Case Digest (G.R. No. 54159)
Facts:
- The case involves the Republic of the Philippines as the petitioner and Glicerio V. Carriaga, Jr. and Antonio Tan Lim as respondents.
- Antonio Tan Lim filed a petition on April 23, 1979, in the Court of First Instance of Cotabato to correct entries in his children's birth certificates.
- Corrections sought included:
- Changing the father's nationality from Chinese to Filipino.
- Altering the father's religion from Catholic to Islam.
- Correcting the father's race from yellow to brown.
- Amending the marriage date of the parents from February 1, 1958, to April 28, 1957, for Frederick Sespene-Lim.
- Correcting the spelling of the name and marriage date for Patrick Sespene-Lim.
- Clarifying the name for Janebelle Sespene-Lim due to tampering.
- Correcting the mother's name from Leyte to Letty for Antonio Sespene-Lim Jr.
- The Republic was notified of a hearing on June 26, 1979, and filed an opposition, arguing that the corrections were substantial and outside the trial court's jurisdiction under Rule 108.
- Despite the opposition, the trial court granted the petition on May 21, 1980.
- The Republic then filed a petition for review regarding the nature of the errors in Frederick Sespene-Lim's birth certificate.
Issue:
- (Unlock)
Ruling:
- The Supreme Court dismissed the petition for lack of merit, affirming the lower court's decision to grant the corrections sought by Antonio Tan Lim.
- The Court held that the proceedings we...(Unlock)
Ratio:
- The Supreme Court determined that the corrections sought were substantial and not merely clerical errors, justifying the need for adversary proceedings.
- The Court noted that Rule 108 allows for the correction of substantial errors if proper procedures are followed.
- A full trial was conducted, allowing both parties...continue reading
Case Digest (G.R. No. 54159)
Facts:
The case involves the Republic of the Philippines as the petitioner and the Honorable Glicerio V. Carriaga, Jr. and Antonio Tan Lim as respondents. The events leading to this case began on April 23, 1979, when Antonio Tan Lim filed a petition with the Court of First Instance of Cotabato seeking to correct entries in the birth certificates of his children. The corrections sought included changing the nationality of the father from Chinese to Filipino, altering the father's religion from Catholic to Islam, correcting the father's race from yellow to brown, and amending the date of marriage of the parents from February 1, 1958, to April 28, 1957, for the child Frederick Sespene-Lim. For the child Patrick Sespene-Lim, the petition sought to correct the spelling of the name and the date of marriage of the parents. For Janebelle Sespene-Lim, the name was to be clarified due to tampering, and for Antonio Sespene-Lim Jr., the mother’s name was to be corrected from Leyte to Letty. The petitioner, the Republic, was notified of the hearing set for June 26, 1979, and subsequently filed an opposition to the petition. The opposition argued that the corrections sought were substantial and not merely clerical errors, thus falling outside the jurisdiction of the trial court under Rule 108 of the Revised Rules of Court. Despite the opposition, a trial was c...