Article 413CIVIL REGISTER

All other matters pertaining to the

registration of civil status shall be governed by special

laws. (n)

RA No 9048 | Clerical Error Act

As amended by RA No 10172

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9048 March 22, 2001

AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE CITY OR MUNICIPAL CIVIL

REGISTRAR OR THE CONSUL GENERAL TO CORRECT A

CLERICAL OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR IN AN ENTRY

AND/OR CHANGE OF FIRST NAME OR NICKNAME IN

THE CIVIL REGISTER WITHOUT NEED OF A JUDICIAL

ORDER, AMENDING FOR THIS PURPOSE ARTICLES 376

AND 412 OF THE CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of

Representatives of the Philippines in Congress

assembled:

Section 1. Authority to Correct Clerical or Typographical

Error and Change of First Name or Nickname – No entry

in a civil register shall be changed or corrected without a

judicial order, except for clerical or typographical errors

and change of first name or nickname, the day and

month in the date of birth or sex of a person where it is

patently clear that there was a clerical or typographical

error or mistake in the entry, which can be corrected or

changed by the concerned city or municipal civil registrar

or consul general in accordance with the provisions of

this Act and its implementing rules and regulations. (as

amended by RA No 10172)

Section 2. Definition of Terms – As used in this Act, the

following terms shall mean:

(1) "City or Municipal civil registrar" refers to the head of

the local civil registry office of the city or municipality, as

the case may be, who is appointed as such by the city or

municipal mayor in accordance with the provisions of

existing laws.

(2) "Petitioner" refers to a natural person filing the petition

and who has direct and personal interest in the

correction of a clerical or typographical error in an entry

or change of first name or nickname in the civil register.

(3) 'Clerical or typographical error' refers to a mistake

committed in the performance of clerical work in writing,

copying, transcribing or typing an entry in the civil

register that is harmless and innocuous, such as

misspelled name or misspelled place of birth, mistake in

the entry of day and month in the date of birth or the sex

of the person or the like, which is visible to the eyes or

obvious to the understanding, and can be corrected or

changed only by reference to other existing record or

records: Provided, however, That no correction must

involve the change of nationality, age, or status of the

petitioner. ( as amended by RA No 10172)

(4) "Civil Register" refers to the various registry books and

related certificates and documents kept in the archives of

the local civil registry offices, Philippine Consulates and of

the Office of the Civil Registrar General.

(5) "Civil registrar general" refers to the Administrator of

the National Statistics Office which is the agency

mandated to carry out and administer the provision of

laws on civil registration.

(6) "First name" refers to a name or nickname given to a

person which may consist of one or more names in

addition to the middle and last names.

Section 3. Who May File the Petition and Where. – Any

person having direct and personal interest in the

correction of a clerical or typographical error in an entry

and/or change of first name or nickname in the civil

register may file, in person, a verified petition with the

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local civil registry office of the city or municipality where

the record being sought to be corrected or changed is

kept.

In case the petitioner has already migrated to another

place in the country and it would not be practical for such

party, in terms of transportation expenses, time and effort

to appear in person before the local civil registrar keeping

the documents to be corrected or changed, the petition

may be filed, in person, with the local civil registrar of the

place where the interested party is presently residing or

domiciled. The two (2) local civil registrars concerned will

then communicate to facilitate the processing of the

petition.

Citizens of the Philippines who are presently residing or

domiciled in foreign countries may file their petition, in

person, with the nearest Philippine Consulates.

The petitions filed with the city or municipal civil registrar

or the consul general shall be processed in accordance

with this Act and its implementing rules and regulations.

All petitions for the clerical or typographical errors and/or

change of first names or nicknames may be availed of

only once.

Section 4. Grounds for Change of First Name or

Nickname. – The petition for change of first name or

nickname may be allowed in any of the following cases:

(1) The petitioner finds the first name or nickname to be

ridiculous, tainted with dishonor or extremely difficult to

write or pronounce.

(2) The new first name or nickname has been habitually

and continuously used by the petitioner and he has been

publicly known by that by that first name or nickname in

the community: or

(3) The change will avoid confusion.

Section 5. Form and Contents of the Petition. – The

petition for correction of a clerical or typographical error,

or for change of first name or nickname, as the case may

be, shall be in the form of an affidavit, subscribed and

sworn to before any person authorized by law to

administer oaths. The affidavit shall set forth facts

necessary to establish the merits of the petition and shall

show affirmatively that the petitioner is competent to

testify to the matters stated. The petitioner shall state the

particular erroneous entry or entries, which are sought to

be corrected and/or the change sought to be made.

The petition shall be supported with the following

documents:

(1) A certified true machine copy of the certificate or of

the page of the registry book containing the entry or

entries sought to be corrected or changed;

(2) At least two (2) public or private documents showing

the correct entry or entries upon which the correction or

change shall be based; and

(3) Other documents which the petitioner or the city or

municipal civil registrar or the consul general may

consider relevant and necessary for the approval of the

petition.

No petition for correction of erroneous entry concerning

the date of birth or the sex of a person shall be

entertained except if the petition is accompanied by

earliest school record or earliest school documents such

as, but not limited to, medical records, baptismal

certificate and other documents issued by religious

authorities; nor shall any entry involving change of

gender corrected except if the petition is accompanied by

a certification issued by an accredited government

physician attesting to the fact that the petitioner has not

undergone sex change or sex transplant. The petition for

change of first name or nickname, or for correction of

erroneous entry concerning the day and month in the

date of birth or the sex of a person, as the case may be,

shall be published at least once a week for two (2)

consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation.

Furthermore, the petitioner shall submit a certification

from the appropriate law enforcement agencies that he

has no pending case or no criminal record.

The petition and its supporting papers shall be filed in

three (3) copies to be distributed as follows: first copy to

the concerned city or municipal civil registrar, or the

consul general; second copy to the Office of the Civil

Registrar General; and third copy to the petitioner. (as

amended by RA No 10172)

Section 6. Duties of the City or Municipal Civil Registrar

or the Consul General. – The city or municipal civil

registrar or the consul general to whom the petition is

presented shall examine the petition and its supporting

documents. He shall post the petition in a conspicuous

place provided for that purpose for ten (10) consecutive

days after he finds the petition and its supporting

documents sufficient in form and substance.

The city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general

shall act on the petition and shall render a decision not

later than five (5) working days after the completion of

the posting and/or publication requirement. He shall

transmit a copy of his decision together with the records

of the proceedings to the Office of the Civil Registrar

General within five (5) working days from the date of the

decision.

Section 7. Duties and Powers of the Civil Registrar

General. – The civil registrar general shall, within ten (10)

working days from receipt of the decision granting a

petition, exercise the power to impugn such decision by

way of an objection based on the following grounds:

(1) The error is not clerical or typographical;

(2) The correction of an entry or entries in the civil register

is substantial or controversial as it affects the civil status

of a person; or

(3) The basis used in changing the first name or

nickname of a person does not fall under Section 4.

The civil registrar general shall immediately notify the city

or municipal civil registrar or the consul general of the

action taken on the decision. Upon receipt of the notice

thereof, the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul

general shall notify the petitioner of such action.

The petitioner may seek reconsideration with the civil

registrar general or file the appropriate petition with the

proper court.

If the civil registrar general fails to exercise his power to

impugn the decision of the city or municipal civil registrar

or of the consul general within the period prescribed

herein, such decision shall become final and executory.

Where the petition is denied by the city or municipal civil

registrar or the consul general, the petitioner may either

appeal the decision to the civil registrar general or file the

appropriate petition with the proper court.

Section 8. Payment of Fees. – The city or municipal civil

registrar or the consul general shall be authorized to

collect reasonable fees as a condition for accepting the

petition. An indigent petitioner shall be exempt from the

payment of the said fee.

The fees collected by the city or municipal civil registrar or

the consul general pursuant to this Act shall accrue to the

funds of the Local Civil Registry Office concerned or the

Office of the Consul General for modernization of the

office and hiring of new personnel and procurement of

supplies, subject to government accounting and auditing

rules. ( as amended by RA No 10172)

Section 9. Penalty Clause. - A person who violates any of

the provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction, be

penalized by imprisonment of not less than six (6) years

but not more than twelve (12) years, or a fine of not less

than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) but not more than

One Hundred Thousand pesos (P100,000.00), or both, at

the discretion of the court.

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In addition, if the offender is a government official or

employee he shall suffer the penalties provided under

civil service laws, rules and regulations.

Section 10. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The

civil registrar general shall, in consultation with the

Department of Justice, the Department of Foreign Affairs,

the Office of the Supreme Court Administrator, the

University of the Philippines Law Center and the

Philippine Association of Civil Registrars, issue the

necessary rules and regulations for the effective

implementation of this Act not later than three (3)

months from the effectivity of this law.

Section 11. Retroactivity Clause. - This Act shall have

retroactive effect insofar as it does not prejudice or impair

vested or acquired rights in accordance with the Civil

Code and other laws.

Section 12. Separability Clause. - If any portion or

provision of this Act is declared void or unconstitutional,

the remaining portions or provisions thereof shall not be

affected by such declaration.

Section 13. Repealing Clause - All laws, decrees, orders,

rules and regulations, other issuances, or parts thereof

inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby

repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 14. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect

fifteen (15) days after its complete publication in at least

two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved: March 22, 2001

BOOK II | Property, Ownership,

and its Modifications

TITLE I CLASSIFICATION OF PROPERTY

PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS