Key terms and definitions
- Section 2 defines “City or municipal civil registrar” as the head of the local civil registry office of the city or municipality, appointed by the city or municipal mayor under existing laws.
- Section 2 defines “Petitioner” as a natural person filing a petition with direct and personal interest in the correction or change sought.
- Section 2 defines “Clerical or typographical error” as a mistake in clerical work in writing, copying, transcribing, or typing a civil register entry that is harmless and innocuous, such as a misspelled name or misspelled place of birth, and that is visible to the eyes or obvious to the understanding, and correctable only by reference to other existing records.
- Section 2 requires that no correction under the definition of clerical or typographical error may involve a change of nationality, age, status or sex of the petitioner.
- Section 2 defines “Civil register” as the registry books and related certificates and documents kept in the archives of local civil registry offices, Philippine Consulate, and the Office of the Civil Registrar General.
- Section 2 defines “Civil registrar general” as the administrator of the National Statistics Office, the agency mandated to administer civil registration laws.
- Section 2 defines “First name” to include a name or nickname given to a person, which may consist of one or more names in addition to the middle and last names.
Scope, who may file, and how often
- Section 3 grants standing to any person having direct and personal interest to file a petition for correction of a clerical or typographical error and/or change of first name or nickname in the civil register.
- Section 3 requires filing in person with the local civil registry office of the city or municipality where the record to be corrected or changed is kept.
- Section 3 allows an in-person filing alternative when the petitioner has migrated within the country and appearance before the civil registrar keeping the documents is impractical due to transportation expenses, time and effort; the petition is filed in person with the local civil registrar of the petitioner’s current place of residence or domicile, and the two civil registrars must communicate to facilitate processing.
- Section 3 allows Philippine citizens residing or domiciled in foreign countries to file in person with the nearest Philippine Consulates.
- Section 3 mandates that petitions filed with the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general be processed in accordance with Republic Act No. 9048 and its implementing rules and regulations.
- Section 3 limits availability: petitions for correction of clerical/typographical errors and/or change of first names or nicknames may be availed of only once.
Grounds for changing first name or nickname
- Section 4 allows a petition for change of first name or nickname if the petitioner finds the current first name or nickname ridiculous, tainted with dishonor, or extremely difficult to write or pronounce.
- Section 4 allows the petition if the new first name or nickname has been habitually and continuously used by the petitioner and the petitioner has been publicly known by it in the community.
- Section 4 allows the petition if the change will avoid confusion.
Petition requirements, form, and supporting documents
- Section 5 requires the petition to be in the form of an affidavit, subscribed and sworn before any person authorized by law to administer oaths.
- Section 5 requires the affidavit to set forth facts necessary to establish the merits of the petition and to affirmatively show the petitioner’s competency to testify to the matters stated.
- Section 5 requires the petition to state the particular erroneous entry or entries sought to be corrected and/or the changed sought to be made.
- Section 5 requires supporting documents, including:
- A certified true machine copy of the certificate or of the page of the registry book containing the entry or entries sought to be corrected or changed; and
- At least two (2) public or private documents showing the correct entry or entries on which the correction/change is based.
- Section 5 authorizes submission of other relevant and necessary documents the petitioner or the civil registrar or consul general may consider for approval.
- Section 5 imposes additional requirements for change of first name or nickname:
- The petition must be published at least once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation; and
- The petitioner must submit a certification from the appropriate law enforcement agencies that the petitioner has no pending case or no criminal record.
- Section 5 requires filing the petition and supporting papers in three (3) copies, distributed as:
- First copy: to the concerned city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general;
- Second copy: to the Office of the Civil Registrar General; and
- Third copy: to the petitioner.
Processing by civil registrar or consul general
- Section 6 requires the city or municipal civil registrar or consul general to examine the petition and supporting documents.
- Section 6 requires posting of the petition in a conspicuous place for ten (10) consecutive days after the officer finds the petition and supporting documents sufficient in form and substance.
- Section 6 requires the officer to act on the petition and render a decision not later than five (5) working days after completion of the posting and/or publication requirement.
- Section 6 requires transmittal of a copy of the decision together with the records of the proceedings to the Office of the Civil Registrar General within five (5) working days from the date of the decision.
Civil registrar general review and finality
- Section 7 requires the civil registrar general to act within ten (10) working days from receipt of the decision granting a petition by exercising the power to impugn the decision through an objection based on any of the following grounds:
- The error is not clerical or typographical;
- The correction is substantial or controversial because it affects the civil status of a person; or
- The basis used in changing the first name or nickname does not fall under Section 4.
- Section 7 requires immediate notification to the city or municipal civil registrar or consul general of the action taken on the decision.
- Section 7 requires the city or municipal civil registrar or consul general, upon receipt of notice, to notify the petitioner.
- Section 7 gives the petitioner the right to seek reconsideration with the civil registrar general or to file the appropriate petition with the proper court.
- Section 7 provides that if the civil registrar general fails to impugn the decision within the prescribed period, the decision becomes final and executory.
- Section 7 allows a petitioner whose petition is denied to either appeal to the civil registrar general or file the appropriate petition with the proper court.
Fees and indigent exemption
- Section 8 authorizes the city or municipal civil registrar or consul general to collect reasonable fees as a condition for accepting the petition.
- Section 8 exempts an indigent petitioner from payment of the authorized fees.
Criminal penalty for violations
- Section 9 imposes a penalty on any person who violates any provision of Republic Act No. 9048.
- Section 9 mandates, upon conviction, imprisonment of not less than six (6) years but not more than twelve (12) years, or a fine of not less than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000) but not more than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000), or both, at the discretion of the court.
- Section 9 provides that if the offender is a government official or employee, the offender shall also suffer penalties under civil service laws, rules and regulations.
Implementing rules and effectivity rules
- Section 10 requires the civil registrar general to issue necessary implementing rules and regulations in consultation with the Department of Justice, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Office of the Supreme Court Administrator, the University of the Philippines Law Center, and the Philippine Association of Civil Registrars.
- Section 10 requires issuance of the implementing rules and regulations not later than three (3) months from the effectivity of Republic Act No. 9048.
- Section 14 sets effectivity: Republic Act No. 9048 takes effect fifteen (15) days after its complete publication in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.
Retroactivity, separability, and repeals
- Section 11 grants retroactive effect to Republic Act No. 9048 insofar as it does not prejudice or impair vested or acquired rights under the Civil Code and other laws.
- Section 12 provides separability: if any portion or provision is declared void or unconstitutional, the remaining portions remain effective.
- Section 13 repeals or modifies any laws, decrees, orders, rules, regulations, or other issuances—or parts thereof—inconsistent with Republic Act No. 9048.
Enactment date and publication
- Republic Act No. 9048 is dated March 22, 2001.
- Republic Act No. 9048 is approved by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Mar. 22, 2001.
- Republic Act No. 9048 becomes effective fifteen (15) days after complete publication in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.