GR 198010; (August, 2013) (Digest)
G.R. No. 198010 ; August 12, 2013
Republic of the Philippines, Petitioner, vs. Dr. Norma S. Lugsanay Uy, Respondent.
FACTS
Respondent Dr. Norma S. Lugsanay Uy filed a Petition for Correction of Entry under Rule 108 before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Gingoog City. She sought to correct her Certificate of Live Birth, which recorded her name as “Anita Sy” and her citizenship as Chinese. Respondent alleged her true and publicly used name is “Norma S. Lugsanay,” her citizenship is Filipino, and she is the illegitimate child of Sy Ton and Sotera Lugsanay, as evidenced by her school records, PRC license, and passport. The RTC granted the petition, ordering the civil registrar to correct the entries, finding no prejudice to the government or any third party. The Court of Appeals affirmed the RTC, ruling that the publication of the order and notice to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and the local civil registrar cured her failure to implead other interested parties.
ISSUE
Whether the petition for correction of entries is dismissible for failure to implead indispensable parties, specifically the alleged father and other children or heirs who may be affected by the changes.
RULING
Yes. The Supreme Court granted the Republic’s petition and nullified the lower courts’ orders. The Court held that the petition involved substantial corrections to the respondent’s birth certificate—specifically her name from “Anita Sy” to “Norma S. Lugsanay” and her citizenship from Chinese to Filipino. These are not mere clerical errors but substantial alterations that affect her filiation and status. Rule 108, Section 3 explicitly requires that all persons with any interest that would be affected by the cancellation or correction must be made parties to the proceeding. This includes the respondent’s presumed father, Sy Ton, and his other heirs, whose successional rights could be prejudiced by a judicial declaration, implied in the correction, that the respondent is an illegitimate child using her mother’s surname. The Court ruled that the publication of the notice and the involvement of the OSG and local civil registrar are supplementary and do not substitute for the mandatory joinder of all indispensable parties. Failure to implead them deprives the court of jurisdiction. The proceeding was thus void for lack of indispensable parties.