Facts:

Virginia Ansaldo, the petitioner, gave birth to her son, James A. Wang, on April 5, 1954, in Sampaloc General Hospital, Manila. The child's father, Henry H. Wang, is a Chinese citizen, while Virginia is a Filipina. Both parents were single at the time of birth. Following the birth, the parents provided the Chief Nurse of the hospital with the necessary details for the child’s birth certificate, which classified James A. Wang as an illegitimate child with Chinese nationality, as indicated on the certificate itself. An affidavit acknowledging James as an illegitimate child was signed by both parents on April 23, 1954.

On February 10, 1956, Virginia filed a petition in the Court of First Instance of Manila to correct the entry of “Chinese” nationality to “Filipino” on her son’s birth certificate, asserting that, by law, her child should be considered a Filipino citizen due to her citizenship, regardless of the father's nationality and without regard to the child’s illegitim

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Facts:

Birth and Certificate Details

• On April 5, 1954, a baby was born in Manila at the Sampaloc General Hospital to Virginia Ansaldo, a Filipina, and Henry H. Wang, a Chinese, both of whom were single at the time of the child’s birth.
• The day following the birth, the parents submitted the necessary information to the Chief Nurse, which resulted in the issuance of a birth certificate containing the following data:

- Child’s full name: James A. Wang - Nationality: Chinese - Legitimacy status: Indicated as not legitimate - Father’s full name and citizenship: Henry H. Wang, Chinese - Mother’s full name and citizenship: Virginia Ansaldo, Filipina - Religious affiliation and civil status details for both parents

Petition for Correction and Lower Court Proceedings

• On February 10, 1956, Virginia Ansaldo filed a petition in the Court of First Instance of Manila seeking to correct the birth certificate of her son by changing the term “Chinese” under the child’s nationality to “Filipino”.
• The petition was filed under Article 412 of the New Civil Code, which mandates that any change or correction in a civil register must be effected solely by a judicial order.
• The Solicitor General, representing the Republic of the Philippines, opposed the petition arguing that only clerical errors were correctable under Article 412, and that the change sought affected issues of nationality and citizenship—a matter with broader legal and public policy implications.
• The trial court, on September 13, 1955, denied the petition, basing its decision on the precedent set in Ty Kong Tin vs. Republic of the Philippines (94 Phil. 321, 50 Off. Gaz. 1077).

Appellant’s Arguments and Contentions

• Virginia Ansaldo contended that the birth certificate correction would not affect the inherent nationality or citizenship of her son since, under Philippine law, the child is Filipino solely by virtue of his Filipina mother—even though his father is Chinese and he was born out of wedlock.
• The appellant further argued that a mere petition under Article 412 should suffice for such a correction, without necessitating a proper suit involving all potentially affected parties.
• She maintained that the lower court erred in suggesting that the matter of determining the true nationality of the child belongs in a separate, more comprehensive action rather than being settled via the petitioner’s current proceeding under Article 412.

Issue:

• Whether the petition under Article 412 of the New Civil Code, seeking to change the entry regarding the child’s nationality in the birth certificate, constitutes a case of correcting a mere clerical error or one that affects the substantive status of the person involved.
• Whether the correction of an entry in the civil register that pertains to the nationality or citizenship of a person should be decided through a summary proceeding or whether it necessitates a proper suit involving all affected parties.
• Whether the child’s citizenship, as determined by the Filipina mother despite the erroneous entry indicating Chinese nationality, should influence the permissibility of correcting the civil registry entry via a petition.

Ruling:

• (Subscriber-Only)

Ratio:

• (Subscriber-Only)

Doctrine:

• (Subscriber-Only)