SILVERIO vs.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

G.R. No. 174689 October 22, 2007

Facts:
Petitioner avers that he is a male transsexual. He underwent psychological examination,
hormone treatment and breast augmentation culminating with sex reassignment surgery in Thailand.
From then on, petitioner deposed himself as female and got engaged. He now seeks to have his name
in his birth certificate changed and his sex from male to female.

Issue:
Whether or not petitioner can change the entry of sex in his birth certificate.

Ruling:
Petitioner’s basis in praying for the change of his first name was his sex reassignment. However
a change of name does not alter one’s legal capacity or civil status. R.A. 9048 does not sanction such
change of name under such cause. It is further a substantial change for which the applicable procedure
is Rule 108 of the Rules of Court. However no reasonable interpretation of the provision can justify
the conclusion that it covers the correction on the ground of sex reassignment. A person’s sex is an
essential requisite in marriage and family relations. It is a part of a person’s legal capacity and civil
status. To grant the changes sought by the petitioner will substantially reconfigure and greatly alter the
laws on marriage and family relations. It will allow the union of a man with another man who has
undergone sex reassignment.