GR L 12140; (April, 1959) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-12140; April 29, 1959
In re: Correction of Entry of Civil Register Pertaining to citizenship of Rosa Tan, Minor. ALFONSO TAN SU, petitioner-appellee, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, oppositor-appellant.
FACTS
Alfonso Tan Su filed a petition in the Court of First Instance of Cebu praying that the Civil Register of Cebu City be ordered to correct the recorded citizenship of his minor daughter, Rosa Tan, from “Chinese” to “Filipino.” He contended that the midwife who reported the birth gave erroneous information regarding the child’s citizenship. The fiscal opposed the petition. Despite this opposition, the trial court granted the petition and ordered the Civil Registrar to change not only the citizenship of Rosa Tan but also that of her father and mother in the Civil Registry from Chinese to Filipino. The Republic of the Philippines, through the fiscal, appealed the decision.
ISSUE
Whether the petition for the correction of the citizenship entry in the civil register involves a mere clerical error that can be corrected under a summary proceeding, or whether it involves a substantial and controversial matter affecting status and nationality that requires an appropriate adversarial action.
RULING
The Supreme Court REVERSED the decision of the trial court. The petition does not call for the correction of a mere clerical error but involves a grave and important matter affecting the citizenship and nationality of the minor and her parents. Such a substantial change cannot be threshed out through a mere summary petition. The law requires that changes involving civil status, nationality, or citizenship must be sought through a proper suit where all concerned parties are notified or represented, and evidence can be fully presented and contested. This safeguards the integrity of the civil register, which consists of public documents that are prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein. The Court cited its prior rulings in Ty Kong Tin vs. Republic of the Philippines and Ansado vs. Republic of the Philippines to emphasize that only harmless and innocuous corrections (e.g., misspelled names, occupations) may be made via judicial sanction under Article 412 of the New Civil Code, while changes affecting citizenship require an appropriate adversarial action. Costs were imposed on the appellee.