Uy vs. CA the summary judicial proceedings under FC.
the summary judicial proceedings under FC. SC further held
GR No. 109557, November 29, 2000
Dr. Ernesto Jardelaza suffered stroke that rendered him
comatose. Gilda, wife of the latter, filed a petition in RTC
Iloilo to be allowed as sole administrator of their conjugal
property and be authorized to sell the same as her husband
is physically incapacitated to discharge his functions. She
further contest that such illness of the husband
necessitated expenses that would require her to sell their
property in Lot 4291 and its improvement to meet such
necessities. RTC ruled in favor of Gilda contending that
such decision is pursuant to Article 124 of FC and that the
proceedings thereon are governed by the rules on summary
proceedings.
The son of the spouses, Teodoro, filed a motion for
reconsideration contending that the petition made by her
mother was essentially a petition for guardianship of the
person and properties of his father. As such it cannot be
prosecuted in accordance with the provisions on summary
proceedings instead it should follows the ruled governing
special proceedings in the Revised Rules of Court requiring
procedural due process particularly the need for notice and
a hearing on the merits. He further reiterated that Chapter
2 of the FC comes under the heading on “Separation in Fact
Between Husband and Wife” contemplating a situation
where both spouses are of disposing mind. Hence, he
argued that this should not be applied in their case.
During the pendency of the motion, Gilda sold the property
to her daughter and son in law. Upon the appeal by
Teodoro, CA reversed the decision of the lower court.
ISSUE: WON Gilda as the wife of a husband who suffered
stroke, a cerebrovascular accident rendering him comatose,
without motor and mental faculties, may assume sole
powers of administration of the conjugal property and
dispose a parcel of land with improvements.
HELD:
SC ruled in favor of Teodoro. The rule on summary
proceedings does not apply to cases where the non-
consenting spouse is incapacitated or incompetent to give
consent. In this case, trial court found that subject spouse
was incompetent who was in a comatose condition and
with a diagnosis of brain stem infract. Hence, the proper
remedy is a judicial guardianship proceeding under the
Revised Rules of Court. The law provides that wife who
assumes sole powers of administration has the same
powers and duties as a guardian. Consequently, a spouse
who desires to sell real property as administrator of the
conjugal property, must observe the procedure for the sale
of the ward’s estate required of judicial guardians, and not
what are left for the scope of operation of Rule 108 are
that such incapacity of the trial court to provide for an
opportunity to be heard is null and void on the ground of
lack of due process.
REPUBLIC ACT 9048
Republic Act No. 9048 or the “Clerical Error Act” which was
passed by Congress on February 8, 2001 amended Articles
376 and 412 of the New Civil Code. Republic Act No. 10172
or “An Act Further Authorizing the City or Municipal Civil
Registrar or the Consul General to Correct Clerical or
Typographical Errors in the Day and Month in the Date of
Birth or Sex of a Person Appearing in the Civil Register
Without Need of a Judicial Order amended Sections 1, 2, 5
and 8 of Republic Act No. 9048.
Cases Covered:
1. Clerical or typographical errors and change of first name
or nickname
2. Clerical or typographical errors and change of the day
and month in the date of birth
3. Clerical or typographical errors and change of sex of a
person where it is patently clear there was clerical or
typographical error or mistake in the entry (Sec. 1, R.A. No.
9048, as amended by R.A. No. 10172).
General Rule: No entry in a civil register shall be changed or
corrected without a judicial order.
Exception: Clerical or typographical errors and change of
first name or nickname which can be corrected or changed
by the concerned city or municipal civil registrar or consul
general in accordance with the provisions of this Act and its
implementing rules and regulations.
Clerical or typographical error
A mistake committed in the performance of clerical work in
writing, copying, transcribing or typing an entry in the civil
register that is harmless and innocuous, such as a
misspelled name or misspelled place of birth or the like,
which is visible to the eyes or obvious to the understanding,
and can be corrected or changed only by reference to other
existing record or records: Provided, however, That no
correction must involve the change of nationality, age or
status of the petitioner (Sec. 2 [3] R.A. No. 9048, as
amended by Sec. 2 R.A. No. 10172).
Note: It may be very well said that Republic Act No. 9048 is
Congress' response to the confusion wrought by the failure
to delineate as to what exactly is that socalled summary
procedure for changes or corrections of a harmless or
innocuous nature as distinguished from that appropriate
adversary proceeding for changes or corrections of a
substantial kind. The obvious effect is to remove from the
ambit of Rule 108 the correction or changing of clerical or
typographical errors in entries of the civil register. Hence,
3. Any other person duly authorized by law or by the owner
substantial changes and corrections in entries of the civil
register (Lee v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 118387, October
11, 2001).
Petition for change of name (Rule 103) and petition for
cancellation or correction of entries (Rule 108) are distinct
proceedings. Hence, a party cannot change his name and
correct an entry in a single petition without satisfying the
jurisdictional requirements (Herrera, p.564).
The cancellation or correction of entries in the Civil Registry
is a proceeding in rem. Strict compliance with all
jurisdictional requirements, particularly on publication, is
essential in order to vest the court with jurisdiction
(Regalado, p. 193).
Definition of terms:
1. First name – refers to a name or nickname given to a
person which may consist of one or more names in addition
to the middle and last names.
2. Migrant petitioner – refers to a petitioner whose present
residence or domicile is different from the place where the
civil registry record to be corrected was registered.
3. Record-keeping civil registrar – refers to the
City/Municipal Civil Registrar in whose archive is kept the
record, which contains the error to be corrected or the first
name to be changed. This term shall be used only in cases
involving migrant petitioner.
4. Petition-receiving civil registrar – refers to the
City/Municipal Civil Registrar of the city or municipality
where the petitioner resides or is domiciled and who
receives the petition on behalf of the Record-keeping Civil
Registrar in the case of a migrant petitioner.
Grounds:
1. The petitioner finds the first name or nickname to be
ridiculous, tainted with dishonor or extremely difficult to
write or pronounce;
2. The new first name or nickname has been habitually and
continuously used by the petitioner and he has been
publicly known by the first name or nickname in the
community; or
3. The change will avoid confusion (Sec. 4).
Who may file: Any person of legal age, having direct and
personal interest in the correction of a clerical or
typographical error in an entry and/or change of first name
or nickname in the civil register (Sec. 3).
Person with direct and personal interest:
1. He is the owner of the record; or
2. The owner’s spouse, children, parents, brothers, sisters,
grandparents, guardian; or
of the document sought to be corrected.
Provided, that when a person is a minor or physically or
mentally incapacitated: petition may be filed on his behalf
by his spouse, or any of his children, parents, brothers,
sisters, grandparents, guardians, or persons duly authorized
by law (Sec. 3).
Where to file:
1. Local civil registry office or Clerk of the Shari’a Court
where the record being sought to be corrected or changed
is kept;
2. If petitioner has already migrated to another place in the
country: petition-receiving civil registrar of the place where
the interested party is presently residing or domiciled (Rule
4, Implementing Rules & Regulations);
3. Citizens of the Philippines who are presently residing or
domiciled in foreign countries: nearest Philippine
Consulates (Sec. 3).
Contents of the petition:
The petition shall be in the form of an affidavit, subscribed
and sworn to before any person authorized by the law to
administer oaths and shall set forth:
1. The facts necessary to establish the merits of the
petition;
2. That the petitioner is competent to testify to the matters
stated;
3. The erroneous entry which are sought to be corrected;
4. All names by which petitioner is known (Secan Kok v.
Republic of the Philippines, supra).
Annexes to the petition
1. A certified true copy of the certificate or of the page of
the registry book containing the entries sought to be
corrected or changed;
2. At least 2 public or private documents showing the
correct entries upon which correction or change shall be
based;
3. Other documents which the petitioner or the city or
municipal civil registrar or the consul general may consider
relevant and necessary for the approval of the petition;
4. For correction of erroneous entry of date of birth or the
sex of a person: earliest school record or earliest school
documents such as, but not limited to, medical records,
baptismal certificate and other documents issued by
religious authorities;
5. For change of gender corrected: certification issued by an
accredited government physician attesting to the fact that
the petitioner has not undergone sex change or sex
transplant.
6. Certification from appropriate law enforcement agencies
that the petitioner has no pending case or no criminal
record (Sec. 5 as amended by Sec. 3, R.A. No. 10172).
Publication requirement: The petition must be published at
least once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper
of general circulation.
Copies of the petition shall be given to: the city or municipal
civil registrar, or the consul general; the Office of the Civil
Registrar General; and the petitioner (Sec. 5).
Duties of the city/municipal civil registrar or the Consul
General: 1. Examine the petition and its supporting
documents; 2. Post the petition in a conspicuous place
provided for that purpose for 10 consecutive days after he
finds the petition and its supporting documents sufficient in
form and substance; 3. Act on the petition and render a
decision not later than 5 working days after the completion
of the posting and/or publication requirement; 4. Transmit
a copy of his decision together with the records of the
proceedings to the Office of the Civil Registrar General
within 5 working days from the date of the decision (Sec. 6).
Duties and powers of the civil registrar general
1. Within 10 working days from receipt of the decision
granting the petition, the Civil Registrar General shall
exercise the power to impugn such decision by way of an
objection based on the following grounds:
a. The error is not clerical or typographical;
b. The correction of entries is substantial or
controversial as it affects the civil status of a
person; and
c.The basis used in changing the first or nick
name of a person does not fall under those
provided by law.
2. The Civil Registrar General shall immediately notify the
city/municipal civil registrar or the consul general of the
action taken on the decision.
3. He has appellate powers over the decision of the local
civil registrars or consul general (Sec. 7).
If the Civil Registrar General fails to exercise his power to
impugn within the prescribed period, the decision of the
city/municipal civil registrar or the consul general shall
become final and executor (Sec. 7).
Effect of approving the petition for change of name:
The change shall be reflected in the birth certificate by way
of marginal annotation. In case there are other civil registry
records of the same person which are affected by such
change, the decision of approving the change of first name
in the birth certificate, upon becoming final and executory,
shall be sufficient to be used as basis in changing the first
name of the same person in his other affected records
without need for filing a similar petition. In such a case, the
successful petitioner shall file a request in writing with the
concerned LCR or Consul to make such marginal annotation
(Rule 12, Implementing Rules & Regulations 9048, July 24,
2001).
Availment of the privilege: The correction of clerical or
typographical error shall be availed of only once with
respect to a particular entry or entries in the same civil
registry record. In case of change of first name or nickname
in the birth certificate, the privilege shall be availed of only
once, subject to the provisions of Rule 12 of the
Implementing Rules & Regulations (Rule 7, IRR 9048).
Payment of Fees:
The city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general
shall be authorized to collect reasonable fees as a condition
for accepting the petition. An indigent petitioner shall be
exempt from the payment of said fee. (Sec. 8 as amended
by Sec. 4, R.A. No. 10172)
Note: In case of a migrant petitioner, the petition shall be
posted first at the office of the petition-receiving civil
registrar for 10 consecutive days before sending it to the
record-keeping civil registrar. Upon receipt, the RKCR shall
post again the petition in his office for another 10
consecutive days (Rule 9, IRR 9048).
In the case where a person’s civil registry record or records
were registered in the Philippines or in any of the Philippine
Consulates, but the persons presently resides or is
domiciled in a foreign country, posting and/or publication,
as the case may be, shall be done in the place where the
petition is filed and in the place where the record sought to
be corrected is kept (Rule 9, IRR 9048).
Grounds for impugning the decision granting the petition
1. Error is not clerical or typographical;
2. Correction of an entry or entries in the civil register is
substantial or controversial as it affects the civil status of a
person; or
3. The basis used in changing the first name or nickname
does not fall under any of the grounds.
See Comparative Chart: Rule 103, Rule 108, R.A. No. 9048
on Page 252.
Republic Act No. 10172
AN ACT FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY OR MUNICIPAL
CIVIL REGISTRAR OR THE CONSUL GENERAL TO CORRECT
CLERICAL OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS IN THE DAY AND
MONTH IN THE DATE OF BIRTH OR SEX OF A PERSON
APPEARING IN THE CIVIL REGISTER WITHOUT NEED OF A
JUDICIAL ORDER, AMENDING FOR THIS PURPOSE
REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED NINETY FORTY-EIGHT
SECTION 1. Section 1 of Republic Act No. 9048, hereinafter
referred to as the Act, is hereby amended to read as
follows:
“SECTION 1. Authority to Correct Clerical or Typographical
Error and Change of First Name or Nickname. – No entry in
a civil register shall be changed or corrected without a
judicial order, except for clerical or typographical errors and
change of first name or nickname, the day and month in the
date of birth or sex of a person where it is patently clear
that there was a clerical or typographical error or mistake in
the entry, which can be corrected or changed by the
concerned city or municipal civil registrar or consul general
in accordance with the provisions of this Act and its
implementing rules and regulations.”
SEC. 2. Section 2, paragraph (3) of the Act is likewise
amended to read as follows:
“SEC. 2. Definition of Terms. – As used in this Act, the
following terms shall mean:
(1) xxx xxx
(2) xxx xxx
(3) ‘Clerical or typographical error’ refers to a mistake
committed in the performance of clerical work in writing,
copying, transcribing or typing an entry in the civil register
that is harmless and innocuous, such as misspelled name or
misspelled place of birth, mistake in the entry of day and
month in the date of birth or the sex of the person or the
like, which is visible to the eyes or obvious to the
understanding, and can be corrected or changed only by
reference to other existing record or records: Provided,
however, That no correction must involve the change of
nationality, age, or status of the petitioner.”
SEC. 3. Section 5 of the Act is hereby amended to read as
follows:
“SEC. 5. Form and Contents of the Petition. – The petition
for correction of a clerical or typographical error, or for
change of first name or nickname, as the case may be, shall
be in the form of an affidavit, subscribed and sworn to
before any person authorized by law to administer oaths.
The affidavit shall set forth facts necessary to establish the
merits of the petition and shall show affirmatively that the
petitioner is competent to testify to the matters stated. The
petitioner shall state the particular erroneous entry or
entries, which are sought to be corrected and/or the
change sought to be made.
The petition shall be supported with the following
documents:
(1) A certified true machine copy of the certificate or of the
page of the registry book containing the entry or entries
sought to be corrected or changed;
(2) At least two (2) public or private documents showing the
correct entry or entries upon which the correction or
change shall be based; and
(3) Other documents which the petitioner or the city or
municipal civil registrar or the consul general may consider
relevant and necessary for the approval of the petition.
No petition for correction of erroneous entry concerning
the date of birth or the sex of a person shall be entertained
except if the petition is accompanied by earliest school
record or earliest school documents such as, but not limited
to, medical records, baptismal certificate and other
documents issued by religious authorities; nor shall any
entry involving change of gender corrected except if the
petition is accompanied by a certification issued by an
accredited government physician attesting to the fact that
the petitioner has not undergone sex change or sex
transplant. The petition for change of first name or
nickname, or for correction of erroneous entry concerning
the day and month in the date of birth or the sex of a
person, as the case may be, shall be published at least once
a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of
general circulation.
Furthermore, the petitioner shall submit a certification from
the appropriate law enforcements, agencies that he has no
pending case or no criminal record.
The petition and its supporting papers shall be filed in three
(3) copies to be distributed as follows: first copy to the
concerned city or municipal civil registrar, or the consul
general; second copy to the Office of the Civil Registrar
General; and third copy to the petitioner.”
SEC. 4. Section 8 of the Act is hereby amended to read as
follows:
“SEC. 8. Payment of Fees. – The city or municipal civil
registrar or the consul general shall be authorized to collect
reasonable fees as a condition for accepting the petition. An
indigent petitioner shall be exempt from the payment of
the said fee.
The fees collected by the city or municipal civil registrar or
the consul general pursuant to this Act shall accrue to the
funds of the Local Civil Registry Office concerned or the
Office of the Consul General for modernization of the office
and hiring of new personnel and procurement of supplies,
subject to government accounting and auditing rules.”
SEC. 5. Separability Clause. – If any provision of this Act shall
at any time be found to be unconstitutional or invalid, the
remainder thereof not affected by such declaration shall
remain in full force and effect.
SEC. 6. Repealing Clause. – Any laws, decrees, rules or
regulations inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are
hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
SEC. 7. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect fifteen
(15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in at
least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
RULE 103 CHANGE OF NAME
Petition for Change of Name
Court order fixing the date and place of hearing
Publication of the court order fixing the date and place of
hearing, at least once a week for 3 successive weeks in a
newspaper of general circulation
Hearing on the Petition
Judgment granting / denying the change of name. Copy of
the judgment shall be served upon the civil registrar, who
shall annotate the same
Applicability of Rule 103
An alien can petition for a change of name but he must be
domiciled in the Philippines (Ong Huan Tin v. Republic of
the Philippines, G.R. No. L-20997, April 27, 1967).
The name that can be changed is the name that appears in
the civil register, and not in the baptismal certificate or that
by which the person is known in the community (Ng Yao
Siong v. Republic of the Philippines, G.R. No. L20306, March
31, 1966).
Legal separation is not a ground for the female spouse for a
change of name under Rule 103 (Laperal v. Republic of the
Philippines, G.R. No. L-18008, October 30, 1962).
A change of name granted by the court affects only a
petitioner. A separate petition for change of name must be
filed for his/her spouse and children (Secan Kok v. Republic
of the Philippines, G.R. No. L-27621, August 30, 1973).
Sex reassignment is not a valid ground to change one’s first
name (applies to both Rule 103 and R.A. No. 9048) (Silverio
v. Republic of the Philippines, G.R. No. 174689, October 22,
2007).
SECTION 1. VENUE
The RTC of the province where the petitioner has been
residing for 3 years prior to the filing of the petition.
A change of name is a proceeding in rem. Jurisdiction to
hear and determine the petition for change of name is
acquired after due publication of the order containing
certain data (Secan Kok v. Republic of the Philippines,
supra).
The State has an interest in the names borne by individuals
and entries for purposes of identification, and that a change
of name is a privilege and not a right, so that before a
person can be authorized to change his name given him
either in his certificate of birth or civil registry, he must
show proper or reasonable cause, or any compelling reason
which may justify such change (In Re: Julian Lin Carulasan
Wang v. Cebu City Civil Registrar, G.R. No. 159966, March
30, 2005).
SECTION 2. CONTENTS OF PETITION
1. That petitioner is a bona fide resident of the province
where petition is filed for at least three years prior to the
date of filing;
2. Cause for change of name;
3. Name asked for;
4. All names by which petitioner is known (Secan Kok v.
Republic of the Philippines, supra).
The petition shall be signed and verified by the person
desiring his name changed or some other person in his
behalf.
Requirement of verification is a formal, and not a
jurisdictional requisite. It is not a ground for dismissing
petition.
Under Rule 103, the word “person” is a generic term which
is not limited to Filipino citizens, but embraces all natural
persons. The rule does not even require that the citizenship
of the petitioner be stated in the petition (Yu v. Republic of
the Philippines, G.R. No. L-20874, May 25, 1966).
All of the applicant’s aliases must be stated in the petition’s
title. Otherwise, it would be a fatal defect (Go Chiu Beng v.
Republic of the Philippines, G.R. No. L29574, August 18,
1972).
Jurisdictional requirements
1. The verified petition should be published for three
successive weeks in some newspaper of general circulation
in the province;
2. Both the title or caption of the petition and its body shall
recite:
a. Name/names or aliases of the applicant;
b. Cause for which the change of name is
sought;
c.New name asked for (Secan Kok v. Republic of
the Philippines, supra.).
Petition should be filed by applicant upon reaching the age
of majority (Regalado, p. 191).
Ratio: A change of name is a matter of public interest
(Secan Kok v. Republic of the Philippines, supra).
SECTION 3. ORDER FOR HEARING
Hearing shall not be within 30 days prior to an election nor
within 4 months after the last publication of notice of
hearing.
The court shall promulgate an order:
1. Recital of the purpose of the petition;
2. Fix the date and place of hearing; and
3. Direct that a copy of the order be published before the
hearing for once a week for three consecutive weeks in a
newspaper of general circulation.
Effect of discrepancy in the petition and published order:
The defect in the petition and the order, as to the spelling
of the name of the petitioner, is substantial, because it did
not correctly identify the party to said proceedings.
Grounds for change of name (R-CHEN
1. Name is ridiculous, tainted with dishonor or extremely
difficult to write or pronounce;
2. Consequence of a change of status; e.g. legitimated child;
3. Habitual and continuous use and has been known since
childhood by a Filipino name, unaware of her alien
parentage;
4. A sincere desire to adopt a Filipino name to erase signs of
former alienage, all in good faith and without prejudicing
anybody; or
5. Necessity to avoid confusion;
Title of petition must contain the following:
1. Official name (birth certificate) – be very particular with
the spelling because it may avoid or annul the proceedings;
it is jurisdictional;
2. All aliases; and
3. Name asked for.
Note: All the names or aliases must appear in the title or
caption of the petition, because the reader usually merely
glances at the title of the petition and may only proceed to
read the entire petition if the title is of interest to him
(Secan Kok v. Republic of the Philippines, supra).
The non-inclusion of all the names or aliases of the
applicant in the caption of the order or in the title of the
petition defeats the very purpose of the required
publication (Republic of the Philippines v. Zosa, G.R. No. L-
48762, September 12, 1988).
SECTION 4. HEARING
Who may oppose the petition
1. Any interested person;
2. The Republic of the Philippines through the Solicitor
General or the proper provincial or city prosecutor.
SECTION 5. JUDGMENT A change of name granted by the
court affects only the petitioner. A separate petition for
change of name must be filed for his wife or children (Secan
Kok v. Republic of the Philippines, supra).
A decree of adoption grants the adoptee the right to use
the adopter’s surname, if change of first name is so desired,
it must be prayed and alleged in the petition for adoption
(Sec. 16, A.M. No. 02-6-02-SC).
SECTION 6. SERVICE OF JUDGMENT
Civil Registrar of the city or municipality where the court is
situated shall be furnished with a copy of the judgment.
Consequence of a grant to change name: A mere change of
name would not cause a change in one’s existing family
relations, nor create new family rights and duties where
none exists before. Neither would it affect a person’s legal
capacity, civil status or citizenship. What would be altered is
the word or group of words by which he is identified and
distinguished from the rest of his fellow men (Ang Chay v.
Republic of the Philippines, G.R. No. L28507, July 31, 1970).
Note: When the marriage ties or vinculum no longer exists
as in the case of death of a husband or divorce as
authorized by the Muslim Code, the widow or divorcee
need not seek judicial confirmation of the change in her civil
status in order to revert to her maiden name as the use of
her former husband’s name is optional and not obligatory
for her. Neither is she required to secure judicial authority
to use the surname of her husband after the marriage as no
law requires it (Yasin v. Shari’a District Court, G.R. No.
94986, 23 February 1995).
Note
RULE 108 CANCELATION OR CORRECTION OF ENTRIES IN
THE CIVIL REGISTRY
Petition for Cancellation or Correction of any entry relating
to an act, event order or decree concerning the civil status
Court order fixing the date and place for Hearing
Publication of the court order at least once a week for 3
successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation,
with reasonable notice given to persons named in the
petition
Filing of opposition by the civil registrar and any person
having/claiming interest under the entry whose
cancellation/correction is sought, within 15 days from
notice of the petition or from the last date of publication of
the notice
Hearing on the petition
Judgment granting/denying the petition. Copy of the
judgment shall be served upon the civil registrar, who shall
annotate the same
SECTION 1. WHO MAY FILE PETITION
 Any person interested in any act, event, order or decree
concerning the civil status of persons recorded in the civil
registry.
Where filed: RTC of the province where the corresponding
civil registrar is located.
Proceedings under Rule 108 may be summary or
adversarial
1. Summary – when the correction sought to be made is a
mere clerical error (now governed by R.A. No. 9048).
2. Adversarial - where the rectification affects civil status,
citizenship or nationality of a party or any other substantial
change.
Requisites of adversarial proceedings
1. Petition is filed before the court having jurisdiction over
the impleaded civil registrar and all interested parties;
(Sec.3)
2. The order of the hearing must be published once a week
for three consecutive weeks;
3. Notice thereof must be given to the Civil Registrar and all
parties affected thereby;
4. The civil registrar and any person having or claiming any
interest under the entry whose cancellation or correction is
sought may, within 15 days from notice of the petition or
from the last date of publication of such notice, file his
opposition thereto;
5. Full blown trial.
Proceedings for the correction of entries should not be
considered as establishing one’s status in a manner
conclusively beyond dispute. The status corrected would
not have a superior quality for evidentiary purposes. There
is no increase or diminution of substantive right (Chiao Ben
Lim v. Zosa, G.R. No. L- 40252, December 29, 1986).
SECTION 2. ENTRIES SUBJECT TO CANCELLATION OR
CORRECTION (BMD LAVLAA- NEC JVC)
1. Births;
2. Marriages;
3. Deaths;
4. Legal separations;
5. Judgments of annulments of marriage;
6. Judgments declaring marriages void from the beginning;
7. Legitimations;
8. Adoptions;
9. Acknowledgments of natural children;
10. Naturalization;
11. Election, loss or recovery of citizenship;
12. Civil interdiction;
13. Judicial determination of filiation;
14. Voluntary emancipation of a minor;
15. Change of name.
Even substantial errors in a civil registry may be corrected belong the primordial choice of what courses of action to
and the true facts established provided the parties take along the path of his sexual development and
aggrieved by the error avail themselves of the appropriate maturation.
adversary proceedings (Republic of the Philippines v. 3. There is merit in the change of name of a person with
Valencia, G.R. No. L-32181, March 5, 1986). CAH where the same is the consequence of the recognition
of his preferred gender.
Adversarial proceeding
One that has opposing parties; contested as distinguished SECTION 3. PARTIES
from an ex parte application, one of which the party seeking 1. Civil registrar;
relief has given legal warning to the other party, and 2. All persons who have or claim any interest which would
afforded the latter an opportunity to contest it (Republic v. be affected thereby.
Valencia, supra).
SECTION 4. NOTICE AND PUBLICATION
Rule 108, when all the procedural requirements thereunder Order of hearing shall be published once a week for 3
are followed, is the appropriate adversary proceeding to consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in
effect substantial correction and changes in entries of the the province and all persons named in the petition shall be
civil register (Lee v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. L-118387, notified.
Oct. 11, 2001). SECTION 5. OPPOSITION
Whether a petition under Rule 108 can be granted by The following are entitled to oppose the petition:
reason of “sex change” or “sec reassignment”: 1. The Civil Registrar; and
No. Since the statutory language of the Civil Register Law 2. Any person having or claiming any interest under the
was enacted in the early 1900s and remains unchanged, it entry whose cancellation or correction is sought.
cannot be argued that the terms “sex” as used then is
something alterable through surgery or something that Within 15 days from notice of the petition or from date of
allows a post-operative male-to-female transsexual to be last publication.
included in the category of “female” (Silverio v. Republic of
the Philippines, G.R. No. 174689, October 22, 2007). SECTION 6. EXPEDITING PROCEEDINGS
The court may also grant preliminary injunction for the
Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) preservation of the rights of the parties pending such
This condition causes the early or “inappropriate” proceedings.
appearance of male characteristics. x x x. CAH is one of
many conditions that involves intersex anatomy. During the SECTION 7.
twentieth century, medicine adopted the term ORDER The Civil Registrar shall be given a copy of the
“intersexuality” to apply to human beings who cannot be judgment and annotate the same on his record
classified as either male or female. The term is now of
widespread use. According to Wikipedia, intersexuality “is
the state of a living thing of a gonochoristic species whose
sex chromosomes, genitalia, and/or secondary sex
characteristics are determined to be neither exclusively
male nor female. An organism with intersex may have
biological characteristics of both male and female sexes”
(Republic of the Philippines v. Jennifer Cagandahan, G.R.
No. 166676, September 12, 2008).
Principles laid down by the SC in Republic of the
Philippines v. Cagandahan:
1. 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; sexual
development in cases of intersex persons makes the gender
classification at birth inconclusive – it is at maturity that the
gender of such persons is fixed.
2. To the person with CAH belongs the human right to the
pursuit of happiness and of health, and to him should