2 ways to correct error in birth

certificate
Dear PAO,
What should we do in order to correct the date of birth of my mother in her birth
certificate?
SAC

Dear SAC,
There are two ways in correcting dates of birth in one’s certificate of live birth. One is
through judicial process by filing a petition for correction of entry before the court in
accordance with Rule 108 of the Rules of Court and the other is through administrative
process by filing a petition at the Local Civil Registry Office in accordance with Republic Act
(R.A.) No.9048 and R.A. No. 10172.

If the error in the date of birth of your mother pertains to the day or month of birth only, she
may have the same corrected by filing a petition for correction of entry before the Local Civil
Registry of the place where her birth certificate is registered. However, if she has migrated
to another place within the Philippines and it is not practical for her, in terms of
transportation expenses, time and effort to appear before the local civil registry office of her
place of birth, she may opt to file her petition with the local civil registry office where she is
residing or domiciled (Rule 4, Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A. No. 10172). The
petition shall be supported by the following documents: (1) Certified true machine copy of
her birth 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. In addition, the petition
shall be accompanied by your mother’s earliest school record or earliest school documents
such as, but not limited to, medical records, baptismal certificate and other documents
issued by religious authorities. She shall also submit a certification from the appropriate law
enforcements, agencies that she has no pending case or no criminal record. The petition
shall likewise be published at least once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper
of general circulation (Section 3, RA No. 10172).

However, if the error involved is your mother’s year of birth, she shall need to file a petition
for correction of entry before the Regional Trial Court of the place where her certificate of
live birth was registered (Section 1, Rule 108, Rules of Court). The civil registrar and all
persons who have or claim any interest which would be affected by the change shall be
made parties to the petition. (Section 3, Ibid.) Upon the filing of the petition, the court shall,
by an order, fix the time and place for the hearing of the same, and cause reasonable notice
thereof to be given to the persons named in the petition. The court shall also cause the
order to be published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general
circulation in your province. (Section 4, Id.) If the court is convinced with the petition, after
hearing, it shall issue an order granting the correction prayed for.

Question:
Can a substantial issue be corrected in the entry of the birth of a person in the
civil registry?

Answer:
Yes, provided the party avail the adversarial proceeding rather than a summary
proceedings.