Republic of the Philippines vs. Sali

Change of first name falls under the primary administrative jurisdiction of local civil registrars pursuant to R.A. No. 9048, and judicial relief under Rule 108 is barred unless administrative remedies are first exhausted; however, correction of date of birth remains judicial under Rule 108 where the petition was filed prior to the 2012 amendment expanding administrative coverage to include day and month in the date of birth.

Lorena Omapas Sali was born on April 24, 1968 in Baybay, Leyte to spouses Vedasto A. Omapas and Almarina A. Albay. Due to inadvertence, her Certificate of Live Birth recorded her first name as "Dorothy" and her date of birth as "June 24, 1968." Since birth, she had been using the name "Lorena" and the birth date "April 24, 1968," as evidenced by her baptismal certificate, marriage contract, and community recognition. Seeking to align the civil registry records with her actual identity, she filed a petition for correction of entries under Rule 108 of the Rules of Court.

• The Petition: Sali instituted a verified petition under Rule 108 of the Rules of Court to correct alleged clerical errors in her Certificate of Live Birth, specifically the entry of "Dorothy" as her first name instead of "Lorena," and "June 24, 1968" as her date of birth instead of "April 24, 1968."
• Supporting Evidence: Sali submitted her Baptismal Certificate from the Parish of the Sacred Heart, Sta. Mesa, Manila; her Certificate of Marriage to Morsalyn D. Sali; her Postal Identity Card; and her Official Transcript of Records from the University of Manila, all bearing the name "Lorena" and/or the birth date April 24, 1968.
• Procedural Compliance: The petition impleaded the Civil Registrar of Baybay City as respondent. The RTC issued an order fixing the time and place for hearing, which was published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation and posted in four public and conspicuous places. Copies of the petition and order were furnished to the Civil Registrar, Solicitor General, and Assistant Provincial Prosecutor.
• Republic's Position: The Republic contended that changing "Dorothy" to "Lorena" constituted a substantial change of name under Rule 103, not a mere clerical correction, and that Sali failed to exhaust administrative remedies under R.A. No. 9048 by not first filing with the local civil registrar.

• Nature of the Petition: The Republic argued that the petition was actually for change of name under Rule 103, not correction of entry under Rule 108, because altering the first name from "Dorothy" to "Lorena" involved a substantial change rather than a simple clerical, typographical, or innocuous error.
• Procedural Defect: Petitioner maintained that if the petition were treated as one for change of name under Rule 103, it was defective for failure to state Sali's aliases in the title of the petition and the order setting it for hearing, as required by the Rules.
• Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies: The Republic contended that even assuming Rule 108 applied, Sali was required under R.A. No. 9048 to first seek administrative correction with the local civil registrar before resorting to judicial action, which she failed to do.

• Proper Characterization: Sali maintained, as affirmed by the Court of Appeals, that the petition sought only to correct clerical errors inadvertently committed in recording her name and birth date, which she had consistently used as "Lorena" and "April 24, 1968" since birth.
• Compliance with Rule 108: Respondent argued that all mandatory requirements for an adversarial proceeding under Rule 108 were satisfied, including proper publication, notice, and opportunity for the Republic to contest the petition.
• Absence of Fraud: Sali demonstrated that the correction was sought solely to avoid confusion regarding her identity and not to evade criminal or civil liability or affect hereditary succession, with no showing of prejudice to public interest.

• Administrative Exhaustion for First Name: Whether the petition to change the first name from "Dorothy" to "Lorena" should have been dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies under R.A. No. 9048 before filing under Rule 108.
• Applicable Rule for Date of Birth: Whether the correction of the date of birth from June 24, 1968 to April 24, 1968 properly falls under Rule 108 of the Rules of Court.

• Administrative Exhaustion for First Name: The petition to correct the first name was dismissed without prejudice. R.A. No. 9048 vests primary jurisdiction over change of first name in the city or municipal civil registrar or consul general, excluding the coverage of Rules 103 and 108 unless an administrative petition is first filed and denied. Because Sali filed her petition in 2008, after R.A. No. 9048 had taken effect in 2001, she was required to exhaust administrative remedies before the local civil registrar prior to judicial recourse.
• Applicable Rule for Date of Birth: The correction of the date of birth was affirmed. At the time Sali filed her petition in 2008, R.A. No. 9048 had not yet been amended by R.A. No. 10172 (enacted August 15, 2012) to include correction of the day and month in the date of birth. Consequently, Rule 108 remained the appropriate remedy for correcting the birth date, and the RTC correctly assumed jurisdiction over this aspect of the petition.

• Primary Administrative Jurisdiction (R.A. No. 9048): Under Republic Act No. 9048, the power to entertain petitions for change of first name or correction of clerical/typographical errors is primarily lodged with the city or municipal civil registrar or consul general. The remedy is administrative, not judicial, and jurisdiction under Rules 103 and 108 of the Rules of Court is excluded unless the administrative petition is first filed and subsequently denied.
• Non-Retroactivity of Amendments: Statutes expanding administrative remedies for civil registry corrections, such as R.A. No. 10172 (which added date of birth and sex corrections to R.A. No. 9048), do not apply retroactively to petitions filed prior to their enactment; petitions filed before such amendments remain governed by Rule 108 of the Rules of Court.

• "RA 9048 now governs the change of first name. It vests the power and authority to entertain petitions for change of first name to the city or municipal civil registrar or consul general concerned. Under the law, therefore, jurisdiction over applications for change of first name is now primarily lodged with the aforementioned administrative officers. The intent and effect of the law is to exclude the change of first name from the coverage of Rules 103 (Change of Name) and 108 (Cancellation or Correction of Entries in the Civil Registry) of the Rules of Court, until and unless an administrative petition for change of name is first filed and subsequently denied."
• "It was only on August 15, 2012 that R.A. No. 10172 was signed into law amending R.A. No. 9048... Considering that Sali filed her petition in 2008, Rule 108 is the appropriate remedy in seeking to correct her date of birth in the civil registry."

• Silverio v. Republic of the Philippines, 562 Phil. 953 (2007) — Controlling precedent establishing that R.A. No. 9048 removed change of first name from the coverage of Rules 103 and 108, making the remedy primarily administrative.
• Onde v. Office of the Local Civil Registrar of Las Piñas City, G.R. No. 197174, September 10, 2014 — Followed the Silverio doctrine regarding the administrative nature of change of first name proceedings.
• Republic v. Cagandahan — Cited in Onde for the principle that correction of clerical errors under R.A. No. 9048 is administrative.
• Republic v. Vergara, G.R. No. 195873 (2015) — Cited regarding the distinction between substantial change of name and correction of clerical errors under Rule 108.

• Rule 45, Rules of Court — Governs the mode of appeal via Petition for Review on Certiorari to the Supreme Court.
• Rule 103, Rules of Court — Procedure for Change of Name, distinguished from correction of entries.
• Rule 108, Rules of Court, Sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 — Governs cancellation or correction of entries in the civil registry; applied to the correction of date of birth.
• R.A. No. 9048, Sections 1, 4(2), and 7 — Vests authority to correct clerical or typographical errors and change first name or nickname in the city or municipal civil registrar; requires administrative petition to be denied before judicial recourse.
• R.A. No. 10172 — Amendment to R.A. No. 9048 expanding administrative correction to include day and month in the date of birth and sex (enacted August 15, 2012).

Carpio (Chairperson), Mendoza, Leonen, and Martires, JJ.