Dear PAO,

I read in the newspaper about this new law allowing the correction of misspelled names and gender of persons. Is this in effect already? It was also stated that there would be no cost for such correction and that the processing only takes 15 days. Is this true? Can you expound on this law? The one I read was just a short clipping. Thank you.

Christian
 
Dear Christian,

Republic Act (R.A.) No. 10172 is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 3113 and House Bill No. 4530. This law amended RA No. 9048 and is already in effect. As a general rule, no entry in a civil register shall be changed or corrected without a judicial order. However, clerical or typographical errors may be corrected and change of first name or nickname, the day and month in the date of birth or sex of a person may be made before the concerned city or municipal civil registrar or consul general if the error or mistake in the entry is patently clear (Section 1, id).

There may be reports informing the public that the correction of such entries involves no cost. However, according to the press statement released by the National Statistics Office (NSO), there is no truth to the said reports (\t “_blank” http://www.census.gov.ph/data/pressrelease/2012/pr1271tx.html). The NSO reiterated that under Section 4, id, the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general is authorized to collect reasonable fees as a condition for accepting the petition. Nevertheless, an indigent petitioner is exempted from the payment of the said fees.

In addition, the said office emphasized that the correction of the pertinent entries does not only take 15-day processing. Even assuming that the petitioner submits the proper affidavit, the law requires publication of the petition for at least once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation. That alone involves 14 days. Petitioners should likewise allot some time for the assessment of his or her supporting documents prior to the approval of the petition, such as but not limited to the following: (1) 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 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 (Section 3, id).

It is well-worth mentioning that Section 3, id, further states: “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. x x x”

We hope that we were able to answer your queries. Please be reminded that this advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.

Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.