Dear PAO,
There is a mistake on the date of birth in my birth certificate. I heard about R.A. No. 10172 which authorizes the civil register to correct the entry of the date of birth appearing on the birth certificate.

May I ask what are the requirements and the procedure to make the necessary correction on my birth certificate? Pls. help because I need to fix this problem for my application abroad. Thank you.
Bobby

Dear Bobby,
Republic Act (R.A.) No. 10172 is otherwise known as “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”.

As can be gleaned from the title of this republic act, the said law allows city or municipal civil registrar, or consul general to correct clerical or typographical errors on the day and month in the date of birth, or sex of a person appearing on the civil registry. There are two important points here. First, there must be a clerical or typographical error in the entry. 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… 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” (Sec. 2, R.A. No. 10172). Second, R.A. No. 10172 covers only corrections of the day and month of birth. It does not include the year of birth.

Therefore, the mistake on the date of your birth in your birth certificate must be clerical or typographical and it must refer to the day or month of birth if you want to avail of the remedy provided in R.A. No. 10172. Otherwise, you will have to file a petition for correction of entries in the civil registry in the appropriate Regional Trial Court pursuant to Rule 108 of the Rules of Court.

As to the procedure, the Civil Registrar General issued Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 2012 implementing the provisions of R.A. No. 10172 last October 24, 2012. Under the said rule, a person has to file a verified petition in the city or municipal civil register where the birth record is registered, and pay the filing fee of P3,000.00. The application must be supported by the following documents:

1. A certified true 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;

3. Other documents which the petitioner or the C/MCR, or the CG, or D/CR may consider relevant and necessary for the approval of the petition;

4. Earliest school record or earliest school documents;

5. Medical records;

6. Baptismal certificate and other documents issued by religious authorities;

7. A clearance or a certification that the owner of the document has no pending administrative, civil or criminal case, or no criminal record, which shall be obtained from the following:

Employer, if employed; National Bureau of Investigation; and Philippine National Police.

8. In case of correction of sex, medical certification issued by an accredited government physician that the petitioner has not undergone sex change or sex transplant.

The petition shall then be posted by the concerned C/MCR, CG or D/CR in a conspicuous place for ten (10) consecutive days and published at least once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation. As proof of compliance, the notice or certification of posting, as well as a clipping of the publication and an affidavit of publication from the publisher of the newspaper will be attached to the petition.

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.