GR 169202; (March, 2010) (Digest)
G.R. No. 169202; March 5, 2010
MARIA VIRGINIA V. REMO, Petitioner, vs. THE HONORABLE SECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, Respondent.
FACTS
Petitioner Maria Virginia V. Remo, a married Filipino citizen, applied for the renewal of her expiring Philippine passport with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) office in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. In her previous passport, she used her husband’s surname “Rallonza” as her surname, with “Remo” as her middle name. Despite her marriage still subsisting, she requested to revert to her maiden name in the replacement passport. The DFA denied her request, citing Section 5(d) of the Philippine Passport Act of 1996 (Republic Act No. 8239) and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, which allow a married woman to revert to her maiden name only in cases of annulment of marriage, divorce, or death of the husband. Petitioner’s subsequent appeals to the Office of the President and the Court of Appeals were also denied. The Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling that for passport purposes, RA 8239 limits the instances for reversion to a maiden name to divorce, annulment, or declaration of nullity of marriage, and since petitioner’s marriage was still subsisting, she could not revert.
ISSUE
Whether petitioner, who originally used her husband’s surname in her expired passport, can revert to the use of her maiden name in the replacement passport, despite the subsistence of her marriage.
RULING
No. The petition lacks merit. The Supreme Court ruled that while Article 370 of the Civil Code grants a married woman the option, not a duty, to use her husband’s surname and allows her to continuously use her maiden name, the specific provisions of RA 8239 govern passport issuance. Section 5(d) of RA 8239 explicitly provides that a married woman applicant may revert to her maiden name only in case of a divorce decree, annulment, or declaration of marriage as void. The Court found no conflict between the Civil Code and RA 8239, as the latter does not prohibit a married woman from using her maiden name in a passport application. A married woman applying for a passport for the first time may use her maiden name, and in a renewal, she may choose to continuously use it. However, once she opts to adopt her husband’s surname in her passport, she may not revert to her maiden name except in the enumerated instances of death of husband, divorce, annulment, or nullity of marriage. Since petitioner’s marriage subsists and she had previously adopted her husband’s surname, she is not allowed to revert to her maiden name in the replacement passport. The decisions of the Court of Appeals and the Office of the President were affirmed.