SEVERANCE OF VOWS LETS MARRIED WOMAN REUSE HER MAIDEN NAME

Dear PAO,
Is it legal for my friend to get a new passport using her maiden name, since her passport, which has
expired, has her husbands surname on it? Their marriage has neither been annulled nor declared null
and void.
Donna

Dear Donna,
The law does not compel a married woman to use the surname of her husband, she is at liberty to use or
not to use the same. This is according to Article 370 of the New Civil Code of the Philippines, to wit:

Art. 370. A married woman may use:

(1) Her maiden first name and surname and add her husbands surname, or

(2) Her maiden first name and her husbands surname or

(3) Her husbands full name, but prefixing a word indicating that she is his wife, such as Mrs.

Clearly, the aforementioned law gives a married woman the option to use the surname of her husband
or to continue using her maiden name. Thus, a married woman is not obliged to use her husbands
surname. This was elucidated by the Supreme Court in the case of Maria Virginia V. Remo vs. The
Honorable Secretary of Foreign Affairs (G.R. No. 169202, March 5, 2010; ponente: Associate Justice
Antonio Carpio) as follows:

Clearly, a married woman has an option, but not a duty, to use the surname of the husband in any of the
ways provided by Article 370 of the Civil Code. She is therefore allowed to use not only any of the three
names provided in Article 370, but also her maiden name upon marriage. She is not prohibited from

continuously using her maiden name once she is married because when a woman marries, she does not
change her name but only her civil status. Further, this interpretation is in consonance with the principle
that surnames indicate descent.

Nevertheless, according to the case, a married woman who started to use her husbands surname in her
passport cannot revert to the use of her maiden name, unless their marriage has already been annulled,
declared null and void or she was divorced by her foreigner husband and the divorce was already
recognized in the country. The Supreme Court in this case further explained:

In the case of renewal of passport, a married woman may either adopt her husbands surname or
continuously use her maiden name. If she chooses to adopt her husbands surname in her new passport,
the DFA additionally requires the submission of an authenticated copy of the marriage certificate.
Otherwise, if she prefers to continue using her maiden name, she may still do so. The DFA will not
prohibit her from continuously using her maiden name.

However, once a married woman opted to adopt her husbands surname in her passport, she may not
revert to the use of her maiden name, except in the cases enumerated in Section 5(d) of Republic Act
8239. These instances are: (1) death of husband, (2) divorce, (3) annulment or (4) nullity of marriage.
Since petitioners marriage to her husband subsists, she may not resume her maiden name in the
replacement passport. Otherwise stated, a married womans reversion to the use of her maiden name
must be based only on the severance of the marriage.

Again, we find it necessary to mention that this opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated
and our appreciation of the same. The opinion may vary when the facts are changed or elaborated.

We hope that we were able to enlighten you on the matter.