G.R. No. 215370 , November 9, 2021
RICHELLE BUSQUE ORDOÑA, PETITIONER, VS. THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF PASIG CITY AND ALLAN D. FULGUERAS, RESPONDENTS.

FACTS

Petitioner Richelle Busque Ordoña, who is married to Ariel O. Libut but separated de facto, had an intimate relationship with respondent Allan D. Fulgueras while working abroad, resulting in the birth of her son, Alrich Paul Fulgueras. The child’s Certificate of Live Birth reflects Fulgueras as the father. Petitioner filed a petition under Rule 108 of the Rules of Court seeking to correct her son’s birth certificate by: (1) changing his surname from “Fulgueras” to “Ordoña” (her maiden surname), and (2) deleting the entries pertaining to the paternal information of Fulgueras.

ISSUE

Whether a petition for correction of entries under Rule 108 can be used to attack the legitimacy and filiation of a child born within a valid and subsisting marriage.

RULING

No. The petition under Rule 108 is a collateral attack on the child’s legitimacy and filiation, which is not permitted. The legitimacy of a child born in wedlock can only be impugned in a direct action brought for that purpose, by the proper parties, and within the periods limited by law (Articles 170 and 171 of the Family Code). Only the husband (or, in proper cases, his heirs) may file such an action. The mother is expressly prohibited from impugning the legitimacy of her own child under Article 167 of the Family Code. The ruling in Alanis III v. Court of Appeals on the use of a parent’s surname is inapplicable as it involved a petition for change of name under Rule 103, which is distinct from a Rule 108 petition. A Rule 103 petition is based on personal grounds for a name change, while a Rule 108 petition seeks correction as a consequence of an act or event affecting civil status. The petition was correctly denied.