Date: January 27, 2020

Statement of facts:

My boyfriend was completely unaware that there was an error in his birth certificate.
He was born on May 15, 1977, but his birth certificate indicates his date of birth as
May 15, 1978. He was thinking of just using the information as indicated on his birth
certificate so that he would not have to go through the hassle of having it corrected,
but then again it will most likely create a problem in the future since his younger
brother was also born in 1978, August 2, 1978 to be exact. He was told that it is
physically impossible for his mother to have given birth to him on May 15, 1978 (as
indicated in his birth certificate) and to his brother on August 2, 1978.

So now, he just wants to fix the problem with his birth certificate. Can this be done
by going to the civil registrar? Someone told him that there is an easier process, and
he does not need to go to court. Can this also be done by his mother? He is just new
in his job, and he cannot avail of vacation leaves just yet. Please advise us.

Statement of Issue:

1. Can change of an error on the year of birth appearing in the birth certificate be
done by going to the civil registrar?

2. Can this process be done by a persons mother?

Resolution and discussion of the issues:

No, Change of an error on the year of birth cannot be rectify by going to the civil
registrar.

Republic Act (RA) 9048 permits the correction of a clerical or typographical errors in
an entry in the civil register and/or change the first name or nickname by filing a
verified petition, in the form of an affidavit, before the city or municipal civil registrar
or consul general. (Section 1, Ibid.) This law was later amended by RA 10172, which
further allows the correction of the day and month in the date of birth or sex of a
person to be filed before the city or municipal civil registrar or consul general if it is
patently clear that there was a clerical or typographical error or mistake in such
entry (Section 1, RA 10172).

As defined under Section 2 (3) of RA 10172, 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,
such as misspelled name or misspelled place of birth, mistake in the entry of day and
month in the date of birth or the sex of the person or the like, 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: Provided, however, That no correction
must involve the change of nationality, age or status of the petitioner.”

In the situation of your boyfriend, it is clear that the erroneous entry lies not on the
day and month of his date of birth, rather on the year of his birth. For that reason,
the laws above-mentioned, allowing correction of entry by filing a verified petition
before the city or municipal civil registrar or consul general are not applicable.

Corollary, he must file his petition before the Regional Trial Court (formerly Court of
First Instance) of the place or province where the corresponding local civil registry
where his birth was registered is located (Section 1, Rule 108, Revised Rules of
Court).

2. Yes, the process can be done by a person’s mother.

 According to Section 1 of Rule 108, any person who is interested in any act, event,
order or decree concerning the civil status of persons that has been recorded in the
civil register, may file the verified petition in court. But we wish to emphasize that it
is necessary that the concerned Local Civil Registrar and all persons who have
interest who may be affected thereby must be made parties to the proceedings.
(Section 3, Id.)

It is acceptable for his mother to file the petition in court if he is unable to process it
himself. the petition should be supported by his certified true machine copy of birth
certificate, public and/or private documents, which clearly show his correct year of
birth, as well as other documents that may substantiate the same such as his earliest
school records, medical records, baptismal certificate or those issued by religious
authorities and the like. The court where such petition is filed will then issue an order
fixing the time and place of the hearing and require that notices be given to the
persons named in the petition. The court will also mandate that the order be published
once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation.
(Sections 3 and 4, Id.)