G.R. No. 157043. February 2, 2007.
Republic of the Philippines, Petitioner, vs. Trinidad R.A. Capote, Respondent.

FACTS

Respondent Trinidad Capote, as guardian ad litem, filed a petition to change the name of her ward, Giovanni N. Gallamaso, to Giovanni Nadores. The petition alleged that Giovanni, born in 1982, is the illegitimate child of Corazon Nadores and Diosdado Gallamaso. Since birth, he has used his father’s surname, Gallamaso, as recorded in his birth certificate. The petition stated that his father had completely abandoned him, failing to provide any financial, physical, or emotional support. Giovanni, with the desire of his mother who was abroad, wished to change his surname to that of his mother, Nadores, to avoid complications in his status, particularly for a potential petition to join his mother in the United States.
The Regional Trial Court granted the petition after publication and ex parte reception of evidence, finding it for the minor’s best interest. The Republic, through the Office of the Solicitor General, appealed, contending the proceeding was fatally defective for being summary and for non-joinder of indispensable parties, specifically Giovanni’s parents. The Court of Appeals affirmed the RTC decision, prompting the Republic to elevate the case to the Supreme Court via a petition for review on certiorari.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in granting the petition for change of name despite the alleged lack of an adversarial proceeding due to the non-joinder of the minor’s parents as indispensable parties.

RULING

The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the lower courts’ decisions. The legal logic centers on the proper application of rules for change of name under Rule 103 and the substantive law governing the surname of an illegitimate child. The Court clarified that the proceeding was sufficiently adversarial as the State, through the OSG, was duly notified and participated by not objecting to the ex parte presentation of evidence, thereby satisfying due process requirements.
On the substantive merit, the Court held that the change of name was justified and proper. Applying the Civil Code provision (Article 366) in force at Giovanni’s birth in 1982, an illegitimate child recognized by only one parent should use the surname of that recognizing parent. The records showed no recognition by the father, Diosdado Gallamaso. Therefore, Giovanni should have used his mother’s surname from the outset. The change sought merely rectified this error and aligned his legal name with the surname he was entitled to use by law. The change was for his best interest, given his father’s abandonment and his mother’s ongoing care and potential petition for him. Thus, no rights of the absent father were prejudiced, making his joinder not indispensable to the proceeding.