Onde vs. LCR Case Digest G.R. No. 197174 ; September 10, 2014 ; 734 SCRA 66

Onde vs. LCR Case Digest 

G.R. No. 197174 ; September 10, 2014 ; 734 SCRA 66

PRINCIPLE/S:

Special Proceedings

a) RA 9048, as amended by RA 10172, allows administrative correction of clerical or typographical errors or change of first name

Section 15 of R.A. No. 9048, clerical or typographical errors on entries in a civil register can be corrected and changes of first name can be done by the concerned city civil registrar without need of a judicial order.

Effect on change of first name:

- Jurisdiction over applications for change of first name is now primarily lodged with administrative officers.

- Exclude the change of first name from the coverage of Rules 103 (Change of Name) and 108 (Cancellation or Correction of Entries in the Civil Registry) of the Rules of Court

Effect on correction of clerical or typographical errors:

- The correction of clerical or typographical errors can now be made through administrative proceedings and without the need for a judicial order.

- The law removed from the ambit of Rule 108 of the Rules of Court the correction of clerical or typographical errors

b) Substantial correction requires adversarial proceedings (Rule 108 of the Rules of Court)

- Corrections of entries in the civil register including those on citizenship, legitimacy of paternity or filiation, or legitimacy of marriage, involve substantial alterations.

-  Substantial errors in a civil registry may be corrected and the true facts established provided the parties aggrieved by the error avail themselves of the appropriate adversary proceedings.

c) Parties to implead under Section 3, Rule 108 of the Rules of Court:

- Local civil registrar

- All persons who have or claim any interest which would be affected by the correction.

FACTS:

Petitioner filed a petition for correction of entries in his certificate of live birth before the RTC and named Office of the Local Civil Registrar. He prayed that the following entries on his birth certificate be corrected as follows:

Entry	From	To
1) Date and place of marriage of his parents	December 23, 1983 - Bicol	Not Married
2) First name of his mother	Tely	Matilde
3) His first name	Franc Ler	Francler

RTC dismissed the petition. Hence, this present petition for review on certiorari.

ISSUE/S:

(1) WON the correction on the first name of petitioner and his mother can be done by the city civil registrar under R.A. No. 9048.

(2) WON the correcting of entry on petitioner’s birth certificate that his parents were married to "not married" is substantial in nature requiring adversarial proceedings,

HELD:

1) YES. Section 1 of R.A. No. 9048 provides that clerical or typographical errors on entries in a civil register can be corrected and changes of first name can be done by the concerned city civil registrar without need of a judicial order. R.A. No. 9048 provides that jurisdiction over applications for change of first name is now primarily lodged with administrative officers. Hence, the correction on the first name of petitioner and his mother can be done through administrative proceedings and without the need for a judicial order.

2) YES. Corrections of entries in the civil register including those on citizenship, legitimacy of paternity or filiation, or legitimacy of marriage, involve substantial alterations. These substantial alterations can be corrected through appropriate adversary proceedings. Hence, correcting the entry on petitioner’s birth certificate that his parents were married to "not married" is a substantial correction requiring adversarial proceedings since it will affect his legitimacy. It will convert him from a legitimate child to an illegitimate one.