Who’s your daddy? It’s interesting to hear a father claim that he’s not the real father of the child. It may be unfair in most cases, as it’s another way of saying that the mother was unfaithful. On the other hand, I’ve known certain instances wherein the claim turned out to be correct. Anyway, last year, the Supreme Court issued the Rule on DNA Evidence. The use of DNA in cases gained popularity in recent years. The Rule is used not only in criminal cases, but also in paternity disputes, and the discussions in these cases are instructive as to the history and nature of this kind of evidence.
For instance, in a case involving the identity of a missing son (Tijing vs. Tijing), the Supreme Court noted that:
Parentage will still be resolved using conventional methods unless we adopt the modern and scientific ways available. Fortunately, we have now the facility and expertise in using DNA test for identification and parentage testing. The University of the Philippines Natural Science Research Institute (UP-NSRI) DNA Analysis Laboratory has now the capability to conduct DNA typing using short tandem repeat (STR) analysis. The analysis is based on the fact that the DNA of a child/person has two (2) copies, one copy from the mother and the other from the father. The DNA from the mother, the alleged father and child are analyzed to establish parentage. Of course, being a novel scientific technique, the use of DNA test as evidence is still open to challenge.
Eventually, as the appropriate case comes, courts should not hesitate to rule on the admissibility of DNA evidence. For it was said, that courts should apply the results of science when competently obtained in aid of situations presented, since to reject said result is to deny progress. Though it is not necessary in this case to resort to DNA testing, in future it would be useful to all concerned in the prompt resolution of parentage and identity issues.
The new Rule provides that DNA results that exclude the putative parent from paternity shall be conclusive proof of non-paternity. If the value of the Probability of Paternity is less than 99.9%, the results of the DNA testing shall be considered as corroborative evidence. If the value of the Probability of Paternity is 99.9% or higher, there shall be a disputable presumption of paternity. Wala nang lusot. 
