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IN RE: PETITION FOR CHANGE OF NAME AND/OR CORRECTION OF

ENTRY IN THE CIVIL REGISTRY OF JULIAN LIN CARULASAN WONG


454 SCRA 155, GR No. 159966, (30 March 2005)
Facts: Spouses X and Y had minor A when they were not
married to each other yet. The subsequent marriage of X
and Y brought about the legitimation of A. His parents plan to
have his education in Singapore together with his sister and
to stay there for good. Since in Singapore, people do not
carry their middle names and that using such middle name
would provoke embarrassment, the mother, Y, filed in the
RTC a petition for a change of name and/or
correction/cancellation of entry of As name by dropping the
mothers surname. The trial court denied the petition. A
petition for review on certiorari was filed before the SC.
Issue: Whether or not dropping the middle name of a minor
child is contrary to Article 174 of the Family Code on the
basis of convenience for the childs best interest.
Ruling: No. This petition, unlike others, does not simply
seek to change the name of the minor and adopt another but
instead seeks to drop the middle name altogether. Generally,
our laws on the use of surnames state that legitimate and
legitimated children shall principally use the fathers
surname. The Family Code gives legitimate children the right
to bear the surnames of the father and the mother, while
illegitimate children shall use the surname of their mother,
unless their father recognizes their filiation, in which case

they may bear the fathers surnames. Therefore, an


illegitimate child whose filiation is not recognized by the
father bears only a given name and his mothers surname,
and does not have a middle name. It is only when the
illegitimate child is legitimated by the subsequent marriage of
his parents or acknowledged by the father in a public
document or private handwritten instrument that he bears
both his mothers surname as his middle name and his
fathers surname as his surname. For the grant of a change
of name, there must be proper and reasonable cause for
which the change is sought. The petitioner must show not
only some proper or compelling reason but also that he will
be prejudiced by the use of his true and official name. The
evidence need only be satisfactory to the court and not all
the best evidence available. The court should also be
mindful of the consequent results in the event of its grant.
In this case, the only reason advanced by Y for the dropping
As middle name is convenience. However, how such change
of name would make his integration into Singaporean society
easier and convenient is not clearly established. That the
continued use of his middle name would cause confusion
and difficulty does not constitute proper and reasonable
cause to drop it from his registered complete name. In
addition, considering the nebulous foundation on which his
petition for change of name is based, it is best that the
matter of change of his name be left to his judgment and
discretion when he reaches the age of majority. Petition

denied.

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