Civil registrars can now correct errors in birth certificates without court order

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino signed the new law extending the power of local civil registrars to correct errors in birth certificates without any court order.

Correcting errors in date of birth and gender in birth certificates no longer needs court approval.

Republic Act 10172, which was signed by the President last Aug. 19, amended several provisions of Republic Act 9048.

It extended the coverage of exemptions to requirement of judicial approval for correction on entries in the birth certificate.

Under the new law, the city or municipal registrar may correct clerical or typographical errors in the day and month of date of birth or gender without a court order.

The previous law did not include the entries on date of birth and gender among the exemptions on court approval requirement and only specified entries on first name and nickname in the civil register.

Apart from this, the new law also specified where the fees for corrections in the birth certificate should go.

“The fees collected by the city or municipal civil registrar or consul general pursuant to this Act shall accrue to the funds of the Local Civil Registry Office concerned or the Office of the Consul General for modernization of the office and hiring of new personnel and procurement of supplies, subject to government accounting and auditing rules,” read Section 8 of RA 10172.

The new law is a consolidation of Senate Bill 3113 and House Bill 4530 that Congress passed last May 30 and June 5, respectively.