RULE 108

RULE 108CANCELLATION OR CORRECTION OF ENTRIES IN THE CIVIL REGISTRY

By: REBECCA M. BILOG

RULE 103, RA 9048 and RULE 108DISTINGUISHEDRULE 103RA 9048RULE 108Change of NameClerical Error ActCancellation/ Correction of Entries in the Civil RegistryTITLEWHERE TO FILE?RULE 103RA 9048RULE 108RTC where the petitioner residesCity or Municipal Civil Registrar or Consul GeneralRTC where the corresponding Civil Registry is locatedRULE 103RA 9048RULE 108Person desiring to change his namePerson having direct and personal interest in the correctionPerson interested in any acts, event, order or decreeWHO MAY FILE?R 103RA 9048RULE 108Change of name onlyChange of first name and nicknameAll cancellation or correction of entries of: (a) births; (b) marriages; (c) deaths; (d) legal separation;e) judgments or annulments of marriage; (f) judgments declaring marriages void from the beginning;(g) legitimations; (h) adoptions; (i) acknowledgments of natural children;(j) naturalizations; (k) election, loss or recovery of citizenship; (l) civil interdiction; (m) judicial determination of filiation; (n) voluntary emancipation of a minorWHAT TO FILE?RULE 103RA 9048R 108(a) Name is ridiculous, dishonorable or extremely difficult to write or pronounce;(b)Change is a legal consequence of legitimation or adoption;(c)Change will avoid confusion;(d) One has continuously used and been known since childhood by a Filipino name and was unaware of alien parentage;(e) Change is based on a sincere desire to adopt a Filipino name to erase signs of former alienage, all in good faith and without prejudice to anybody; (f)Surname causes embarrassment and there is no showing that the desired change of name was for a fraudulent purpose, or that change of name would prejudice public interest a) First name or nickname is found to be ridiculous, tainted with dishonor or extremely difficult to write or pronounce;

b)The first name or nickname has been habitually and continuous used by petitioner publicly known by that first name or nickname in the community;c)Change will avoid confusion.Upon good and valid groundsWHAT ARE THE GROUNDS?RULE 103RA 9048RULE 108Entry is correct but petitioner desires to change the entryEntry is incorrect.Cancellation or correction of correct or incorrect entriesWHAT IS WRONG?RULE 103RA 9048RULE 108Judicial Proceeding-Involves substantial changesAdministrative Proceeding- Involves clerical or typographical errorsSummary- Involves mere clerical errors Adversarial- Involves substantial changes; the change affects the civil status, citizenship or nationality of a partyWHAT ARE THE PROCEEDING?RULE 103RA 9048RULE 108Order for hearing to be published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the province.Petition shall be published at least once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation. Also to be posted in a conspicuous place for ten consecutive days.Order shall also be published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the province, and court shall cause reasonable notice to persons named in the petition.PUBLICATIONSHOULD A PETITION FOR THE CORRECTION IN THE ENTRIES IN ONES BIRTH CERTIFICATE BE GRANTED BY REASON OF SEX CHANGE?No. Under the statutory language of the Civil Register Law, the term sex as used is something not alterable through surgery or something that allows a post-operative male-to-female transsexual to be included in the category female.(Rommel Jacinto Dantes Silverio vs Republic)10MAY A COURT CHANGE THE GENDER OF A PERSON BY REASON OF MEDICAL CONDITION?Yes. It is a judicial discretion to be exercised by the courts in the light of the reasons adduced and the consequences that will follow.Principles laid down by SC in the Cagandahan case:Where the person is biologically or naturally intersex, the determining factor in his gender classification would be what the individual, having reached the age of majority, with good reason thinks of his/her sex;To the person with Congenital Andrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) belongs to the human right to the pursuit of happiness and of health, and to him should belong the primordial choice of what courses of action to take along the path of his sexual development and maturation; andThere is merit in the change of name of a person with Congenital Andrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) where the same is the consequence of the recognition of his preferred gender.

11BAR QUESTION 2005Helen is the daughter of Eliza, a Filipina, and Tony, a Chinese, who is married to another woman living in China. Her birth certificate indicates that Helen is the legitimate child of Tony and Eliza and that she is a Chinese citizen.She wants her birth certificate be corrected by changing her filiation from legitimate to illegitimate and her citizenship from Chinese to Filipino because her parents were not married.Q:What petition should Helen file and what procedural requirements must be observed?A:To file a petition for correction of entry of birth record by changing her filiation from legitimate to illegitimate and her citizenship from Chinese to Filipino because her parents were not married. The petition is adversarial in character provided in Rule 108.

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