RULE

108
CANCELLATION OR CORRECTION OF ENTRIES IN
THE CIVIL REGISTRY
By: REBECCA M. BILOG

RULE 103, RA 9048 and RULE

108
DISTINGUISHED

TITLE
RULE 103
RA 9048
Change of Clerical
Name
Error Act

RULE 108
Cancellation/
Correction of
Entries in the Civil
Registry

WHERE TO FILE?
RULE 103
RA 9048
RTC where the City or
petitioner
Municipal Civil
resides
Registrar or
Consul
General

RULE 108
RTC where the
corresponding
Civil Registry
is located

WHO MAY FILE?

RULE 103
Person
desiring to
change his
name

RA 9048
Person having
direct and
personal
interest in the
correction

RULE 108
Person
interested in
any acts,
event, order or
decree

WHAT TO FILE?
R
103
Chang
e of
name
only

RA
9048
Change
of first
name
and
nickname

RULE 108
All 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;

(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

WHAT ARE THE GROUNDS?

R
108
(a) Name is ridiculous, dishonorable or
a) First name or
Upon
extremely difficult to write or pronounce; nickname is found good
(b)Change is a legal consequence of
to be ridiculous,
and
legitimation or adoption;
tainted with
valid
dishonor
or
(c)Change will avoid confusion;
extremely difficult ground
s
(d) One has continuously used and been to write or
known since childhood by a Filipino
pronounce;
name and was unaware of alien
parentage;
b)The first name
(e) Change is based on a sincere desire or nickname has
to adopt a Filipino name to erase signs of been habitually
and continuous
former alienage, all in good faith and
used by petitioner
without prejudice to anybody;
publicly known by
(f)Surname causes embarrassment and that first name or
there is no showing that the desired
nickname in the
change of name was for a fraudulent
community;

RULE 103

RA 9048

WHAT IS WRONG?
RULE 103
RA 9048
Entry is correct Entry is
but petitioner incorrect.
desires to
change the
entry

RULE 108
Cancellation or
correction of
correct or
incorrect entries

WHAT ARE THE PROCEEDING?

RULE 103
Judicial
Proceeding
-Involves
substantial
changes

RA 9048
Administrati
ve
ProceedingInvolves
clerical or
typographic
al errors

RULE 108
Summary- Involves
mere clerical errors
Adversarial- Involves
substantial changes;
the change affects
the civil status,
citizenship or
nationality of a party

PUBLICATION
RULE 103

RA 9048

RULE 108

Order 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.

SHOULD 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-tofemale transsexual to be included in the category
female.
(Rommel Jacinto Dantes Silverio vs Republic)

MAY A COURT CHANGE THE GENDER OF A PERSON

BY REASON OF MEDICAL CONDITION?

1.

2.

3.

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; and
There 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.

BAR QUESTION 2005

Helen 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.