We have received numerous inquiries with regard to clerical errors on birth certificates. This basic document is needed when securing other important identifications or documents such as passports.
During an interview with DZMM’s “Usapang De Campanilla”, assistant national statistician of the Civil Registration Service of the Philippine Statistics Office (PSA) Editha Orcilla, it is possible to correct errors made on your birth certificate.
The most common mistakes are misspelled names and incorrect birth date or gender. If you have one of these errors on your birth certificate, you need to file your petition to correct the information on the civil registry office where you had been registered.
Here are the persons who can file the petition for correction of entry:
• owner of the record
• owners spouse
• children
• parents
• brothers
• sisters
• grandparents
• guardian
• other person duly authorized by law or by the owner of the document sought to be corrected;
• if owner of the record is a minor or physically or mentally incapacitated, petition may be filed by his spouse, or any of his children, parents, brothers; sisters; grandparents, guardians, or persons duly authorized by law.
You need to provide the following documents:
- Certified Machine copy of the birth record containing the entry to be corrected
- Not less than two (2) private or public documents upon which the correction shall be based like baptismal certificate, voters affidavit, employment record, GSIS/SSS record, medical record, business record, driver’s license, insurance, land titles, certificate of land transfer, bank passbook, NBI/police clearance, civil registry records of ascendants;
- Notice/Certificate of Posting
- Other documents which may be required by the concerned civil registrar
You would need to pay a fee of Php1,000 for your filing fee. In cases of migrant petition or petitions filed on civil registration offices which is not the place of registry of the birth certificate, the fee will be Php1,500.
Orcilla estimated the process of correction to go through almost three months because the local civil registration would need to send the petition to PSA for approval. It would also be sent back by PSA to the concerned civil registrar upon approval along with the certificate of finality.
The PSA Official clarified that they do not erase or alter what was on the original document.
“We are not allowed to change any entries in the record mismo. We cannot erase kasi tampering na po ‘yan. We just do the annotation,” says Orcilla.
Filipinos residing abroad can also correct their birth certificate by seeking assistant from the Philippine embassy or providing an authorization letter to a representative in the Philippines.
For those seeking to change their gender on the birth certificate, they would need a certification from a government-accredited physician.
