CORRECTION OF ENTRIES IN

THE CIVIL REGISTRY

RULE 103, RULE 108 & RA 9048
By: GILBERT R. HUFANA
Professor, Special Proceedings
Rules/Laws
 Change of Name (Rule 103)

 Clerical Error Law (RA 9048)

 Cancellation/Correction of Entries in the

Civil Registry (Rule 108)
REPUBLIC ACT NOs. 9048 & 10172
CLERICAL ERROR LAW
RA 9048
 Article 376, NCC – “No person can change his name or
surname without judicial authority.”
 Article 412 , NCC - “No entry in a civil register shall be
changed or corrected, without a judicial order. “
 Aforementioned provisions of the New Civil Code were
amended by RA 9048 which reads:
“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.”
 RA 9048 took effect in 2001.
RA 9048 as amended by RA 10172
 Further said provision of RA 9048 was effectively
amended to read:
“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, the day and month in the date of birth or
sex of a person where it is patently clear that there was a
clerical or typographical error or mistake in the entry, 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.”
 RA 10172 took effect in 2012
CLERICAL/TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR
RA No. 10172, Sec 2[3]; RA No. 9048, Sec 2[3]
 A clerical or typographical error pertains 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.
 Such as a misspelled name or misspelled place of birth and the
like.
 However, corrections which involve a change in
nationality, age, or status are not considered clerical
or typographical.
Administrative Correction
 Clerical errors
 first name or nick name
 day and month of birth, and
 sex of a person
 where it is patently clear that there is a clerical or
typographical mistake in these entries
 changes may now be corrected without need of judicial
approval
 Correction should not imply a change of status but a
mere rectification of error; there must be no increase or
diminution of substantive right.
PLETHORA OF JURISPRUDENCE
 In Republic v. Mercadera, Merlyn Mercadera (Mercadera)
sought to correct her name from “Marilyn” to “Merlyn.“
She alleged that “she had been known as MERLYN ever
since.” SC held that it is a clerical error.
 In Yu v. Republic, it was held that "to change 'Sincio' to
'Sencio' which merely involves the substitution of the first
vowel 'i' in the first name into the vowel 'e' amounts
merely to the righting of a clerical error."
 In LabayoRowe v. Republic, it was held that the change of
petitioner's name from "Beatriz Labayo/Beatriz Labayu" to
"Emperatriz Labayo" was a mere innocuous alteration
wherein a summary proceeding was appropriate.
PLETHORA OF JURISPRUDENCE
 In Republic v. Court of Appeals, Jaime B. Caranto and Zenaida
P. Caranto, the correction involved the substitution of the
letters "ch" for the letter "d," so that what appears as
"Midael" as given name would read "Michael." It is clerical
error.

 In Republic v. Sali, Lorena Omapas Sali (Sali) sought to

correct her Birth Certificate. Her first name was
erroneously entered as “Dorothy” instead of “Lorena,”
and her date of birth as “June 24, 1968” instead of “April
24, 1968.” SC held it is a clerical error.
Not Considered as
Typographical/Clerical Errors
 But if your birth certificate shows Ma. Cecilia instead of
Maria Cecilia – cannot be corrected under 9048, it is not
typographical error.
 Corpuz and Corpus or Gutierrez and Gutierres – not
typographical errors
 Another example: First name is Enrile and family name is
Teodoro. If interchanged, it is not innocuous. If it affects
business relations or otherwise rights and obligations.
 This error is innocuous: date of birth is 1989 but what
appears is 1889; a woman gave birth when she was 35yo
but what appears is she gave birth when she was 5yo –
clearly typographical error
PROCESS FLOW - RA 9048
Who may file petition?
 Any person of legal age, having direct and personal
interest in the correction of a clerical or typographical
error may file the petition.
 A person is considered to have direct and personal
interest when he is the owner of the record, or the
owner's spouse, children, parents, brothers, sisters,
grandparents, guardian, or any other person duly
authorized by law or by the owner of the document
sought to be corrected
 For correction of a clerical or typographical error in sex,
the person affected by such error shall personally file the
petition.
Where to file?
 With the Local Civil Registrar’s Office (LCRO) or city or
municpality or with the Office of the Clerk of Shari’a
Court, as the case maybe, where the record containing
the clerical or typographical error to be corrected or
first name to changed.
 If petitioner has migrated to another place in PH, the
petition may be filed with the LCRO of the place where
petitioner is residing or domiciled.
 For those residing/domiciled abroad, the petition may be
filed with the nearest Philippine Consulate.
Form and Content of Petition
 It shall be in the form of an affidavit, subscribed and
sworn to before any person authorized by law to
administer oath.
 It shall set forth facts necessary to establish the merit of
the petition and shall show affirmatively that the
petitioner is competent to testify on the matter stated.
 It shall state the particular erroneous entry or entries
sought to be corrected or the first name to be changed,
and the correction or change to made.
Supporting Documents
 Certified true machine copy of the certificate or page of
the registry book containing the entry sought to be
corrected or changed.
 At least2 public/private documents showing the correct
entry/entries
 Notice or certification of posting
 Other documents which may relevant & necessary for the
approval of the petition
Posting & Publication
 The petition shall be posted in a conspicuous place for 10
consecutive days after he (Consul General,
District/Circuit Registrar or City/Municipal Civil
Registrar) finds the petition & its supporting documents
sufficient in form and substance.
 For change of name, in addition to posting, the petition
shall also be required to be published once a week for 2
consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation.
 Attach the Affidavit of Publication & Clipping of the publication
Approving the Petition
 When the petition is approved, the change shall be
reflected in the birth certificate by way of marginal
annotation.
 In case there are other affected records, the decision of
approving the petition shall be sufficient to used as basis
in changing the entries in the affected records without
the need of filing a similar petition.
 If the Civil Registrar General fails to impugn the decision
approving the correction within 10 days after receipt of
the copy of the decision, such decision shall become final
& executory.
Denying the Petition
 When the petition is denied or not granted, the
petitioner may either:
1. appeal the decision to the Civil Registrar General
(CRG) within 10 working days from receipt of the
decision, or
2. file the appropriate petition with the proper court.
 If the decision disapproving the petition was not
appealed seasonably, the decision shall become final &
executory. The only remedy left is to file the petition in
court.
Impugning the Decision
 Where the decision is impugned by the Civil Registrar
General (CRG), the petitioner may appeal the decision by
way of reconsideration within 15 days from receipt of
decision.
 Reconsideration shall only be based on new evidence
discovered or file the appropriate petition with the
proper court.
 Decision rendered by the CRG within 30 days after
receipt of the appeal shall become final and executory.
Appeal
 Appeal is to the Civil Registrar General (CRG)
 How?
 File Notice of Appeal with the concerned Consul
General, District/Circuit Registrar or City/Municipal
Civil Registrar within 10 days from receipt of decision
 After receipt of the Notice, the concerned Consul
General, District/Circuit Registrar or City/Municipal
Civil Registrar shall transmit the petition & all
supporting documents to the CRG
 The CRG upon receipt of the appeal, shall render
decision within 30 days