage itself.

3. Who is the “offended party” in concubinage?

The offended party is the legal wife.

This is crucial. The law protects the marital relation and treats the crime as an offense against the spouse, not directly against the children.

That is why the complaint cannot ordinarily be validly filed by:

the children,
the wife’s parents,
the husband’s relatives,
a barangay official,
a prosecutor acting alone without the wife’s complaint,
or any third person acting merely out of concern.

The wife’s participation is not optional. It is generally jurisdictional to the criminal complaint.

4. Can children file the complaint if the mother is unwilling?

As a rule, no.

If the mother is alive, competent, and does not wish to file, the children cannot substitute for her in a criminal complaint for concubinage.

This remains true even if the children believe:

their mother is being manipulated,
their father is openly cohabiting with another woman,
their mother is emotionally unable to act,
or the affair has been going on for years.

The law gives the right to complain to the offended spouse, not to the children.

5. Can children file if the mother is abroad, sick, elderly, or incapacitated?

This depends on the nature of the incapacity and the exact procedural posture, but the general rule remains strict: the complaint for concubinage must still legally emanate from the offended spouse.

If the mother is physically weak, abroad, or elderly, that does not automatically transfer the right to the children.

If she is legally incapacitated, there may be arguments involving authorized representation in some contexts, but private crimes are treated strictly. The safer statement is:

Children do not acquire an independent right to file concubinage simply because the mother cannot or does not act.

A lawyer handling a real case would examine whether the wife can personally execute the complaint, do so through proper legal means, or pursue different remedies instead.

6. What if the mother has died?

This is where many people become confused.

If the wife dies before filing the complaint, the better view is that the criminal action for concubinage cannot be initiated by the children in her place, because the right to file belonged to the offended spouse.

Private crimes are personal in this sense. The children do not inherit the right to file a criminal complaint for concubinage as though it were property or a transferable claim.

If the wife had already properly initiated proceedings before death, separate procedural questions may arise, but as to starting the case after her death, children generally cannot step in as substitute complainants for concubinage.

7. Must the complaint include both the father and the alleged mistress?

Yes, as a rule.

In private crimes involving marital infidelity, the offended spouse generally cannot selectively prosecute only one guilty party while excluding the other, if both are alive and known. The law disfavors using the criminal process vindictively against only one participant.

Thus, in a concubinage complaint, the wife is generally expected to proceed against:

the husband, and
the woman involved,

unless a legal reason excuses non-inclusion.

This is another reason children cannot freely engineer the case themselves. The law places the decision and responsibility on the offended spouse.

8. Can children at least report the relationship to the police or prosecutor?

They may report facts, but that is not the same as validly instituting the private crime of concubinage.

The police or prosecutor may receive information, but without the proper complaint of the offended spouse, the criminal case for concubinage will generally not prosper.

So the children may:

tell authorities what they know,
document events,
preserve evidence,
encourage the mother to seek counsel,

but they still cannot convert that information by themselves into a valid criminal prosecution for concubinage.

9. Can children be witnesses in a concubinage case?

Yes.

Children may be:

fact witnesses,
corroborating witnesses,
custodians of documents, photos, or messages,
witnesses to cohabitation, scandalous circumstances, or use of the conjugal home.

Their inability to file the complaint does not mean they are legally irrelevant. They may provide important evidence once the proper complainant, usually the mother, files the case.

Still, courts examine testimony carefully, especially where family conflict exists. The testimony of children is admissible, but credibility will be assessed like any other evidence.

10. What if the father and the third party committed other offenses?

This is where children may have more room to act, depending on the facts.

Concubinage is only one possible legal issue. The father’s conduct may also overlap with other wrongs. Some of these may be actionable by persons other than the wife.

A. Violence Against Women and Their Children (VAWC)

If the father’s affair is tied to economic abuse, psychological violence, threats, abandonment, harassment, or conduct causing mental or emotional suffering to the wife or children, Republic Act No. 9262 may become relevant.

Under the Anti-VAWC law, the offended parties can include:

the wife,
a woman with whom the man has or had a sexual or dating relationship, in applicable settings,
and in some circumstances, the children affected by the abuse.

This is very important because children may have standing in VAWC-related contexts, especially where the father’s acts directly cause them psychological or emotional harm, or where they suffer economic deprivation, intimidation, or abuse connected to the father’s conduct.

However, VAWC is not the same as concubinage. An extramarital relationship does not automatically mean there is a VAWC case. There must be facts fitting the statutory definitions of violence.

Examples:

the father abandons support to the legitimate children in favor of the mistress,
the father humiliates the mother and children,
the children suffer serious emotional injury from abusive family conduct,
the father uses threats or coercion,
the father diverts family resources and leaves the children unsupported.

In such cases, the legal analysis may shift from concubinage to VAWC, support, custody, protection orders, or civil claims.

B. Failure or refusal to support

Children may have enforceable rights to support. If the father neglects legal support obligations because he is spending on another woman or second household, the children or their representatives may pursue remedies for support.

This is often more practically useful than a concubinage case.

C. Property and fraud-related issues

If the father uses conjugal or community property for the benefit of a mistress, issues may arise involving:

unauthorized disposal of property,
dissipation of family assets,
simulation,
fraud,
civil recovery,
accounting,
estate implications.

Children may not be the immediate parties while both parents are alive in every scenario, but they can certainly be affected and may later acquire standing depending on the nature of the property, succession rights, or representation issues.

D. Child abuse or psychological abuse

If the children themselves are subjected to cruelty, degrading treatment, terror, manipulation, or emotional abuse arising from the father’s conduct, other statutes may be implicated depending on the facts.

Again, this is different from concubinage.

11. Can the children sue the mistress directly?

For concubinage, generally no, because the criminal complaint must still come from the offended spouse and must usually include both responsible parties.

For independent civil or criminal actions, the answer depends on the exact wrong committed.

The mere fact that a woman is allegedly the father’s mistress does not automatically give the children a direct cause of action against her.

Children cannot usually sue her simply for “stealing their father” or for causing family shame. Philippine law does not generally recognize a free-standing action by children for romantic interference with marriage in that form.

But if the third party separately commits an actionable wrong against the children, that is different. For example:

direct harassment,
threats,
abuse,
defamatory statements,
participation in economic deprivation,
property-related misconduct,
violence or intimidation.

In those situations, the issue is no longer just concubinage.

12. Can children file adultery or concubinage depending on which parent cheated?

The same principle applies: these are private crimes requiring the complaint of the offended spouse.

So:

if the wife is alleged to have committed adultery, the husband must file;
if the husband is alleged to have committed concubinage, the wife must file.

The children ordinarily cannot file either one in their own names.

13. What if the children are already adults?

Even if the children are already of legal age, the rule does not change.

Being:

an adult child,
a financially independent child,
a lawyer,
an heir,
or the one who discovered the affair

does not convert the child into the offended spouse.

Adult children may assist, gather proof, accompany the mother to counsel, or testify. But they still generally cannot be the complainants for concubinage.

14. What if the children are minors?

Minor children are even less likely to independently initiate such proceedings. Their rights would normally be asserted through:

the mother,
a guardian,
a social worker,
or counsel,

but again, for concubinage itself, the real barrier is not age but lack of legal standing as the offended spouse.

For minors, the more relevant route may be:

support,
protection orders,
VAWC-related remedies where applicable,
custody and safety interventions.

15. What if the father is separated from the mother?

Much depends on the legal status of the marriage.

If they are still legally married:

Concubinage may still be possible in principle if the statutory elements are present.

If there is legal separation:

The marriage still subsists; remarriage is not allowed. Criminal issues may still be analyzed depending on the facts.

If the marriage has been annulled, declared void, or otherwise no valid marriage exists:

Concubinage, as a crime premised on a subsisting valid marriage, may not apply in the same way.

If they are merely de facto separated:

The fact that they no longer live together does not automatically erase criminal exposure or family obligations.

Children often assume that because the parents have “been separated for years,” the father is free from liability. That is not necessarily true. In Philippine law, marital status follows legal rules, not just living arrangements.

16. What if the father has a second family?

This is common in real disputes, but the legal consequences vary.

A “second family” may raise issues of:

concubinage,
support,
legitimacy and filiation of children,
property rights,
succession,
VAWC,
bigamy if there was another marriage,
use of conjugal assets.

If the father contracted another marriage while the first valid marriage still exists:

The issue may be bigamy, which is a different crime from concubinage.

In bigamy, the persons who may initiate action and the procedural posture differ from private crimes like concubinage. Children may be involved as complainants, witnesses, or interested parties depending on the factual and prosecutorial context. Bigamy is generally treated differently from concubinage in terms of initiation and public prosecution.

So, when people ask whether children can sue because the father “has another woman,” the first legal question is not always concubinage. It may instead be:

Was there a second marriage?
Was there psychological or economic abuse?
Was there failure to support?
Were family assets diverted?
Were the children directly harmed?

17. Can children file an administrative complaint if the father is a public official or employee?

Possibly, depending on the father’s position.

If the father is:

a government official,
a judge,
a prosecutor,
a lawyer,
a teacher,
a military or police officer,
or a regulated professional,

his conduct may have administrative or ethical implications separate from the criminal case for concubinage.

In those settings, children may sometimes be complainants or witnesses if administrative rules permit and the facts support charges such as:

disgraceful or immoral conduct,
conduct unbecoming,
violation of ethical standards,
abuse of authority,
failure to support dependents.

This is not the same as filing concubinage. It is a separate avenue, governed by the rules of the relevant agency or profession.

18. Can children recover damages for emotional suffering caused by the affair?

Not automatically.

Philippine law does not generally allow children to recover damages merely because they were hurt by a parent’s infidelity in the abstract. There must be a recognized cause of action.

Possible routes could arise only if the facts support:

abuse,
actionable psychological violence,
independent tort-like civil wrongs,
defamation,
denial of support,
property deprivation,
or other legally recognized injuries.

Pure emotional pain arising from the father’s affair, without more, is usually not enough for a direct action by the children.

19. Is there a barangay remedy?

Barangay mediation may be relevant for some disputes, but not as a substitute for the legal requirements of a private criminal complaint for concubinage.

Also, cases involving marriage-based crimes, serious family abuse, or matters not subject to amicable settlement may not be finally resolved at barangay level in the way laypersons expect.

Barangay processes can sometimes help with:

support arrangements,
family conflict management,
local documentation,
referral.

But barangay officials cannot create standing for children to file concubinage if the law does not grant it.

20. What evidence is usually needed in concubinage?

This matters because many families assume rumor is enough.

Concubinage requires proof of the specific acts penalized by law. Depending on the theory, evidence may include:

proof of valid marriage,
proof the father is the husband,
proof of cohabitation,
proof of scandalous sexual relations,
proof that a mistress was kept in the conjugal dwelling,
photos, videos, messages,
neighborhood testimony,
lease contracts,
hotel or residence records,
financial documents,
testimony from the wife, children, neighbors, or other witnesses.

Children may contribute to this evidence, but again, they do not typically become the proper complainants.

21. Why is the law so restrictive?

Because private crimes historically reflect a legislative policy that the law should not force prosecution of intimate marital offenses unless the directly offended spouse chooses to proceed.

Whether that policy is ideal is a separate question. But under the traditional structure of Philippine criminal law, the purpose is to avoid:

public scandal without the spouse’s consent,
interference by outsiders,
vindictive prosecution by relatives,
prosecution despite marital forgiveness or tolerance.

Thus, the law centralizes control in the offended spouse.

22. What if the mother forgives the father?

In private crimes, forgiveness, consent, or failure to complain may have major effects.

If the wife:

condoned the conduct,
consented,
or chose not to complain,

that can bar or undermine the case.

This is another reason children cannot usually override the mother’s will. Even if the children are furious, the legal injury recognized for concubinage belongs to the wife.

23. Can children force the mother to file?

No.

There is no ordinary legal mechanism by which children can compel their mother to initiate a private criminal complaint for concubinage.

They may persuade her, assist her, or support her emotionally and financially in seeking legal counsel. But they cannot force the exercise of a personal legal choice entrusted to the offended spouse.

24. Can a guardian or attorney-in-fact file for the mother?

This is a nuanced procedural question.

In some legal contexts, authorized agents may perform acts for principals. But because concubinage is a private crime requiring a complaint by the offended spouse, courts tend to be careful and strict.

The strongest general statement is this:

Children should not assume they can use a special power of attorney or guardianship to independently prosecute concubinage unless a lawyer has carefully assessed the exact procedural basis.

For most practical purposes, the complaint must be treated as one that must personally and clearly come from the wife.

25. Are there better remedies than concubinage?

Often, yes.

In many Philippine family disputes, concubinage is emotionally understandable but strategically limited. The mother and children may obtain more practical relief through:

support actions,
VAWC complaints where facts fit,
protection orders,
legal separation,
annulment/nullity-related remedies where applicable,
custody proceedings,
property protection and accounting,
estate and succession planning,
administrative complaints if the father holds public office or a licensed profession.

Children especially tend to benefit more from remedies that secure:

food,
education,
medical support,
residence,
safety,
emotional protection,
preservation of family assets,

rather than focusing only on punishment for concubinage.

26. A practical legal breakdown

Scenario 1: The father openly lives with another woman, but the mother refuses to sue.

The children cannot usually file concubinage themselves.

Scenario 2: The father stops supporting the children because he is spending on the mistress.

The children may have remedies involving support, and the mother may also explore VAWC depending on the facts.

Scenario 3: The father married the other woman while still married to the mother.

The issue may be bigamy, not just concubinage.

Scenario 4: The mistress harasses the children or humiliates them directly.

The children may have remedies based on the specific acts committed against them, but not merely because she is the mistress.

Scenario 5: The mother wants to file and asks the children to help.

They may help gather evidence and later testify, but the complaint must generally be hers.

Scenario 6: The mother died before filing.

The children generally cannot newly initiate concubinage in her place.

27. The best distilled answer

Can children file a case against their father and a third party for concubinage?

Generally, no. In the Philippines, concubinage is a private crime, and only the offended spouse, usually the legal wife, may validly file the criminal complaint.

Can children file related cases?

Yes, in some circumstances. Depending on the facts, children may pursue or participate in cases involving:

support,
VAWC-related harm,
abuse,
property dissipation,
bigamy,
administrative liability,
or other direct wrongs committed against them.

Can children testify?

Yes. They may be witnesses and may help prove facts, but they are not usually the proper complainants for concubinage itself.

28. Final legal conclusion

Under Philippine law, children ordinarily have no legal standing to file a criminal complaint for concubinage against their father and the alleged mistress in their own names, because the offense is a private crime that must be initiated by the offended spouse. The law treats the injury in concubinage as one suffered by the spouse within the marriage, not as a criminal wrong independently prosecutable by the children.

However, that does not mean children are without legal protection. Where the father’s conduct also results in failure to support, psychological or economic abuse, diversion of family assets, bigamy, or other actionable harm, children may have remedies under other laws or may participate as witnesses and interested parties in proceedings properly brought by the mother or by the State.

So the true legal answer is:

For concubinage itself: usually no, children cannot file.
For related harms arising from the father’s conduct: sometimes yes, depending on the specific facts and legal theory.

Because these cases are highly fact-sensitive, the real question is rarely just whether there was an affair. The deeper legal question is what exact rights were violated, who has standing, and which remedy actually fits the facts.