Republic Act No.
9048
An Act Authorizing The City Or Municipal Civil Registrar Or The
Consul General To Correct A Clerical Or Typographical Error And/Or
Change of First Name Or Nickname In The Civil Register Without Need
Of A Judicial Order, Amending For This Purpose Articles 376 and
412 of The Civil Code of the Philippines
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 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. Definition of Terms. As used in this Act, the
following terms shall mean:
(1) "City or municipal civil
registrar" refers to the head of the local civil registry
office of the city or municipality, as the case may be, who is
appointed as such by the city or municipal mayor in accordance
with the provisions of existing laws.
(2) "Petitioner" refers
to a natural person filing the petition and who has direct and
personal interest in the correction of a clerical or typographical
error in an entry or change of first name or nickname in the civil
register.
(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 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, status or sex of the petitioner.
(4) "Civil register"
refers to the various registry books and related certificates
and documents kept in the archives of the local civil registry
offices, Philippine Consulate and of the Office of the Civil Registrar
General.
(5) "Civil registrar general"
refers to the administrator of the National Statistics Office
which is the agency mandated to carry out and administer the provision
of laws on civil registration.
(6) "First name" refers
to a name or a nickname given to a person which
may consist of one or more names in addition to the middle and
last names.
Sec. 3. Who May File the Petition and Where. Any person 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 may file in person, a verified petition with the local
civil registry office of the city or municipality where the record
being sought to be corrected or changed is kept.
In case the petitioner has already
migrated to another place in the country and it would not be practical
for such party, in terms of transportation expenses, time and effort,
to appear in person before the local civil registrar keeping the
documents to be corrected or changed, the petition, may be filed
in person, with the local civil registrar of the place where the
interested party is presently residing or domiciled. The two (2)
local civil registrars concerned will then communicate to facilitate
the processing of the petition.
Citizens of the Philippines, who are presently residing or domiciled in foreign
countries, may file their petition in person with the nearest Philippine
Consulates.
The petitions filed with the city
or municipal civil registrar or the consul general shall be processed
in accordance with this Act and its implementing rules and regulations.
All petitions for the correction
of clerical or typographical errors and/or change of first names
or nicknames may be availed of only once.
Sec. 4. Grounds for Change of First Name or Nickname.
The petition for change of first name or nickname may be allowed
in any of the following cases:
(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 that first name or nickname in the
community; or
(3) The change will avoid confusion.
Sec. 5. Form and Contents of the Petition. The petition
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 changed 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.
In case of change of first name
or nickname, the petition shall likewise be supported with the documents
mentioned in the immediately preceding paragraph. In addition, the
petition 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 enforcement
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 the third copy, to the petitioner.
Sec. 6. Duties of the City or Municipal Civil Registrar or the
Consul General. The city or municipal civil registrar or
the consul general, to whom the petition is presented, shall examine
the petition and its supporting documents. He shall post the petition
in a conspicuous place provided for that purpose for ten (10) consecutive
days after he finds the petition and its supporting documents sufficient
in form and substance.
The city or municipal civil registrar
or the consul general shall act on the petition and shall render
a decision not later than five (5) working days after the completion
of the posting and/or publication requirement. He shall transmit
a copy of his decision together with the records of the proceedings
to the Office of the Civil Registrar General within five (5) working
days from the date of the decision.
Sec. 7. Duties and Powers of the Civil Registrar General.
The civil registrar general shall, within ten (10) working days
from receipt of the decision granting a petition, exercise the power
to impugn such decision by way of an objection based on the following
grounds:
(1) The error is not clerical
or typographical;
(2) The 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 of a person does not fall under Section
4.
The civil registrar general shall
immediately notify the city or municipal civil registrar or the
consul general of the action taken on the decision. Upon receipt
of the notice thereof, the city or municipal civil registrar, or
the consul general shall notify the petitioner of such action.
The petitioner may seek reconsideration
with the civil registrar general or file the appropriate petition
with the proper court.
If the civil registrar general
fails to exercise his power to impugn the decision of the city or
municipal civil registrar or of the consul general within the period
prescribed herein, such decision shall become final and executory.
Where the petition is denied by
the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general, the
petitioner may either appeal the decision to the civil registrar
general or file the appropriate petition with the proper court.
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 exempted from the payment of the said fee.
Sec. 9. Penalty Clause. A person who violates any of
the provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction, be penalized
by imprisonment of not less than six (6) years but not more than
twelve (12) years, or a fine of not less than Ten thousand pesos
(P10,000) but not more than One hundred
thousand pesos
(P100,000),
or both, at the discretion of the court. In addition, if the offender
is a government official or employee, he shall suffer the penalties
provided under civil service laws, rules and regulations.
Sec. 10. Implementing Rules and Regulations. The civil
registrar general shall, in consultation with the Department of
Justice, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Office of the Supreme
Court Administrator, the University of the Philippines Law Center
and the Philippine Association of Civil Registrars, issue the necessary
rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act
not later than three (3) months from the effectivity
of this law.
Sec. 11. Retroactivity Clause. This Act shall have retroactive
effect insofar as it does not prejudice or impair vested or acquired
rights in accordance with the Civil Code and other laws.
Sec. 12. Separability Clause. If any portion or provision of this Act is declared
void or unconstitutional, the remaining portions or provisions thereof
shall not be affected by such declaration.
Sec. 13. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, orders,
rules and regulations, other issuances, or parts thereof inconsistent
with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified
accordingly.
Sec. 14. Effectivity Clause. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
its complete publication in at least two (2) national newspapers
of general circulation.
Approved, March
22, 2001.
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