Out came two human beings; one

FIRST DIVISION was a male and the other was a

female. Amihan named the man
ROMMEL JACINTO DANTES G.R. No. 174689 Malakas (Strong) and the woman
SILVERIO, Maganda (Beautiful). (The
Petitioner, Present: Legend of Malakas and Maganda)

PUNO, C.J., Chai

rperson, When is a man a man and when is a woman a woman? In particular,
SANDOVAL-GUTIERREZ,
does the law recognize the changes made by a physician using scalpel,
- v e r s u s - CORONA,
AZCUNA and drugs and counseling with regard to a persons sex? May a person
GARCIA, JJ.
successfully petition for a change of name and sex appearing in the birth
REPUBLIC OF THE
PHILIPPINES, certificate to reflect the result of a sex reassignment surgery?
Respondent. Promulgated:
October 22, 2007
On November 26, 2002, petitioner Rommel Jacinto Dantes Silverio
x------------------------------------------------- filed a petition for the change of his first name and sex in his birth
--x
certificate in the Regional Trial Court of Manila, Branch 8. The petition,

DECISION docketed as SP Case No. 02-105207, impleaded the civil registrar of

CORONA, J.:
Manila as respondent.
When God created man, He made
him in the likeness of God; He Petitioner alleged in his petition that he was born in the City of Manila
created them male and female.
(Genesis 5:1-2) to the spouses Melecio Petines Silverio and Anita Aquino Dantes on

Amihan gazed upon the bamboo April 4, 1962. His name was registered as Rommel Jacinto Dantes
reed planted by Bathala and she
heard voices coming from inside Silverio in his certificate of live birth (birth certificate). His sex was
the bamboo. Oh North Wind! registered as male.
North Wind! Please let us out!, the
voices said. She pecked the reed
once, then twice. All of a sudden,
the bamboo cracked and slit open.
He further alleged that he is a male transsexual, that is, anatomically
male but feels, thinks and acts as a female and that he had always
identified himself with girls since childhood.[1] Feeling trapped in a
mans body, he consulted several doctors in the United States. He
underwent psychological examination, hormone treatment and breast
augmentation. His attempts to transform himself to a woman culminated
on January 27, 2001 when he underwent sex reassignment surgery[2] in
Bangkok, Thailand. He was thereafter examined by Dr. Marcelino
Reysio-Cruz, Jr., a plastic and reconstruction surgeon in the Philippines,
who issued a medical certificate attesting that he (petitioner) had in fact
undergone the procedure.
From then on, petitioner lived as a female and was in fact engaged to be
married. He then sought to have his name in his birth certificate changed
from Rommel Jacinto to Mely, and his sex from male to female.
An order setting the case for initial hearing was published in the Peoples
Journal Tonight, a newspaper of general circulation in Metro Manila,
for three consecutive weeks.[3] Copies of the order were sent to the
Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and the civil registrar of Manila.
On the scheduled initial hearing, jurisdictional requirements were
established. No opposition to the petition was made.
During trial, petitioner testified for himself. He also presented Dr.
Reysio-Cruz, Jr. and his American fianc, Richard P. Edel, as witnesses.
On June 4, 2003, the trial court rendered a decision [4] in favor of
petitioner. Its relevant portions read:
Petitioner filed the present petition not to evade
any law or judgment or any infraction thereof or for any
unlawful motive but solely for the purpose of making his
birth records compatible with his present sex.
The sole issue here is whether or not petitioner is
entitled to the relief asked for.
The [c]ourt rules in the affirmative.
Firstly, the [c]ourt is of the opinion that granting
the petition would be more in consonance with the
principles of justice and equity. With his sexual [re-
assignment], petitioner, who has always felt, thought and
acted like a woman, now possesses the physique of a
female. Petitioners misfortune to be trapped in a mans
body is not his own doing and should not be in any way
taken against him.
Likewise, the [c]ourt believes that no harm,
injury [or] prejudice will be caused to anybody or the
community in granting the petition. On the contrary,
granting the petition would bring the much-awaited
happiness on the part of the petitioner and her [fianc] and
the realization of their dreams.
Finally, no evidence was presented to show any
cause or ground to deny the present petition despite due
notice and publication thereof. Even the State, through
the [OSG] has not seen fit to interpose any [o]pposition.
 WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered The petition lacks merit.
GRANTING the petition and ordering the Civil
Registrar of Manila to change the entries appearing in the
Certificate of Birth of [p]etitioner, specifically for
petitioners first name from Rommel Jacinto A PERSONS
to MELY and petitioners gender from Male FIRST NAME
to FEMALE. [5] CANNOT BE
CHANGED ON
THE GROUND
On August 18, 2003, the Republic of the Philippines (Republic), OF SEX
REASSIGNME
thru the OSG, filed a petition for certiorari in the Court of Appeals. [6] It NT
alleged that there is no law allowing the change of entries in the birth

certificate by reason of sex alteration. Petitioner invoked his sex reassignment as the ground for his petition

for change of name and sex. As found by the trial court:

On February 23, 2006, the Court of Appeals[7] rendered a
decision[8] in favor of the Republic. It ruled that the trial courts decision
lacked legal basis. There is no law allowing the change of either name
or sex in the certificate of birth on the ground of sex reassignment
through surgery. Thus, the Court of Appeals granted the Republics
petition, set aside the decision of the trial court and ordered the dismissal
of SP Case No. 02-105207. Petitioner moved for reconsideration but it
was denied.[9] Hence, this petition.
Petitioner essentially claims that the change of his name and sex
in his birth certificate is allowed under Articles 407 to 413 of the Civil
Code, Rules 103 and 108 of the Rules of Court and RA 9048.[10]
Petitioner filed the present petition not to evade
any law or judgment or any infraction thereof or for any
unlawful motive but solely for the purpose of making
his birth records compatible with his present sex.
(emphasis supplied)
Petitioner believes that after having acquired the physical
features of a female, he became entitled to the civil registry changes
sought. We disagree.
The State has an interest in the names borne by individuals and
entities for purposes of identification.[11] A change of name is a
privilege, not a right.[12] Petitions for change of name are controlled by
statutes.[13] In this connection, Article 376 of the Civil Code provides:
 ART. 376. No person can change his name or surname
without judicial authority. and the proceedings regulating change of first name are primarily

administrative in nature, not judicial.

RA 9048 likewise provides the grounds for which change of first

This Civil Code provision was amended by RA 9048 (Clerical
name may be allowed:
Error Law). In particular, Section 1 of RA 9048 provides:
SECTION 4. Grounds for Change of First Name
SECTION 1. Authority to Correct Clerical or
or Nickname. The petition for change of first name or
Typographical Error and Change of First Name or
nickname may be allowed in any of the following cases:
Nickname. No entry in a civil register shall be changed
or corrected without a judicial order, except for clerical
(1) The petitioner finds the first name or
or typographical errors and change of first name or
nickname to be ridiculous, tainted with
nickname which can be corrected or changed by the
dishonor or extremely difficult to write or
concerned city or municipal civil registrar or consul
pronounce;
general in accordance with the provisions of this Act and
its implementing rules and regulations.
(2) The new first name or nickname has
been habitually and continuously used by
the petitioner and he has been publicly
RA 9048 now governs the change of first name.[14] It vests the known by that first name or nickname in
the community; or
power and authority to entertain petitions for change of first name
(3) The change will avoid confusion.
to the city or municipal civil registrar or consul general concerned.

Under the law, therefore, jurisdiction over applications for change of

Petitioners basis in praying for the change of his first name was
first name is now primarily lodged with the aforementioned
his sex reassignment. He intended to make his first name compatible
administrative officers. The intent and effect of the law is to exclude the
with the sex he thought he transformed himself into through surgery.
change of first name from the coverage of Rules 103 (Change of Name)
However, a change of name does not alter ones legal capacity or civil
and 108 (Cancellation or Correction of Entries in the Civil Registry) of
status.[18] RA 9048 does not sanction a change of first name on the
the Rules of Court, until and unless an administrative petition for change
ground of sex reassignment. Rather than avoiding confusion, changing
of name is first filed and subsequently denied.[15] It likewise lays down

the corresponding venue,[16] form[17] and procedure. In sum, the remedy

 NO LAW
petitioners first name for his declared purpose may only create grave ALLOWS
THE
complications in the civil registry and the public interest.
CHANGE
OF ENTRY
Before a person can legally change his given name, he must IN THE
BIRTH
present proper or reasonable cause or any compelling reason justifying CERTIFICA
TE AS TO
such change.[19] In addition, he must show that he will be prejudiced by SEX ON
THE
the use of his true and official name.[20] In this case, he failed to show,
GROUND
or even allege, any prejudice that he might suffer as a result of using his OF SEX
REASSIGN
true and official name. MENT

In sum, the petition in the trial court in so far as it prayed for the
The determination of a persons sex appearing in his birth
change of petitioners first name was not within that courts primary
certificate is a legal issue and the court must look to the statutes. [21] In
jurisdiction as the petition should have been filed with the local civil
this connection, Article 412 of the Civil Code provides:
registrar concerned, assuming it could be legally done. It was an

improper remedy because the proper remedy was administrative, that is, ART. 412. No entry in the civil register shall be changed
or corrected without a judicial order.
that provided under RA 9048. It was also filed in the wrong venue as
the proper venue was in the Office of the Civil Registrar of Manila
Together with Article 376 of the Civil Code, this provision was
where his birth certificate is kept. More importantly, it had no merit
amended by RA 9048 in so far as clerical or typographical errors are
since the use of his true and official name does not prejudice him at all.
involved. The correction or change of such matters can now be made
For all these reasons, the Court of Appeals correctly dismissed
through administrative proceedings and without the need for a judicial
petitioners petition in so far as the change of his first name was
order. In effect, RA 9048 removed from the ambit of Rule 108 of the
concerned.
Rules of Court the correction of such errors.[22] Rule 108 now applies
only to substantial changes and corrections in entries in the civil
register.[23]
Section 2(c) of RA 9048 defines what a clerical or typographical
error is:
SECTION 2. Definition of Terms. As used in this Act,
the following terms shall mean:
xxx xxx xxx
(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 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,
status or sex of the petitioner. (emphasis
supplied)
Under RA 9048, a correction in the civil registry involving the
change of sex is not a mere clerical or typographical error. It is a
substantial change for which the applicable procedure is Rule 108 of the
Rules of Court.
The entries envisaged in Article 412 of the Civil Code and
correctable under Rule 108 of the Rules of Court are those provided in
Articles 407 and 408 of the Civil Code:[24]
ART. 407. Acts, events and judicial decrees concerning
the civil status of persons shall be recorded in the civil
register.
ART. 408. The following shall be entered in the civil
register:
(1) Births; (2) marriages; (3) deaths; (4) legal
separations; (5) annulments of marriage; (6) judgments
declaring marriages void from the beginning; (7)
legitimations; (8) adoptions; (9) acknowledgments of
natural children; (10) naturalization; (11) loss, or (12)
recovery of citizenship; (13) civil interdiction; (14)
judicial determination of filiation; (15) voluntary
emancipation of a minor; and (16) changes of name.
The acts, events or factual errors contemplated under Article 407
of the Civil Code include even those that occur after birth.[25] However,
no reasonable interpretation of the provision can justify the conclusion
that it covers the correction on the ground of sex reassignment.
To correct simply means to make or set aright; to remove the
faults or error from while to change means to replace something with
something else of the same kind or with something that serves as a
substitute.[26] The birth certificate of petitioner contained no error. All

entries therein, including those corresponding to his first name and sex,
were all correct. No correction is necessary.
Article 407 of the Civil Code authorizes the entry in the civil
registry of certain acts (such as legitimations, acknowledgments of
illegitimate children and naturalization), events (such as births,
marriages, naturalization and deaths) and judicial decrees (such as legal
separations, annulments of marriage, declarations of nullity of
marriages, adoptions, naturalization, loss or recovery of citizenship,
civil interdiction, judicial determination of filiation and changes of
name). These acts, events and judicial decrees produce legal
consequences that touch upon the legal capacity, status and nationality
of a person. Their effects are expressly sanctioned by the laws. In
contrast, sex reassignment is not among those acts or events mentioned
in Article 407. Neither is it recognized nor even mentioned by any law,
expressly or impliedly.
Status refers to the circumstances affecting the legal situation
(that is, the sum total of capacities and incapacities) of a person in view
of his age, nationality and his family membership.[27]
The status of a person in law includes all his personal
qualities and relations, more or less permanent in
nature, not ordinarily terminable at his own will, such
as his being legitimate or illegitimate, or his being
married or not. The comprehensive term status include
such matters as the beginning and end of legal
personality, capacity to have rights in general, family
relations, and its various aspects, such as birth,
legitimation, adoption, emancipation, marriage, divorce,
and sometimes even succession.[28] (emphasis supplied)
A persons sex is an essential factor in marriage and family
relations. It is a part of a persons legal capacity and civil status. In this
connection, Article 413 of the Civil Code provides:
ART. 413. All other matters pertaining to the registration
of civil status shall be governed by special laws.
But there is no such special law in the Philippines governing sex
reassignment and its effects. This is fatal to petitioners cause.
Moreover, Section 5 of Act 3753 (the Civil Register Law)
provides:
SEC. 5. Registration and certification of births. The
declaration of the physician or midwife in attendance at
the birth or, in default thereof, the declaration of either
parent of the newborn child, shall be sufficient for the
registration of a birth in the civil register. Such
declaration shall be exempt from documentary stamp tax
and shall be sent to the local civil registrar not later than
thirty days after the birth, by the physician or midwife in
attendance at the birth or by either parent of the newborn
child.
 In such declaration, the person above mentioned shall
certify to the following facts: (a) date and hour of birth; female.[33] Female is the sex that produces ova or bears young[34] and
(b) sex and nationality of infant; (c) names, citizenship
male is the sex that has organs to produce spermatozoa for fertilizing
and religion of parents or, in case the father is not known,
of the mother alone; (d) civil status of parents; (e) place ova.[35] Thus, the words male and female in everyday understanding do
where the infant was born; and (f) such other data as may
be required in the regulations to be issued. not include persons who have undergone sex reassignment.

xxx xxx xxx (emphasis supplied) Furthermore, words that are employed in a statute which had at the time

a well-known meaning are presumed to have been used in that sense

Under the Civil Register Law, a birth certificate is a historical unless the context compels to the contrary. [36] Since the statutory

record of the facts as they existed at the time of birth. [29] Thus, the sex language of the Civil Register Law was enacted in the early 1900s and

of a person is determined at birth, visually done by the birth remains unchanged, it cannot be argued that the term sex as used then

attendant (the physician or midwife) by examining the genitals of the is something alterable through surgery or something that allows a post-

infant. Considering that there is no law legally recognizing sex operative male-to-female transsexual to be included in the category

reassignment, the determination of a persons sex made at the time of his female.

or her birth, if not attended by error,[30] is immutable.[31]

For these reasons, while petitioner may have succeeded in

When words are not defined in a statute they are to be given their altering his body and appearance through the intervention of modern

common and ordinary meaning in the absence of a contrary legislative surgery, no law authorizes the change of entry as to sex in the civil

intent. The words sex, male and female as used in the Civil Register registry for that reason. Thus, there is no legal basis for his petition for

Law and laws concerning the civil registry (and even all other laws) the correction or change of the entries in his birth certificate.

should therefore be understood in their common and ordinary usage,

there being no legislative intent to the contrary. In this connection, sex NEITHER MAY
ENTRIES IN THE
is defined as the sum of peculiarities of structure and function that
BIRTH CERTIFICATE
distinguish a male from a female[32] or the distinction between male and AS TO FIRST NAME
OR SEX BE
CHANGED ON THE
GROUND OF EQUITY laws underscore the public policy in relation to women which could be

substantially affected if petitioners petition were to be granted.

It is true that Article 9 of the Civil Code mandates that [n]o judge
The trial court opined that its grant of the petition was in consonance
or court shall decline to render judgment by reason of the silence,
with the principles of justice and equity. It believed that allowing the
obscurity or insufficiency of the law. However, it is not a license for
petition would cause no harm, injury or prejudice to anyone. This is
courts to engage in judicial legislation. The duty of the courts is to apply
wrong.
or interpret the law, not to make or amend it.
The changes sought by petitioner will have serious and wide-ranging In our system of government, it is for the legislature, should it
legal and public policy consequences. First, even the trial court itself choose to do so, to determine what guidelines should govern the
found that the petition was but petitioners first step towards his eventual recognition of the effects of sex reassignment. The need for legislative
marriage to his male fianc. However, marriage, one of the most sacred guidelines becomes particularly important in this case where the claims
social institutions, is a special contract of permanent union between a asserted are statute-based.
man and a woman.[37] One of its essential requisites is the legal capacity
To reiterate, the statutes define who may file petitions for change
of the contracting parties who must be a male and a female.[38] To grant
of first name and for correction or change of entries in the civil registry,
the changes sought by petitioner will substantially reconfigure and
where they may be filed, what grounds may be invoked, what proof
greatly alter the laws on marriage and family relations. It will allow the
must be presented and what procedures shall be observed. If the
union of a man with another man who has undergone sex reassignment
legislature intends to confer on a person who has undergone sex
(a male-to-female post-operative transsexual). Second, there are various
reassignment the privilege to change his name and sex to conform with
laws which apply particularly to women such as the provisions of the
his reassigned sex, it has to enact legislation laying down the guidelines
Labor Code on employment of women,[39] certain felonies under the
in turn governing the conferment of that privilege.
Revised Penal Code[40] and the presumption of survivorship in case of

calamities under Rule 131 of the Rules of Court,[41] among others. These
 It might be theoretically possible for this Court to write a

protocol on when a person may be recognized as having successfully

changed his sex. However, this Court has no authority to fashion a law

on that matter, or on anything else. The Court cannot enact a law where

no law exists. It can only apply or interpret the written word of its co-

equal branch of government, Congress.

Petitioner pleads that [t]he unfortunates are also entitled to a life

of happiness, contentment and [the] realization of their dreams. No

argument about that. The Court recognizes that there are people whose

preferences and orientation do not fit neatly into the commonly

recognized parameters of social convention and that, at least for them,

life is indeed an ordeal. However, the remedies petitioner seeks involve

questions of public policy to be addressed solely by the legislature, not

by the courts.

WHEREFORE, the petition is hereby DENIED.

Costs against petitioner.

SO ORDERED.
 and ordered the following changes of entries in Cagandahans birth
SECOND DIVISION certificate: (1) the name Jennifer Cagandahan changed to Jeff
Cagandahan and (2) gender from female to male.
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, G.R. No. 166676
Petitioner, The facts are as follows.
Present:
On December 11, 2003, respondent Jennifer Cagandahan filed a
Petition for Correction of Entries in Birth Certificate [2] before the RTC,
QUISUMBING, J., Chairperson, Branch 33 of Siniloan, Laguna.

CARPIO MORALES, In her petition, she alleged that she was born on January 13,
- versus -
TINGA, 1981 and was registered as a female in the Certificate of Live Birth but
while growing up, she developed secondary male characteristics and
VELASCO, JR., and was diagnosed to have Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) which
is a condition where persons thus afflicted possess both male and female
BRION, JJ.
characteristics. She further alleged that she was diagnosed to have
clitoral hyperthropy in her early years and at age six, underwent an
ultrasound where it was discovered that she has small ovaries. At age
Promulgated: thirteen, tests revealed that her ovarian structures had minimized, she
JENNIFER B. CAGANDAHAN,
has stopped growing and she has no breast or menstrual development.
Respondent. She then alleged that for all interests and appearances as well as in mind
September 12, 2008 and emotion, she has become a male person. Thus, she prayed that her
birth certificate be corrected such that her gender be changed from
female to male and her first name be changed from Jennifer to Jeff.
x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -x
The petition was published in a newspaper of general circulation
DECISION for three (3) consecutive weeks and was posted in conspicuous places
QUISUMBING, J.: by the sheriff of the court. The Solicitor General entered his appearance
and authorized the Assistant Provincial Prosecutor to appear in his
behalf.
This is a petition for review under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court
raising purely questions of law and seeking a reversal of the To prove her claim, respondent testified and presented the
Decision[1] dated January 12, 2005 of the Regional Trial Court testimony of Dr. Michael Sionzon of the Department of Psychiatry,
(RTC), Branch 33 of Siniloan, Laguna, which granted the Petition for University of the PhilippinesPhilippine General Hospital. Dr. Sionzon
Correction of Entries in Birth Certificate filed by Jennifer B. Cagandahan issued a medical certificate stating that respondents condition is known
as CAH. He explained that genetically respondent is female but because
her body secretes male hormones, her female organs did not develop
normally and she has two sex organs female and male. He testified that
this condition is very rare, that respondents uterus is not fully developed
because of lack of female hormones, and that she has no monthly
period. He further testified that respondents condition is permanent and
recommended the change of gender because respondent has made up
her mind, adjusted to her chosen role as male, and the gender change
would be advantageous to her.
The RTC granted respondents petition in a Decision
dated January 12, 2005 which reads:
The Court is convinced that petitioner has
satisfactorily shown that he is entitled to the reliefs
prayed [for]. Petitioner has adequately presented to the
Court very clear and convincing proofs for the granting
of his petition. It was medically proven that petitioners
body produces male hormones, and first his body as well
as his action and feelings are that of a male. He has
chosen to be male. He is a normal person and wants to
be acknowledged and identified as a male.
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Civil
Register of Pakil, Laguna is hereby ordered to make the
following corrections in the birth [c]ertificate of Jennifer
Cagandahan upon payment of the prescribed fees:
a) By changing the name from Jennifer
Cagandahan to JEFF CAGANDAHAN; and
b) By changing the gender from female
to MALE.
It is likewise ordered that petitioners school
records, voters registry, baptismal certificate, and other
pertinent records are hereby amended to conform with
the foregoing corrected data.
SO ORDERED.[3]
Thus, this petition by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG)
seeking a reversal of the abovementioned ruling.
The issues raised by petitioner are:
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN GRANTING THE
PETITION CONSIDERING THAT:
I.
THE REQUIREMENTS OF RULES 103 AND 108 OF
THE RULES OF COURT HAVE NOT BEEN
COMPLIED WITH; AND,
II.
CORRECTION OF ENTRY UNDER RULE 108 DOES
NOT ALLOW CHANGE OF SEX OR GENDER IN
THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE, WHILE RESPONDENTS
MEDICAL CONDITION, i.e., CONGENITAL
ADRENAL HYPERPLASIA DOES NOT MAKE HER
A MALE.[4]
Simply stated, the issue is whether the trial court erred in
ordering the correction of entries in the birth certificate of respondent to
change her sex or gender, from female to male, on the ground of her
medical condition known as CAH, and her name from Jennifer to Jeff,
under Rules 103 and 108 of the Rules of Court.
The OSG contends that the petition below is fatally defective for
non-compliance with Rules 103 and 108 of the Rules of Court because
while the local civil registrar is an indispensable party in a petition for
cancellation or correction of entries under Section 3, Rule 108 of the
Rules of Court, respondents petition before the court a quo did not
implead the local civil registrar. [5] The OSG further contends
respondents petition is fatally defective since it failed to state that
respondent is a bona fide resident of the province where the petition was
filed for at least three (3) years prior to the date of such filing as
mandated under Section 2(b), Rule 103 of the Rules of Court.[6] The
OSG argues that Rule 108 does not allow change of sex or gender in the
birth certificate and respondents claimed medical condition known as
CAH does not make her a male.[7]
On the other hand, respondent counters that although the Local
Civil Registrar of Pakil, Laguna was not formally named a party in the
Petition for Correction of Birth Certificate, nonetheless the Local Civil
Registrar was furnished a copy of the Petition, the Order to publish on
December 16, 2003 and all pleadings, orders or processes in the course
of the proceedings,[8] respondent is actually a male person and hence his
birth certificate has to be corrected to reflect his true
sex/gender,[9] change of sex or gender is allowed under Rule 108,[10] and
respondent substantially complied with the requirements of Rules 103
and 108 of the Rules of Court.[11]
Rules 103 and 108 of the Rules of Court provide:
Rule 103
CHANGE OF NAME
SECTION 1. Venue. A person desiring to change his
name shall present the petition to the Regional Trial
Court of the province in which he resides, [or, in the City
of Manila, to the Juvenile and Domestic Relations
Court].
SEC. 2. Contents of petition. A petition for change of
name shall be signed and verified by the person desiring
his name changed, or some other person on his behalf,
and shall set forth:
(a) That the petitioner has been a bona
fide resident of the province where the petition is
filed for at least three (3) years prior to the date
of such filing;
(b) The cause for which the change of the
petitioner's name is sought;
(c) The name asked for.
SEC. 3. Order for hearing. If the petition filed is
sufficient in form and substance, the court, by an order
reciting the purpose of the petition, shall fix a date and
place for the hearing thereof, and shall direct that a copy
of the order be published before the hearing at least once
a week for three (3) successive weeks in some newspaper
of general circulation published in the province, as the
court shall deem best. The date set for the hearing shall
not be within thirty (30) days prior to an election nor
within four (4) months after the last publication of the
notice.
SEC. 4. Hearing. Any interested person may appear at
the hearing and oppose the petition. The Solicitor
General or the proper provincial or city fiscal shall
appear on behalf of the Government of the Republic.
SEC. 5. Judgment. Upon satisfactory proof in open court
on the date fixed in the order that such order has been
published as directed and that the allegations of the
petition are true, the court shall, if proper and reasonable
cause appears for changing the name of the petitioner,
adjudge that such name be changed in accordance with
the prayer of the petition.
SEC. 6. Service of judgment. Judgments or orders
rendered in connection with this rule shall be furnished
the civil registrar of the municipality or city where the
court issuing the same is situated, who shall forthwith
enter the same in the civil register.
Rule 108
CANCELLATION OR CORRECTION OF
ENTRIES
IN THE CIVIL REGISTRY
SECTION 1. Who may file petition. Any person
interested in any act, event, order or decree concerning
the civil status of persons which has been recorded in the
civil register, may file a verified petition for the
cancellation or correction of any entry relating thereto,
with the Regional Trial Court of the province where the
corresponding civil registry is located.
SEC. 2. Entries subject to cancellation or correction.
Upon good and valid grounds, the following entries in
the civil register may be cancelled or corrected: (a)
births; (b) marriages; (c) deaths; (d) legal separations; (e)
judgments of annulments of marriage; (f) judgments
declaring marriages void from the beginning; (g)
legitimations; (h) adoptions; (i) acknowledgments of
natural children; (j) naturalization; (k) election, loss or
recovery of citizenship; (l) civil interdiction; (m) judicial
determination of filiation; (n) voluntary emancipation of
a minor; and (o) changes of name.
SEC. 3. Parties. When cancellation or correction of an
entry in the civil register is sought, the civil registrar and
all persons who have or claim any interest which would
be affected thereby shall be made parties to the
proceeding.
SEC. 4. Notice and publication. Upon the filing of the
petition, the court shall, by an order, fix the time and
place for the hearing of the same, and cause reasonable
notice thereof to be given to the persons named in the
petition. The court shall also cause the order to be
published once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation in the province.
SEC. 5. Opposition. The civil registrar and any person
having or claiming any interest under the entry whose
cancellation or correction is sought may, within fifteen
(15) days from notice of the petition, or from the last date
of publication of such notice, file his opposition thereto.
SEC. 6. Expediting proceedings. The court in which the
proceedings is brought may make orders expediting the
proceedings, and may also grant preliminary injunction
for the preservation of the rights of the parties pending
such proceedings.
SEC. 7. Order. After hearing, the court may either
dismiss the petition or issue an order granting the
cancellation or correction prayed for. In either case, a
certified copy of the judgment shall be served upon the
civil registrar concerned who shall annotate the same in
his record.
The OSG argues that the petition below is fatally defective for
non-compliance with Rules 103 and 108 of the Rules of Court because
respondents petition did not implead the local civil registrar. Section 3,
Rule 108 provides that the civil registrar and all persons who have or
claim any interest which would be affected thereby shall be made parties
to the proceedings. Likewise, the local civil registrar is required to be
made a party in a proceeding for the correction of name in the civil
registry. He is an indispensable party without whom no final
determination of the case can be had.[12] Unless all possible
indispensable parties were duly notified of the proceedings, the same
shall be considered as falling much too short of the requirements of the
rules.[13] The corresponding petition should also implead as respondents
the civil registrar and all other persons who may have or may claim to
have any interest that would be affected thereby. [14] Respondent,
however, invokes Section 6,[15] Rule 1 of the Rules of Court which states
that courts shall construe the Rules liberally to promote their objectives
of securing to the parties a just, speedy and inexpensive disposition of
the matters brought before it. We agree that there is substantial
compliance with Rule 108 when respondent furnished a copy of the
petition to the local civil registrar.
The determination of a persons sex appearing in his birth
certificate is a legal issue and the court must look to the statutes. In
this connection, Article 412 of the Civil Code provides:
ART. 412. No entry in a civil register shall be changed or
corrected without a judicial order.
Together with Article 376[16] of the Civil Code, this provision was
amended by Republic Act No. 9048[17] in so far as clerical or
typographical errors are involved. The correction or change of such
matters can now be made through administrative proceedings and
without the need for a judicial order. In effect, Rep. Act No. 9048
removed from the ambit of Rule 108 of the Rules of Court the
correction of such errors. Rule 108 now applies only to substantial
changes and corrections in entries in the civil register.[18]
Under Rep. Act No. 9048, a correction in the civil registry
involving the change of sex is not a mere clerical or typographical error.
It is a substantial change for which the applicable procedure is Rule 108
of the Rules of Court.[19]
The entries envisaged in Article 412 of the Civil Code and
correctable under Rule 108 of the Rules of Court are those provided in
Articles 407 and 408 of the Civil Code:
ART. 407. Acts, events and judicial decrees concerning
the civil status of persons shall be recorded in the civil
register.
ART. 408. The following shall be entered in the civil
register:
(1) Births; (2) marriages; (3) deaths; (4) legal
separations; (5) annulments of marriage; (6) judgments
declaring marriages void from the beginning; (7)
legitimations; (8) adoptions; (9) acknowledgments of
natural children; (10) naturalization; (11) loss, or (12)
recovery of citizenship; (13) civil interdiction; (14)
judicial determination of filiation; (15) voluntary
emancipation of a minor; and (16) changes of name.
The acts, events or factual errors contemplated under Article
407 of the Civil Code include even those that occur after birth. [20]
Respondent undisputedly has CAH. This condition causes the
early or inappropriate appearance of male characteristics. A person, like
respondent, with this condition produces too much androgen, a male
hormone. A newborn who has XX chromosomes coupled with CAH
usually has a (1) swollen clitoris with the urethral opening at the base,
an ambiguous genitalia often appearing more male than female; (2)
normal internal structures of the female reproductive tract such as the
ovaries, uterus and fallopian tubes; as the child grows older, some
features start to appear male, such as deepening of the voice, facial hair,
and failure to menstruate at puberty. About 1 in 10,000 to 18,000
children are born with CAH.
 CAH is one of many conditions[21] that
involve intersex anatomy. During the twentieth century, medicine
adopted the term intersexuality to apply to human beings who cannot be
classified as either male or female.[22] The term is now of widespread
use. According to Wikipedia, intersexuality is the state of a living thing
of a gonochoristic species whose sex chromosomes, genitalia, and/or
secondary sex characteristics are determined to be neither exclusively
male nor female. An organism with intersex may have biological
characteristics of both male and female sexes.
Intersex individuals are treated in different ways by different
cultures. In most societies, intersex individuals have been expected to
conform to either a male or female gender role. [23] Since the rise of
modern medical science in Western societies, some intersex people with
ambiguous external genitalia have had their genitalia surgically
modified to resemble either male or female genitals. [24] More
commonly, an intersex individual is considered as suffering from a
disorder which is almost always recommended to be treated, whether by
surgery and/or by taking lifetime medication in order to mold the
individual as neatly as possible into the category of either male or
female.
In deciding this case, we consider the compassionate calls for
recognition of the various degrees of intersex as variations which should
not be subject to outright denial. It has been suggested that there is some
middle ground between the sexes, a no-mans land for those individuals
who are neither truly male nor truly female.[25] The current state of
Philippine statutes apparently compels that a person be classified either
as a male or as a female, but this Court is not controlled by mere
appearances when nature itself fundamentally negates such rigid
classification.
In the instant case, if we determine respondent to be a female,
then there is no basis for a change in the birth certificate entry for
gender. But if we determine, based on medical testimony and scientific
development
showing the respondent to be other than female, then a change in the
subjects birth certificate entry is in order.
Biologically, nature endowed respondent with a mixed (neither
consistently and categorically female nor consistently and categorically
male) composition. Respondent has female (XX)
chromosomes. However, respondents body system naturally produces
high levels of male hormones (androgen). As a result, respondent has
ambiguous genitalia and the phenotypic features of a male.
Ultimately, we are of the view that where the person is
biologically or naturally intersex the determining factor in his gender
classification would be what the individual, like respondent, having
reached the age of majority, with good reason thinks of his/her
sex. Respondent here thinks of himself as a male and considering that
his body produces high levels of male hormones (androgen) there is
preponderant biological support for considering him as being
male. Sexual development in cases of intersex persons makes the gender
classification at birth inconclusive. It is at maturity that the gender of
such persons, like respondent, is fixed.
Respondent here has simply let nature take its course and has not
taken unnatural steps to arrest or interfere with what he was born
with. And accordingly, he has already ordered his life to that of a
male. Respondent could have undergone treatment and taken steps, like
taking lifelong medication,[26] to force his body into the categorical
mold of a female but he did not. He chose not to do so. Nature has
instead taken its due course in respondents development to reveal more
fully his male characteristics.
In the absence of a law on the matter, the Court will not dictate
on respondent concerning a matter so innately private as ones sexuality
and lifestyle preferences, much less on whether or not to undergo
medical treatment to reverse the male tendency due to CAH. The Court WHEREFORE, the Republics petition is DENIED. The
will not consider respondent as having erred in not choosing to undergo Decision dated January 12, 2005 of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 33
treatment in order to become or remain as a female. Neither will the of Siniloan, Laguna, is AFFIRMED. No pronouncement as to costs.
Court force respondent to undergo treatment and to take medication in
order to fit the mold of a female, as society commonly currently knows SO ORDERED.
this gender of the human species. Respondent is the one who has to live
with his intersex anatomy. To him belongs the human right to the pursuit
of happiness and of health. Thus, to him should belong the primordial
choice of what courses of action to take along the path of his sexual
development and maturation. In the absence of evidence that respondent
is an incompetent[27] and in the absence of evidence to show that
classifying respondent as a male will harm other members of society
who are equally entitled to protection under the law, the Court affirms
as valid and justified the respondents position and his personal judgment
of being a male.

In so ruling we do no more than give respect to (1) the diversity

of nature; and (2) how an individual deals with what nature has handed
out. In other words, we respect respondents congenital condition and his
mature decision to be a male. Life is already difficult for the ordinary
person. We cannot but respect how respondent deals with
his unordinary state and thus help make his life easier, considering the
unique circumstances in this case.

As for respondents change of name under Rule 103, this Court

has held that a change of name is not a matter of right but of judicial
discretion, to be exercised in the light of the reasons adduced and the
consequences that will follow.[28] The trial courts grant of respondents
change of name from Jennifer to Jeff implies a change of a feminine
name to a masculine name. Considering the consequence that
respondents change of name merely recognizes his preferred gender, we
find merit in respondents change of name. Such a change will conform
with the change of the entry in his birth certificate from female to male.