Correction of year of birth in birth certificate

must be filed in court

Dear PAO,
My boyfriend was completely unaware that there was an error in his
birth certificate. He was born on May 15, 1977, but his birth certificate
indicates his date of birth as May 15, 1978. He was thinking of just
using the information as indicated on his birth certificate so that he
would not have to go through the hassle of having it corrected, but
then again it will most likely create a problem in the future since his
younger brother was also born in 1978, August 2, 1978 to be exact. He
was told that it is physically impossible for his mother to have given
birth to him on May 15, 1978 (as indicated in his birth certificate) and
to his brother on August 2, 1978.
So now, he just wants to fix the problem with his birth certificate. Can
this be done by going to the civil registrar? Someone told him that
there is an easier process, and he does not need to go to court. Can this
also be done by his mother? He is just new in his job, and he cannot
avail of vacation leaves just yet. Please advise us.
Jamm

Dear Jamm,
Republic Act (RA) 9048 permits the correction of a clerical or
typographical errors in an entry in the civil register and/or change the
first name or nickname by filing a verified petition, in the form of an
affidavit, before the city or municipal civil registrar or consul general.
(Section 1, Ibid.) This law was later amended by RA 10172, which
further allows the correction of the day and month in the date of birth
or sex of a person to be filed before the city or municipal civil
registrar or consul general if it is patently clear that there was a
clerical or typographical error or mistake in such entry (Section 1, RA
10172).

As defined under Section 2 (3) of RA 10172, 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.” (Emphasis supplied)

In the situation of your boyfriend, it is clear that the erroneous entry

lies not on the day and month of his date of birth, rather on the year of
his birth. For that reason, the laws above-mentioned, allowing
correction of entry by filing a verified petition before the city or
municipal civil registrar or consul general are unapplicable. Corollary,
he must file his petition before the Regional Trial Court (formerly
Court of First Instance) of the place or province where the
corresponding local civil registry where his birth was registered is
located (Section 1, Rule 108, Revised Rules of Court).

Please be advised that it is acceptable for his mother to file the petition
in court if he is unable to process it himself. According to Section 1 of
Rule 108, any person who is interested in any act, event, order or
decree concerning the civil status of persons that has been recorded in
the civil register, may file the verified petition in court. But we wish to
emphasize that it is necessary that the concerned Local Civil Registrar
and all persons who have interest who may be affected thereby must
be made parties to the proceedings. (Section 3, Id.) Further, the
petition should be supported by his certified true machine copy of
birth certificate, public and/or private documents, which clearly show
his correct year of birth, as well as other documents that may
substantiate the same such as his earliest school records, medical
records, baptismal certificate or those issued by religious authorities
and the like. The court where such petition is filed will then issue an
order fixing the time and place of the hearing and require that notices
be given to the persons named in the petition. The court will also
mandate that the order be published once a week for three consecutive
weeks in a newspaper of general circulation. (Sections 3 and 4, Id.)

Ultimately, the said petition will be granted if it is established that the

year indicated in his birth certificate, as his year of birth, is indeed
erroneous. Consequently, a certified copy of the court’s favorable
decision will be served to the concerned civil register for proper
annotation. (Section 7, Id.)