Dear PAO,

Can a person who is accused of killing his child still be convicted of parricide if the child's birth certificate cannot be presented as evidence? A criminal complaint was filed against my neighbor, who beat his child. In his testimony, my neighbor admitted inflicting harm on his child, which caused the latter's death. But he claims that he should not be convicted of parricide because there's no proof of their relationship since the complainant did not submit the child's birth certificate. Can he escape criminal responsibility simply because of that? The maternal grandmother and aunt of the child have submitted their respective testimonies, affirming the father-child relationship between the accused and the victim.