RULE 108 RA 9048

RULE 103
Title Change of name (name which appears in the Cancellation or correction of entries in the Correct a clerical or typographical error in
civil register) civil registry an entry and/or change of first name or
nickname
Nature { Adversarial; { Adversarial; { Summary;
{ judicial; { judicial { administrative; No judicial order necessary
{ substantial change { Substantial error { Clerical/typographical error; change of first
{ in rem – to vest jurisdiction, comply with all the name or nickname - changes or corrections
requirements of a harmless and innocuous nature
{ not a matter of right but of judicial discretion and
a privilege
Petitioner All natural persons regardless of status, Any person interested in any act, event, order Any person having direct and personal
including domiciled aliens or decree concerning the civil status of persons interest in the correction of a clerical or
which has been recorded in the civil register typographical error

Parties a) the civil registrar and The city/municipal civil registrar, Consul
b) all persons who have or claim any interest General, including the Clerk of the Shari'a
which would be affected thereby shall be Court in his capacity as District or Circuit
made parties to the proceeding. Registrar of Muslim Marriages, Divorces,
Revocations of Divorces and Conversions,
are hereby authorized to correct clerical or
typographical error and to change first
name or nickname in the civil register.
Subject matter ü First name, entries in the civil register may be cancelledi)or clerical or typographical errors and
ü nickname, corrected: ii) change of first name or nickname
ü middle name, a) births;
ü surname b) marriage;
c) deaths;
d) legal separations;
e) judgments of annulments of marriage;
 f) judgments declaring marriages void from
the beginning;
g) legitimations;
h) adoptions;
i) acknowledgments of natural children;
j) naturalization;
k) election, loss or recovery of citizenship;
l) civil interdiction;
m) judicial determination of filiation;
n) voluntary emancipation of a minor; and
o) changes of name.

Venue 1) RTC of the province in which he resides, or, RTC of the province where the corresponding
1) with the local civil registry office of the
2) in the City of Manila, to the Juvenile and civil registry is located. city or municipality where the record being
Domestic Relations Court. sought to be corrected or changed is kept.

2) In case the petitioner has already

migrated to another place in the country -
the petition may be filed, in person, with the
local civil registrar of the place where the
interested party is presently residing or
domiciled.

3) Citizens of the Philippines who are

presently residing or domiciled in foreign
countries may file their petition, in person,
with the nearest Philippine Consulates.

Contents of Petition a)
or That the petitioner has been a bona The affidavit shall set forth
affidavit fide resident of the province where the petition i) facts necessary to establish the
is filed for at least 3 years prior to the date of merits of the petition and
such filing;
 b) The cause for which the change of the
petitioner's name is sought;
c) The name asked for.
Form A petition for change of name shall
be signed and verified by the person desiring
his name changed, or some other person on his
behalf,
Notice, Publication & posting Court shall direct that a copy of the order be
published before the hearing at least once a
week for 3 successive weeks in some newspaper
of general circulation published in the province,
as the court shall deem best.
Hearing The date set for the hearing shall not be within
30 days prior to an election nor within 4 month
after the last publication of the notice.
Oppositor 1) Any interested person 1)
2) The Solicitor General or the proper provincial
2)
or city fiscal shall appear on behalf of the under the entry whose cancellation or
Government of the Republic.
ii) shall show affirmatively that the
petitioner is competent to testify to the
matters stated.
iii) The petitioner shall state the
particular erroneous entry or entries, which
are sought to be corrected and/or the
change sought to be made.
a verified petition for the cancellation or The verified petition shall be in the form of
correction of any entry relating thereto an affidavit, subscribed and sworn to before
any person authorized by the law to
administer oaths.
Court shall cause reasonable notice thereof to Sec. 9
be given to the persons named in the petition.
(publication is sufficient to include all
interested parties.)
The court shall also cause the order to be
published once a week for 3 consecutive
weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in
the province.
The civil registrar and Non-adversarial
any person having or claiming any interest
correction is sought
within fifteen (15) days from notice of the
petition, or from the last date of publication of
such notice, file his opposition thereto.
Grounds 1) when the name is ridiculous, tainted with 1. The petitioner finds the first name or
dishonor, or is extremely difficult to write or nickname to be ridiculous, tainted with
pronounce; dishonor or extremely difficult to write or
2) when the request for change is a consequence pronounce.
of a change of status, such as when a natural 2. The new first name or nickname has
child is acknowledged or legitimated; and been habitually and continuously used by
3) when the change is necessary to avoid the petitioner and he has been publicly
confusion, known by that by that first name or
4) having continuously used and had been nickname in the community: or
known since childhood by a Filipino name, 3. The change will avoid confusion.
unaware of her alien parentage;
5) a sincere desire to adopt a Filipino name to
erase signs of a former alienage, al in good faith
and without prejudicing surname causes
embarrassment and here is no showing the
desired change of name was for a fraudulent
purpose or that it would prejudice public
interest.

Judgment that such name be changed in accordance with court may either dismiss the petition or issue When the petition for a change of first name
the prayer of the petition. an order granting the cancellation or is approved by the C/MCR or CG or D/CR
correction prayed for. and such decision has not been impugned
by the CRG, the change shall be reflected
in the birth certificate by way of marginal
annotation.
Service of judgment Judgments or orders – shall be furnished the In either case (dismissed or granted), a
civil registrar of the municipality or city where certified copy of the judgment shall be served
the court issuing the same is situated, who shall upon the civil registrar concerned who
forthwithenter the same in the civil register shall annotated the same in his record.
Example Adopted child’s change of surname Illegitimacy
Sex
Nationality/citizenship
Civil status