Four out of 10 paternity tests have negative results

Four out of 10 DNA tests on paternity issues conducted in Panama are negative, according to information from the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (IMELCF).

These DNA tests in our country are very common and are not only done to resolve paternity issues, but are also done to check family kinship, especially to air issues of family inheritance disputes.

According to IMELCF figures, 740 paternity DNA tests were requested in 2017, of which a total of 595 have been resolved to date.

Meanwhile, as of 2018, a total of 274 paternity tests have been requested. The evidence required to resolve paternity proceedings between 35 per cent and 40 per cent is negative.

Thais Díaz, head of the Biomolecular Analysis Laboratory of IMELCF, indicated that when a case of negative parenthood occurs, what is done is to reconfirm the test, that is, to re-analyze the alleged father to be sure of the outcome.

In general, such paternity tests are requested by the Courts for Children and Adolescents, the Family Court, the Electoral Tribunal (TE), specifically the part of the Civil Registry, Senniaf, among others.

These tests are requested by means of an informal note presenting all the names of those who need to be tested.'

After this, on an assigned date, samples are taken of those involved (i.e. the alleged father, mother and child) by an appropriate staff, and this is done in the utmost discretion to guarantee and respect the human rights of the people concerned.

According to data, this test per person has an approximate cost of $40, so in the case of paternity (father, mother and child) it would cost the State $120, which includes only reagents and inputs to be able to perform them.

As of 1 December last year, tests are carried out only in the province of Veraguas, so samples from all provinces are taken to this point.

The head of the Biomolecular Analysis Laboratory of IMELCF indicated that this type of testing is most requested in the province of Panama, followed by Chiriquí and Coclé.

These tests can usually be ready in less than 48 hours, depending on the type being done.

Formas de pedirla

Corina Cano, a lawyer for Family, indicated that this evidence is usually given in cases where couples do not have a stable relationship and there is doubt about paternity.

There are two ways of applying for it, the first being when a person points to a certain subject that he is the father, after that the Civil Registry notifies it, and that person in 10 days denies paternity and the subject passes to a court that determines the evidence to clear the doubt.

The other way is that the father wants to recognize the child and the mother refuses; there the person concerned submits an application for filiation to the Children's and Adolescents' Court, where he requests DNA testing to prove that he is indeed the parent of the minor.

Cano indicated that another situation is that many parents go to the private party to perform DNA tests for paternity, however, when they are presented in a legal dispute they have no value, and the court or the person requesting it again asks them for legal proof in order to have no doubt.