G.R. No. 153883 - Republic vs. Lim

Respondent Chule Y. Lim filed a petition for correction/cancellation of entries in the civil registry under Rule 108 before the RTC of Lanao del Norte, Branch 4 (Sp. Proc. No. 4933), alleging she was born on October 29, 1954 in Buru-an, Iligan City; her birth was registered in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte and later transferred to the Iligan City Civil Registry.
She sought to correct four entries appearing in both her Kauswagan and Iligan City birth records: (a) her surname misspelled as “YO” instead of “YU”; (b) her father’s name recorded as “YO DIU TO (CO TIAN)” instead of “YU DIO TO (CO TIAN)”; (c) her status erroneously entered as “legitimate” instead of “illegitimate”; and (d) her citizenship recorded as “Chinese” instead of “Filipino.”

The RTC issued an order setting the case for hearing, directing publication once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in Iligan City and Lanao del Norte, and furnishing copies to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and the Iligan City Civil Registrar.
The City Prosecutor, for the Republic, actively participated by attending hearings and cross-examining respondent and her witnesses but presented no evidence.

Respondent testified that: (a) she has consistently used the surname “YUA” in all her school records and marriage certificate; (b) her NBI clearance reflects the surname “YUA”; (c) her father’s correct name is “YU DIO TO (CO TIAN)”; (d) she is Filipino because her parents were never married, her father being Chinese and her mother Filipino; (e) she is a registered voter, evidencing Filipino citizenship; and (f) she is illegitimate because her parents were never married.
Placida Anto, respondent’s mother, testified that she is a Filipino citizen from Camiguin and that she and respondent’s father never married because he had a prior subsisting marriage in China; certifications from the civil registries of Iligan City and Kauswagan attested to the absence of any marriage record between them from 1948 to the present.

RTC Decision (Feb. 22, 2000): Granted the petition and directed the Civil Registrar of Iligan City to correct: (a) family name from “YO” to “YU”; (b) father’s name from “YO DIU TO (CO TIAN)” to “YU DIOTO (CO TIAN)”; (c) status from “legitimate” to “illegitimate” by changing “YES” to “NO” to the question “LEGITIMATE?”; and (d) citizenship from “Chinese” to “Filipino.”
The Republic appealed; the Court of Appeals (CA-G.R. CV No. 68893, May 29, 2002) affirmed, holding that the proceedings were adversarial under Rule 108 and that respondent is Filipino as an illegitimate child of a Filipina mother, and that only a misspelling correction of the surname was sought and allowed.

The Republic elevated the case via petition for review on certiorari, assigning two errors: (a) the CA erred in ordering correction of citizenship to “Filipino” absent proof of a valid election of Philippine citizenship; and (b) the CA erred in allowing respondent to continue using her father’s surname despite finding that she is illegitimate.
The Republic did not challenge the propriety of resort to Rule 108 for substantial corrections; the Supreme Court noted that the proceedings were appropriately adversarial, with due notice, publication, and participation by the State.

Whether respondent, an illegitimate child of a Chinese father and a Filipino mother, was required to elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching majority such that correction of her citizenship entry from “Chinese” to “Filipino” is improper absent proof of a valid election.

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in effectively allowing respondent, an illegitimate child, to continue using her father’s surname by ordering the correction of its misspelling in the birth record.

Whether substantial corrections (civil status, citizenship) may be made under Rule 108 through an adversarial proceeding.