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Dual Birth Registration - Pao
Dual Birth Registration - Pao
Persida Acosta
Dear PAO,
My son has two birth certificates. The first one was registered immediately
after his birth in 1997 by his father, who surnamed our son after him and
years old at the time. After two and a half years, I left him and took my son
because he was very abusive, and he refuses to give support. I had my son
use my surname in his school records, and I never secured a copy of his birth
certificate. But there came a time when we were required to present my son’s
birth certificate as the school became strict. Someone told me to apply for
late registration of birth, which I did. From then on, we were using his
him with me in Japan where I have been residing, and working for the past
couple of years. We were informed that there appeared two records of him. I
now want to have his first birth certificate cancelled as I want him to
continue using his second birth certificate. How do I proceed with the filing
Shiela
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Dear Shiela,
from the time of birth, and it must be done before the Office of the Civil
registration was made during the said period, the registration thereof may still
In the situation that you have presented, there appears to be no valid basis for
the late registration of birth of your son, which you did after you have
separated with his father, for the reason that he was already registered by his
father immediately after his birth. It is, thus, not advisable for you or your son
to continue using the said second birth certificate, and further, the same must
registry, where such registration was made, is located (Section 1, Rule 108,
Revised Rules of Court). The concerned Local Civil Registrar and all persons
who have interest which may be affected thereby must be made parties to the
proceedings. Once the petition is filed, the court will issue an order fixing the
time and place of the hearing and shall require that notices be given to such
persons named in the petition. The court will likewise mandate that the said
Insofar as the first birth certificate of your son, you may file a petition for
correction of entry before the Regional Trial Court which has jurisdiction
over the local civil registry where the registration thereof was made (Section
1, Rule 108, Id.). But this is only insofar as the entry of the date of marriage
between you and his father is concerned given that, as you have mentioned in
your letter, the two of you never actually entered into a contract of marriage.
With regard to the issue of your son’s surname in the said birth certificate, we
believe that only he can decide whether to retain the surname of his father or
change it to that of your surname. It bears stressing that the law applicable at
the time of his birth is Article 176 of the Family Code of the Philippines
which states that: “Illegitimate children shall use the surname and shall be
under the parental authority of their mother, and shall be entitled to support in
been amended by Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9255 which provides under
Section 1 thereof: “Article 176. Illegitimate children shall use the surname
and shall be under the parental authority of their mother, and shall be entitled
use the surname of their father if their filiation has been expressly recognized
by the father through the record of birth appearing in the civil register, or
Since your son’s father was the one who registered the former’s birth, this
presupposes the fact the he recognized his filiation with your son. Thus, the
change his surname to that of your surname, he must file a petition for change
of name before the court and he must establish that there is proper and
reasonable cause/s for which the change is sought. Otherwise, the court will
We also wish to emphasize that the Supreme Court has ruled in the case of
Grande vs. Antonio (G.R. No. 206248, February 18, 2014) that: “x x x
Article 176 gives illegitimate children the right to decide if they want to use
the surname of their father or not. It is not the father (herein respondent) or
the mother (herein petitioner) who is granted by law the right to dictate the
amended, is free from ambiguity. And where there is no ambiguity, one must
abide by its words. The use of the word “may” in the provision readily shows
supplied)
We hope that we were able to answer your queries. Please be reminded that
this advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation
of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or
elaborated.
Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office.