Title
Rules on Illegitimate Children's Surname
Law
Psa Administrative Order No. 1 Series Of 2016
Decision Date
Mar 22, 2016
Republic Act No. 9255 grants illegitimate children in the Philippines the right to use their father's surname, providing guidelines for registration and filing of documents to establish paternity and ensure the child's recognition.
illegitimate children
paternity
recognition

Legal basis and referenced issuances

  • The implementing rules are mandated through Republic Act No. 10625, which directs the Civil Registrar General to promulgate revised implementing rules and regulations.
  • The revised implementing rules are based on guidance from a Supreme Court ruling in “Grande vs. Antonio,” G.R. 206246, dated February 18, 2014.
  • The rules implement Republic Act No. 9265, which amends Article 176 of Executive Order No. 209 (the Family Code of the Philippines).
  • The definition of PFSP tracks Section 5(k) of Republic Act No. 7157.
  • The order’s definition of Public Document refers to Memorandum Circular 04-12 dated October 18, 2004 (Annex A).
  • The rule on delayed registration refers to Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 1993 (IRR of Act No. 3753 and other civil registration laws) (Rule 6).

Coverage and scope of application

  • The revised implementing rules apply to all illegitimate children born during the effectivity of Republic Act No. 9255 (Rule 1).
  • Registration applies through the Local Civil Registry Office (LCRO) for births that occur in the Philippines (Rule 5).
  • Registration for events involving foreign placement uses Philippine Foreign Service Posts (PFSP), specifically Embassies and Consulates General of the Philippines abroad (Rule 2.5 and Rule 5).
  • For births that occur within or outside the Philippines, documents executed outside the Philippines are registered at the PFSP of the country of residence, or to the PFSP of the country nearest the place of residence where none exists (Rule 5).

Core definitions and covered documents

  • “Public Document” refers to the Affidavit of Admission of Paternity and other public documents enumerated under Memorandum Circular 04-12 dated October 18, 2004 (Annex A) (Rule 2.1).
  • “Private Handwritten Instrument” (PHI) is an instrument in the handwriting of the father, duly signed by him, where he expressly recognizes paternity during his lifetime (Rule 2.2).
  • “Affidavit to Use the Surname of the Father” (AUSF) is an instrument executed to use the father’s surname and is a registrable document (Rule 2.3).
  • “Local Civil Registry Office (LCRO)” is the department in a city or municipality mandated to perform civil registration functions (Rule 2.4).
  • “Philippine Foreign Service Post (PFSP)” refers to Philippine embassies, missions, consulates general, and other foreign service establishments maintained by Department of Foreign Affairs law, but the PFSP for these rules refers only to Embassies and Consulates General abroad (Rule 2.5).
  • “Civil Registrar General (CRG)” is the head of the Philippine Statistics Authority empowered to issue orders and instructions to Local Civil Registrars regarding civil registration duties (Rule 2.6).
  • “Guardian” includes persons lawfully invested with care for one incapable of administering their own affairs, and those authorized to exercise substitute parental authority; substitute parental authority includes:
    1. the surviving grandparent under Article 214 of the Family Code,
    2. the oldest brother or sister over 21 years of age, unless unfit or disqualified under Article 216(2), and
    3. the child’s actual custodian over 21 years of age, unless unfit or disqualified under Article 216(3) (Rule 2.7).
  • “Certificate of Live Birth (COLB)” or Municipal Form No. 102 is the prescribed form for declarations for birth registration (Rule 2.8).
  • “Report of Birth (ROB)” is the prescribed form for declarations of births abroad to Filipino parent/s for registration (Rule 2.9).

Filing, registration location, and timing

  • Registration documents must be filed at the LCRO or PFSP for registration and include:
    • Affidavit of Admission of Paternity (Rule 3.1),
    • Private Handwritten Instrument (Rule 3.2),
    • Affidavit to Use the Surname of the Father (AUSF) (Rule 3.3).
  • Persons authorized to file include the father, mother, the person himself if of age, or the guardian for:
    • the Affidavit of Admission of Paternity (Rule 4.1), and
    • the AUSF (Rule 4.2).
  • The father must personally file the Private Handwritten Instrument at the LCRO/PFSP when proof of filiation is through a PHI (Rule 4.3).
  • When the father is already deceased, the mother, the person himself if of age, or the guardian may file the PHI, subject to acceptance with supporting documents to prove filiation (Rule 4.3).
  • For births in the Philippines, documents executed in the Philippines are registered at the LCRO of the place of birth (Rule 5).
  • For births within or outside the Philippines, documents executed outside the Philippines are registered at the PFSP of the country of residence, or the nearest PFSP where there is none (Rule 5).
  • For births outside the Philippines, documents executed in the Philippines are registered at the Local Civil Registry Office of the place of execution (Rule 5).
  • The Affidavit of Admission of Paternity, PHI, and AUSF must be registered within twenty (20) days from the date of execution; otherwise, rules on delayed registration under Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 1993 apply (Rule 6).

How registration and annotations are processed

  • The City/Municipal Civil Registrar (C/MCR), Consul General, Consul, or Vice Consul must examine completeness and correctness of entries in the COLB/ROB and supporting documents.
  • If there are inconsistencies, the C/MCR or consular officer must not accept the documents for registration (Rule 7.1).
  • The following documents are accepted for registration:
    • COLB/ROB,
    • Affidavit of Admission of Paternity,
    • Private Handwritten Instrument, and
    • AUSF (Rule 7.2).
  • The C/MCR or consular officer must record COLB/ROB entries in the Register of Births and record the Affidavit of Admission of Paternity, PHI, and AUSF in the Register of Legal Instruments (Rule 7.3).
  • The COLB/ROB must be annotated, and the annotation must be entered in the Remarks portion of the Register of Births (Rule 7.4).
  • Annotated documents must be distributed as follows:
    • first copy to the CRG,
    • second copy to the LCRO/PFSP where the event was registered,
    • third copy to the registrant/owner of the document, and
    • fourth copy retained by the LCRO/PFSP for filing (Rule 7.5).
  • Certified copies and transcriptions issued must reflect annotations and include:
    • certified COLB/ROB or certified transcription (LCR Form 1A),
    • certified copies of the Affidavit of Admission of Paternity, AUSF, and PHI (Rule 7.6).

Effects on surname and required annotations

  • As a rule, an illegitimate child not acknowledged by the father uses the surname of the mother (Rule 8.1).

  • An illegitimate child acknowledged by the father uses the surname of the mother if no AUSF is executed (Rule 8.2).

  • An illegitimate child aged 0–6 years old acknowledged by the father uses the surname of the father if the mother or guardian, in the absence of the mother, executes the AUSF (Rule 8.3).

  • An illegitimate child aged 7 to 17 years old acknowledged by the father uses the surname of the father if the child executes an AUSF fully aware of its consequence, attested by the mother or guardian (Rule 8.4).

  • Upon reaching the age of majority, an illegitimate child acknowledged by the father uses the surname of his father if the child executes an AUSF without need of any attestation (Rule 8.5).

  • Annotations for births not yet registered require different Remark/annotation outcomes depending on whether an AUSF exists and which proof of filiation is used:

    • Without AUSF (Affidavit of Admission of Paternity at the back of COLB): the child is registered under the surname of the mother; no annotation on the COLB, but remarks in the Remarks Column of the Register of Births must state “Acknowledged by (name of father) on (date of execution of the Affidavit of Admission of Paternity)” (Rule 9.1.1(a)).
    • Without AUSF (separate Affidavit of Admission of Paternity): the child is registered under the surname of the mother; annotation on the COLB/ROB and Remarks Column must include “Acknowledged by (name of father) on (date of execution of the Affidavit of Admission of Paternity) under (Registry No. of the Affidavit of Admission of Paternity)” (Rule 9.1.1(b)).
    • Without AUSF (Private Handwritten Instrument): the child is registered under the surname of the mother; annotation on the COLB/ROB and Remarks Column must include “Acknowledged by (name of father) under (Registry No. of the Private Handwritten Instrument)” (Rule 9.1.1(c)).
    • With AUSF (Affidavit of Admission of Paternity at the back of COLB): the child is registered under the surname of the father; no annotation on the COLB, but Remarks Column must state “Acknowledged by (name of father) on (date of execution of the Affidavit of Admission of Paternity) pursuant to RA 9255” (Rule 9.1.2(a)).
    • With AUSF (separate public Affidavit of Admission of Paternity): remarks must include “Acknowledged by (name of father) on (date of execution of the Affidavit of Admission of Paternity) under (Registry No. of the Affidavit of Admission of Paternity) pursuant to RA 9255” (Rule 9.1.2(b)).
    • With AUSF (Private Handwritten Instrument): remarks must include “Acknowledged by (name of father) under (Registry No. of the Private Handwritten instrument) pursuant to RA 9255” (Rule 9.1.2(c)).

  • Annotations for births previously registered under the surname of the mother and not acknowledged by the father are also governed by whether an AUSF exists:

    • Without AUSF (separate public Affidavit of Admission of Paternity): annotate COLB/ROB and Remarks Column with “Acknowledged by (name of father) on (date of execution of the Affidavit of Admission of Paternity) under (Registry No. of the Affidavit of Admission of Paternity)” (Rule 9.2.1(a)).
    • Without AUSF (PHI): annotate COLB/ROB and Remarks Column with “Acknowledged by (name of father) under (Registry No. of the Private Handwritten Instrument)” (Rule 9.2.1(b)).
    • With AUSF (separate public Affidavit of Admission of Paternity): the child must use the surname of the father, and the annotation must state “Acknowledged by (name of father) on (date of execution the Affidavit of Admission of Paternity) under (Registry No. of the Affidavit of Admission of Paternity), The child shall be known us (full name of the shift) pursuant to RA 9255” (Rule 9.2.2(a)).
    • With AUSF (PHI): the child must use the surname of the father, and the annotation must state “Acknowledged by (name of father) under (Registry No of the Private Handwritten instrument), The child shall be known as (full name of the child) pursuant to RA 9255” (Rule 9.2.2(b)).

  • Annotations for births previously registered using the surname of the mother and the child is acknowledged by the father require AUSF execution to shift to the father’s surname:

    • If an AUSF is executed by the mother or guardian, in the absence of the mother, or the person himself, the child must use the surname of the father and the annotation must state “The child shall be known as (full name of the child) pursuant to RA 9255” in the COLB/ROB and Remarks Column (Rule 9.3.1).

Separability, repeals, and effectivity

  • Separability applies: if any provision of the revised implementing rules is declared void or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions remain effective (Rule 10).
  • Repeal and modification applies: all circulars, memoranda, rules, and regulations or parts inconsistent with these revised implementing rules are repealed or modified accordingly (Rule 11).
  • Effectivity applies: the revised implementing rules take effect 15 days after publication in a newspaper of general circulation (Rule 12).

Analyze Cases Smarter, Faster
Jur helps you analyze cases smarter to comprehend faster, building context before diving into full texts. AI-powered analysis, always verify critical details.

About Privacy Terms