Case Digest (G.R. No. 94986)
Facts:
Hatima C. Yasin v. The Honorable Judge, Sharia District Court, Third Sharia Judicial District, Zamboanga City, G.R. No. 94986. February 23, 1995, Supreme Court En Banc. Bidin, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Hatima C. Yasin, through her attorney-in-fact Hadji Hasan S. Centi, filed on May 5, 1990 in the Sharia District Court in Zamboanga City a “Petition to resume the use of maiden name” (Sp. Proc. No. 06-3). She alleged that she was divorced from Hadji Idris Yasin by a decree issued by the Mindanao Islamic Center Foundation, Inc. on March 13, 1984 (certified by Ustadz Sharif Jain Jali), and that her former husband had subsequently contracted another marriage; she sought to resume the use of her maiden name, Hatima Centi y Saul, invoking Article 143(1)(c) of P.D. No. 1083 in relation to Article 371(2) of the New Civil Code.
The respondent Sharia District Court, by order dated July 4, 1990, found the petition deficient under Rule 103, Sections 2(a) and 3 of the Rules of Court — notably for failing to state residence and to indicate properly the name to be adopted — and ordered amendment within one week. Petitioner moved for reconsideration, arguing that the petition was not a Rule 103 change-of-name petition but a request to resume her maiden name after divorce under the Code of Muslim Personal Laws. The respondent court denied reconsideration on August 10, 1990, holding that the petition was substantially for a change of name and thus required compliance with Rule 103 and Article 376 of the Civil Code.
Petitioner brought the matter to the Supreme Court, alleging error in the respondent court’s application of Rule 103 to a petition to resume a maiden name following divorce under Muslim personal law. In its Comment, the respondent court defended its view that surnames are governed by the Civil Code (Arts. 364–380) and that judicial authority under Rule 103 is required to effec...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the Sharia District Court correctly require petitioner to comply with the formal requirements of Rule 103 (change of name) in her petition to resume the use of her maiden name?
- Is a petition to resume the use of a maiden name after divorce under the Code of Muslim Personal Laws, where the former husband has remarried, a petition for change of name requiring judicial authority under Article 3...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)