GR L 20160; (November, 1965) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-20160 November 29, 1965
IN THE MATTER OF THE CHANGE OF NAME OF THE MINOR BABY GO TO ALBERT GO. GREGORIO GO, petitioner-appellee, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, oppositor-appellant.
FACTS
Gregorio Go filed a petition in the Court of First Instance of Cebu to change the name of the minor “Baby Go” to “Albert Go.” The minor was registered under the name “Baby Go” by representatives of the Cebu Maternity Hospital without the knowledge, consent, or opportunity of his parents to choose an appropriate name. The petitioner desired to adopt a Christian name in accordance with Filipino Catholic practices, as “Baby” is not a Christian name. The lower court granted the petition, authorizing the change of name. The Republic, through the Solicitor General, appealed, arguing that the lower court’s order exceeded its jurisdiction by purportedly authorizing an alteration of the original civil registry entry, contrary to Article 408 of the New Civil Code and Section 10 of Act No. 3753 . The lower court initially denied the appeal as frivolous, but the Supreme Court reversed that denial and ordered the appeal to be given due course.
ISSUE
Whether the lower court’s order granting the change of name from “Baby Go” to “Albert Go” is valid, considering the statutory limitations on altering original entries in the Civil Registry.
RULING
The Supreme Court found the allegations in the petition to be true and that there was proper and reasonable cause for changing the name, as required under Rule 103, Section 5 of the Rules of Court. However, the Court agreed with the Republic’s legal contention that the law authorizes only the registration of a change of name and marginal annotations in the Civil Registry, not the alteration or cancellation of the original entry. Therefore, the Supreme Court MODIFIED the lower court’s judgment. The order is to be construed not as authorizing erasures or cancellations in the original entry, but only as directing the proper marginal corrections or annotations in the Civil Registry to reflect the change of name from Baby Go to Albert Go. No costs were awarded.