MANILA, Jan. 31 -- The Supreme Court has ruled that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) continue to exercise parental authority and even sole custody over their children despite being abroad.

This was affirmed by the SC's Second Division in a ruling posted online on Jan. 30, awarding an OFW sole custody of her minor children, with provisional custody granted to the children's grandmother who lives with them in the Philippines.

In 2017, the mother separated from the children's father after four years of marriage. They agreed to share joint custody of their children, provided that the father would give financial support.

The mother later moved to France for work, leaving the children in the father's care. When she learned that the father wo...