One of the essential requirements in school, work, applying for the issuance of a Philippine passport, is the applicant’s birth certificate. For the fact that it provides legal identity & legal information of a person’s name, date of birth, state, city, county of birth, sex, mother’s name, and father’s name, etc. But if our Birth Certificate contains clerical errors it can cause delays to access or claim whatever basic rights due to us.
In this article, I will tackle the most commonly asked questions and corresponding basic solutions. I hope it will serve as a little help.
Below are the guidelines on how to correct erroneous entries in the Birth Certificate.
How to Correct Common Errors in Birth Certificate If the record of PSA is blurred, the local civil registrar shall be requested to endorse a copy of the birth certificate with a clearer entry in the first name to the PSA.
If the record of PSA and civil registry are both blurred, a petition for correction of clerical error should be filed.
The misspelled first name, middle name or last name in the birth certificate should be corrected by filing a petition for correction of clerical error.
No First Name, No Middle Name, No Last Name If the first name or last name of the child in the birth certificate is blank, a supplemental report should be filed to supply the missing entry.
A. If legitimate
To supply the missing entry, a supplemental report should be filed through an affidavit indicating the entry missed in the registration and the reasons why there was a failure in supplying the required.
B. If illegitimate and acknowledged by the father
If the child is acknowledged by the father and middle name is blank, a supplemental report should be filed to enter the omitted middle name. The last name of the mother shall be the middle of the child.
C. If illegitimate and not acknowledged by the father
The omitted middle name shall not be supplied anymore. An illegitimate child whose affiliation is not recognized by the father bears only a given name and his/her mothers surname and does not have a middle name.
D. Different from the middle name entered in the birth certificate
A petition for correction of clerical should be filed to correct the middle name if:
Last name of the mother in the birth certificate of the child is correct and middle name of the child is wrong. Last name of the mother in the birth certificate of the child is wrong and middle name of the child is correct. E. Middle Names of the child and the mother in the birth certificate are wrong
A petition should be filed at the Regional Trial Court of the province where the corresponding civil registry is located, to correct the middle name of the child and the last name of the mother in the birth certificate. The error is not already considered as clerical which can be corrected administratively.
Be ready for any document/s required by the lawyer to be presented during the petition which will show the correct middle name if the child.
F. Interchanged middle and last name
The interchanged middle and last name is considered as an error encoding which can be corrected by filing a petition for correction of clerical error.
J. For compound middle names like Dela Cruz, Quintos Deles, Villa Roman
The middle initial that should be used should be the first letter of the middle name. For Dela Cruz , the middle initial should be “D” . For Quintos Deles “Q” . For Villa Roman “V” .
H. Middle initial is entered in the birth certificate instead of the full middle name
The entry should be corrected by a petition for correction of clerical error.
A. If born before August 3, 1988
If acknowledged by both parents. A child acknowledged by both parents shall use the surname of the father. The last name of the mother shall be the middle of the child.If acknowledged by only one parent. If recognized by only one of the parents, a child shall use the surname of the recognizing parent.Child under the surname of the mother and acknowledged by the father through authentic writing. The authentic writing executed by the father can be used as basis for you to use his last name. B. Born after August 3, 1988
Birth certificate already registered and child is under the surname of the mother and the father executed an affidavit of acknowledgmentThe affidavit of acknowledgment executed by the father should be registered with the civil registry office where the birth of the child was registered. Since the surname being used is the surname of the mother, an Affidavit to Use the Surname of the Father (AUSF) should also be executed with the civil registry office where the birth is registered. Birth certificate already registered and child is under the surname of the mother and a Private Handwritten Instrument (PHI) by the father is presentedThe PHI executed by the father should be the basis in order for you to use the surname of your father. Since the surname being used is the surname of the mother, an Affidavit to Use the Surname of the Father (AUSF) should also be executed with the civil registry office where the birth is registered. Birth certificate is not yet registered and the father acknowledges the child at the back of the birth certificate or in a separate public instrumentThe surname of the father shall be entered as the last name of the child in the Certificate of Live Birth. The Certificate of Live Birth shall be recorded in the Register of Births. A. First name used is different from the first name entered in the birth certificate
If the first name used is different from what is entered in the birth certificate, the first name in the birth certificate shall be changed by filing a petition for change of first name.
B. First name is “Baby Boy”, “Baby Girl”, “Boy”, “Girl”, “Baby”
If child is born before 1993. The first name “Baby Boy”, “Baby Girl”, “Baby”, “Boy” and “Girl” as considered as if the first names were omitted, hence these are cases falling under the procedure of supplemental report.If child is born in 1993 onwards. In 1993 onwards the “Baby Boy”, “Baby Girl”, “Baby”, “Boy” and “Girl” are already considered as a first name and can be corrected by filing a petition for change of first name. WHO SHALL FILE
the owner of the document or any authorized representative National Statistics Office owner of the record owners spouse children parents brothers sisters grandparents guardian other person duly authorized by law or by the owner of the document sought to be corrected; if owner of the record is a minor or physically or mentally incapacitated, petition may be filed by his spouse, or any of his children, parents, brothers; sisters; grandparents, guardians, or persons duly authorized by law. If born in the Philippines – Civil registry office or municipality where the birth certificate is registered. When the petitioner had already migrated to another place within the Philippines, the petition may be filed with the civil registry office where he/she is currently residing. If born abroad – Philippine Consulate Office where the birth is reported. Certified machine copy of the birth record containing the entry to be corrected;
At least two (2) private or public documents upon which the correction shall be based like baptismal certificate, voters affidavit, employment record, GSIS/SSS record, medical record, business record, drivers license, insurance, land titles, certificate of land transfer, bank passbook, NBI/police clearance, civil registry records of ascendants; Notice/Certificate of Posting; Filing fee Other documents which may be required by the concerned civil registrar. Note: With regards to the filing fee, you can be exempted if you are considered as an indigent petitioner. According to the Implementing Rules and Regulations, section 8 of the law as amended by RA 10172, an indigent petitioner refers to a destitute, needy and poor individual who is certified as such by the social welfare and development office of the city/municipal government.
Source: PSA
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