Baptismal certificate issue

I’m having problems with my Baptismal Certificate – they misspelled my name. Tama ba naman yun!

I knew this was coming because my baptismal certificate carries my “Christian name” – Maria. Back in 1980’s, it was a requirement to carry a Christian name. If wala, they will simply add “Maria” and that’s it. I thought that would be my only concern but NO!!! My name was spelled with a double L. As you can see folks, my real name is SHERYL but my new copy carried the name SHERYLL. Goshes!

I talked to the church assistant to air my concern. This is because our copy released in 1981 carries my correct name. Now, why are they giving me a wrong one?!? Unfortunately, they could not explain how on earth I was able to secure a copy without errors. Tinanong pa ako paano ako nagkaroon ng tama, aba ma! I was 5months old at that time. Would I be able to talk or understand what’s going on? I was probably busy sucking my mom’s breast or probably throwing tantrums.

What do I have to do now?

I must admit that I was blown away. I even raised my voice to an old church assistant, how could have I done that? I’m sorry old lady. I am really upset and stressed out. My wedding is in 5 months and I have a lot to think about besides this.

My new bff for the couple of days will be the NSO office and the Chancery. I have to get a Decree Number so they can issue me a correct copy bearing my correct name. I don’t know how long will it take. Maybe a week or two?! Even months as the elders whispered to me. Pls Lord, guide me.

With this, I will make sure that my child will not go through the same concern. I’ll probably name her or him with just a letter – one Letter. How about a letter A for that matter!!! Just kidding =)

In connection to my entry, please read below:

Republic Act 9048

Act Authorizing the C/MCR or 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

WHAT IS REPUBLIC ACT 9048?

Republic Act (RA) 9048 authorizes the city or municipal civil registrar or the
consul general to correct a clerical or typographical error in an entry and/or
change the first name or nickname in the civil register without need of a
judicial order.

RA 9048 amends Articles 376 and 412 of the Civil Code of the Philippines,
which prohibit the change of name or surname of a person, or any correction or
change of entry in a civil register without a judicial order.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo approved the act on 22 March 2001. With the
law taking effect on 22 April 2001, the Civil Registrar-General promulgated
Administrative Order No. 1 Series of 2001, which was published in the newspaper
in August that year.

WHAT CORRECTIONS CAN BE MADE BY RA 9048?

RA 9048 allows these corrections:

correction of clerical or typographical errors in any entry in civil registry
documents, except corrections involving the change in sex, age, nationality and
status of a person.
(A clerical or typographical error refers to an obvious mistake committed in
clerical work, either in writing, copying, transcribing, or typing an entry in
the civil register that is harmless and innocuous, such as a misspelled name or
misspelled place of birth and the like, and can be corrected or changed only by
reference to other existing record or records.)

change of a person's first name in his/her civil registry document under certain
grounds specified under the law through administrative process.

WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS UNDER RA 9048 THAT THE PETITIONER NEEDS TO COMPLY
WITH?

(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 first name or nickname
in the community; or,

(3) The change will avoid confusion.

WHO MAY FILE THE PETITION?

Whether it is for correction of clerical or typographical error, or for change
of first name, the petition may be filed by a person of legal age who must have
a direct and personal interest in the correction of the error or in the change
of first name in the civil register.

A person is considered of legal age when he is eighteen years old and above.
Thus, a minor (less than eighteen years old) cannot by himself file a petition,
either for correction of clerical or typographical error or for change of his
first name.

Only the following persons are considered to have a direct and personal
interest in the correction of clerical error or change of first name:

Owner of the record that contains the error to be corrected or first name to
be changed

Owner's spouse, children, parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, guardian,
or any other person duly authorized by law or by the owner of the document
sought to be corrected.

WHAT SHOULD BE THE FORM AND CONTENT OF THE PETITION?

The petition, whether it is for correction of clerical error or for a change
of first name, should be accomplished properly and in the prescribed form.
Section 5 of RA 9048 and Rule 8 of Administrative Order No. 1, S. 2001 require
that the petition should be in the form of an affidavit, hence, it should be
subscribed and sworn to before a person authorized to administer oath.

Basically, the petition must contain the following facts or information:

Merits of the petition

Competency of the petitioner

Erroneous entry to be corrected and proposed correction; first name to be
changed and the proposed new first name

WHAT SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS ARE REQUIRED FOR CORRECTING A CLERICAL OR
TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR IN A CIVIL REGISTRY DOCUMENT?

The petition shall not be processed unless the petitioner supports it with the
required documents. The supporting documents should be authentic and genuine,
otherwise, the petition shall be denied or disapproved pursuant to Rule 5.8 of
Administrative Order No. 1, S. 2001. The following supporting documents are
admissible as basic requirements:
Certified machine copy of the certificate containing the alleged erroneous
entry or entries

Not less than 2 public or private documents upon which the correction shall be
based. Examples of these documents are the following: baptismal certificate,
voter's affidavit, employment record, GSIS/SSS record, medical record, school
record, business record, driver's license, insurance, land titles, certificate
of land transfer, bank passbook, NBI/police clearance, civil registry records of
ascendants, and others.

Notice and Certificate of Posting

Certified machine copy of the Official Receipt of the filing fee

Other documents as may be required by the City/Municipal Civil Registrar
(C/MCR)

WHAT ARE THE SUPPORTING PAPERS FOR CHANGE OF FIRST NAME?

As in the case of correction of clerical error, no petition for change of
first name shall be accepted unless the petitioner submits the required
supporting papers, as follows:
All the documents required of the petitioner for the correction of clerical
error shall also be required of the petitioner for change of first name.

Clearance from authorities such as clearance from employer, if employed; the
National Bureau of Investigation; the Philippine National Police; and other
clearances as may be required by the concerned C/MCR.

Proof of Publication. An affidavit of publication from the publisher and copy
of the newspaper clippings should be attached.

HOW MUCH IS THE FEE IN FILING A PETITION?

The C/MCR and the District/Circuit Registrar (D/CR) are authorized to collect
from every petitioner the following rates of filing fees:

One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) for the correction of clerical error

Three thousand pesos (P3,000.00) for the change of first name

In the case of a petition filed with the Consul General (CG), the fees are the
same for all Philippine Consulates. The fees are the following:

Fifty U.S. dollars ($50.00) for the correction of clerical or typographical
error

One hundred fifty U.S. dollars ($150.00) for the change of first name

A migrant petitioner shall pay an additional service fee to the Petition
Receiving Civil Registrar (PRCR).

This service fee shall accrue to the local treasury of the PRCR.

Five hundred pesos (P500.00) for correction of clerical or typographical error

One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) for change of first name

WHERE SHOULD THE PETITION BE FILED?

The general rule is that petition shall be filed with the Local Civil Registry
Office (LCRO) where the record containing the clerical error to be corrected or
first name to be changed is kept. Included in this general rule is the case of
the Office of the Clerk of Shari'a Court where records of divorces, revocations
of divorces, conversions to Islam are kept and where some Muslim marriages are
registered.

However, in case the petitioner is a migrant within or outside the
Philippines, meaning his present residence or domicile is different from where
his civil registry record or records are registered, he may file the petition in
the nearest LCRO in his area. His petition will be treated as a migrant
petition.