61 Republic v Gallo
GR 207074; A clerical or typographical error is a mistake committed in the performance of clerical work in putting the
Jan 17 2018
By: Calaguas
Topic: Entries in the Civil Register
Petitioner: Republic of the Philippines
Respondent: Michelle Soriano Gallo
Ponente: Leonen, J.
DOCTRINE:
Entries in the Civil Register are prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.
Rule 103 (Change of Name) applies when what is sought are substantial changes of name.
Rule 108 (Cancellation or Correction of Entries in the Civil Registry) applies when what is sought are
substantial changes or corrections in the Civil Registry.
RA 9048, as amended by RA 10172 applies when what is sought are typographical or clerical changes of
first name or nickname and/or correction of clerical errors of entries in the Civil Registry.
Both Rule 103 and 108 require judicial authority while RA 9048, as amended is merely an administrative
proceeding.
FACTS:
Respondent Gallo, needing to obtain a passport, sought to have entries in her certificate of live birth
corrected. She filed a petition with the RTC, under Rule 108, seeking to have the following changes be
made in the entries in her Certificate of Live Birth:
1) Her name from Michael to Michelle;
2) Her biological sex from Male to Female;
3) The inclusion of her middle name Soriano;
4) The inclusion of her mother’s middle name Angangan;
5) The inclusion of her father’s middle name Balingao; and
6) The inclusion of her parent’s marriage date May 23, 1981.
Attached in her petition were copies of her diploma, voter’s certification, official transcript of records,
medical certificate, mother’s birth certificate, and parent’s marriage certificate. According to her she was
merely seeking for the correction of entries in her Certificate of Live Birth.
The RTC found her petition sufficient in form and substance and made the necessary orders as provided
for in the Rules. At trial, Gallo testified and substantiated her allegations, her doctor certified that she
[Gallo] was female, and on cross-examination, Gallo said she never undertook any gender-reassignment
surgery and that she was seeking for such corrections to be made in order to obtain a passport.
The RTC ruled in Gallo’s favor. The Republic, through the OSG appealed alleging that the applicable rule
was Rule 103 (not 108) and that the necessary jurisdictional requirements for Rule 103 were not met.
However, the CA denied the appeal and found that Gallo availed of the proper remedy (Rule 108) as the
corrections sought were clerical, harmless, and innocuous.
According to the CA, the corrections sought were merely clerical and did not involve substantial
corrections. The Republic argues that the corrections sought were substantial changes as “Michael”
could not have been a result of misspelling of “Michelle”.
ISSUE:
Whether the changes sought to be made were substantial changes?
HELD:
No, the changes sought were mere correction of clerical or typographical errors.
entry in the civil register that is harmless and innocuous, visible to the eyes or obvious to the
understanding, and may be corrected or changed only by reference to other existing records.
In any case, Rule 103 (Change of Name) cannot apply in this case because change in the entry of a
person’s biological sex is governed by Rule 108 (Cancellation or Correction of Entries in the Civil Registry),
while it was RA 9048 which applied to all the other corrections sought.
Art 407 of the Civil Code tells us that the books in the Civil Register include acts, events, and judicial
decrees concerning the civil status of persons and that they are prima facie evidence of the facts stated
therein.
Prior to the presently governing laws, Article 376 of the Civil Code and Rule 103 of the Rules of Court
applied when changes or corrections of name were sought, while Article 412 of the Civil Code and Rule
108 applied when changes or corrections of entries in the civil register were sought. Both Article 376 and
412 of the Civil Code required judicial authority before changes and corrections could be made. While
Rule 108 also covers changes of names, its difference with Rule 103 lies in the fact that only corrections
for clerical errors may be made under Rule 108. Thus, substantial changes of names was, and still are,
governed by Rule 103.
However, both Article 376 and 412 of the Civil Code were amended by RA 9048 by removing clerical
errors and changes of name from the ambit of Rule 108 and put it under the jurisdiction of the Civil
Registrar as an administrative proceeding. RA 9048 was then amended by RA 10172 which added that
the change entries regarding the day and month of birth, and the sex of a person as administrative
corrections without need for judicial proceedings as long as such errors therein are clerical and
typographical mistakes. In sum, a person may now change his or her first name or correct clerical errors
in the entry of his or her name, day and month of his or her birth, and his or her sex, and such changes
and corrections may be made through administrative proceedings. Nevertheless, because Gallo’s petition
was filed prior to the enactment of RA 10172 the latter law cannot apply in this case.
In this case, Gallo was merely seeking to make corrections in the entries in her Certificate of Live Birth.
This means she was merely seeking to make or set right faults or errors therefrom. She did not seek to
replace the entries with substitutes. With special regard to the correction of her name, the Court agreed
that it was merely a misspelling as the 1st 4 letters of the names are the same, both names may even be
vocalized similarly depending on the accent or intonation, and that Gallo did not seek to be known by a
different appellation being known as Michelle throughout her life.
RULING:
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the petition is DENIED. The April 29, 2013 Decision of the Court of
Appeals in CA-G.R. CV No. 96358 is AFFIRMED. The Petition for Correction of Entry in the Certificate of
Live Birth of Michelle Soriano Gallo is GRANTED. This Court directs that the Certificate of Live Birth of
Michelle Soriano Gallo be corrected as follows:
1)  Correct her first name from "Michael" to "Michelle";
2)  Correct her biological sex from "Male" to "Female";
3)  Enter her middle name as "Soriano";
4)  Enter the middle name of her mother as "Angangan";
5)  Enter the middle name of her father as "Balingao"; and
6)  Enter the date of her parents' marriage as "May 23, 1981."
SO ORDERED.