Case Digest (G.R. No. 167746)
Facts:
Republic of the Philippines v. Merle M. Maligaya, G.R. No. 233068, November 09, 2020, Supreme Court Second Division, Lopez, J., writing for the Court. The Republic, through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), filed the petition for review on certiorari attacking the Regional Trial Court (RTC) decision in Special Proceedings No. NC-2016-2599.In 2016, Merly M. Maligaya (styled in the case as Merly or Merle) filed a petition under Rule 108 of the Rules of Court in the RTC seeking correction of entries in her birth certificate: to change her first name from MERLE to MERLY and her date of birth from February 15, 1959 to November 26, 1958. She submitted documentary evidence including SSS records, voter registration documents, police and NBI clearances. The RTC found the petition sufficient in form and ordered publication once a week for three consecutive weeks; after hearing, it granted the petition on December 14, 2016, directing the Local Civil Registry of Magallanes, Cavite to effect the corrections.
The OSG moved for reconsideration in the RTC; the motion was denied. The OSG then filed a petition for review on certiorari before the Supreme Court. The OSG argued that the correction of the first name was a clerical matter properly within the primary (administrative) jurisdiction of the local civil registrar under Republic Act (RA) No. 9048, as amended by RA No. 10172, and that the change in date of birth was a substantial correction requiring impleading all persons who have or claim an interest under Section 3, Rule 108. Merly countered that ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the RTC have jurisdiction to order the correction of Merly’s first name under Rule 108 given the administrative remedy under RA No. 9048, as amended by RA No. 10172?
- Was the RTC’s grant of correction of Merly’s date of birth proper despite the petitioner’s failure to implead all persons who have or claim an interest as require...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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