Laws for Life

By Gianna Reyes Montinola and Maria Victoria Rotor-Hilado

Features simple answers to everyday questions like:

•  My name is misspelled in my birth certificate. How do I correct this?
•  Does an illegitimate child have a middle name?
•  How do I apply for an NBI clearance?
•  What are the requirements when buying real properties?
•  How do I apply for a bank loan?
•  What are the grounds for legal separation and annulment?
•  Should I write a last will and testament?
•  How do I settle the estate of a deceased loved one?

“This book is an invaluable vade mecum for all manner of things to do. It is an excellent walking companion for any and all who have to negotiate the obstacle courses that are the public and private bureaucracies. To employ a more modern image, it is an unerring GPS through the labyrinth of modern living . . .”

“Starting with birth and ending with death, it covers the ‘basket-to-casket’ range of questions and problems that arise in our work-a-day activities, whether these occur frequently or once in a lifetime . . .”

— From the Foreword by Rubén F. Balane, Ateneo Law School professor

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anvil Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 19, 2017
• ISBN: 9789712731334

Book preview

BIRTH CERTIFICATES

Q 1: When and where should I register the birth of my baby?

The birth of a child should be reported within 30 days from birth in the local Civil Registrar of the city or municipality where the birth took place (Sec. 2, Presidential Decree [PD] 651). The local Civil Registrar is usually located within the confines of the City Hall building or very near it.

If the birth is registered beyond 30 days from birth, this is considered a late registration and any reporting of the event of birth must comply with the requirements for delayed registration of birth.

Q 2: My baby was born in the hospital or maternity clinic, how do I get a birth certificate for my baby?

The attending physician, nurse or hospital or clinic administrator is responsible for registering the birth of a baby (Sec. 1, PD 651).

The hospital begins the process of registration when it gives the parent a Certificate of Live Birth Form (COLB) which is already partially filled with the date and hour of birth, weight and sex of baby, name of the nurse and doctor, etc.

You will be asked to provide the complete name of the baby, the complete names of the parents, their citizenships, occupations and religion, and the date when the parent or informant signed the COLB. If the parents are married to each other, you will be asked to enter the date and place when their marriage took place.

Be careful with the spelling of the names. You will be surprised at how often people misspell names either because the person filling up the COLB does not know how to spell the name correctly, or the person is unused to English or Spanish names, or the name is unusual and is spelled differently from its normal spelling.

Give careful thought to the name of your baby. Remember that the name you choose will be used throughout his or her life in all official documents. Your child may use nicknames, but in official documents, use only the name appearing on the COLB.

Make sure that the names of the father and mother of the baby written on the baby’s COLB are the same names appearing on the individual COLBs of the parents and marriage certificate. This information is vital as it traces the parentage of the baby. Also, the names of the parents of the baby in the baby’s COLB are compared with other official documents to confirm relationship and identity of the parents with respect to the baby.

After the COLB is accomplished, return it to the hospital or clinic administrator who is then supposed to forward this to the local civil registrar within 30 days from birth;

After you leave the hospital or clinic, follow up within a week or so if the COLB was already sent to the local civil registrar. If it was already sent, then follow up with the local Civil Registrar’s Office and get your copy of the COLB as soon as it is ready. Two to four months after getting the certified true copy of the COLB from the local Civil Registrar’s Office, try to order a copy of the COLB from the National Statistics Office (NSO) on SECPA (SECPA means security paper). If you cannot wait for 2 to 4 months, ask the local Civil Registrar’s Office to do an advance endorsement which means an endorsement ahead of the regular schedule. Once you get the COLB from the NSO on SECPA, then you know for sure that this process is completed.

Q 3: My baby was born at home with the help of a manghihilot or midwife, how do I get a birth certificate?

You or the manghihilot or midwife must register within 30 days from birth with the office of the local Civil Registrar (Sec. 2, PD 651). Obtain and complete the Certificate of Live Birth Form (COLB) from the office of the local civil registrar.

You will also need to obtain the following:

A certification from the Barangay Captain of the barangay where the baby was born, certifying to the facts and circumstances of the birth of the baby.

The signature of the attendant or manghihilot or midwife affixed on the COLB.

In certain cases, the local civil registrar will require a personal interview prior to the preparation and issuance of the birth certificate.

Q 4: How do I get an NSO copy of my birth certificate?

You can obtain a copy of your birth certificate and other certificates from the NSO through the following methods:

Go to any Census Serbilis Center, a list of which can be found at http://www.census.gov.ph/old/data/civilreg/serbilis_centers.html.

You may also apply online through e-Census at www.e-census.com.ph or nsohelpline.com. Fill up the information required, pay the fee online or through the designated bank and wait for 3 days for the birth certificate to be delivered to your doorstep. Note that if you will not be there to receive the delivery you must execute an authorization allowing your representative to receive the delivery together with your government issued ID, a photocopy of your ID, and the government ID of the representative.

Bear in mind that even if there is no record of your birth with the NSO you will still have to pay the fee and what you will receive is an NSO Negative Results Certification (NRC).

Q 5: The local civil registrar in the place where my birth was registered has a copy of my birth certificate but the NSO says it has no record of my birth. How can I get an NSO birth certificate?

It is not unusual for the local civil registrar to have a copy of your birth certificate but the NSO to have no record or copy of the same. If the NSO has no record it will issue a Negative Results Certification (NRC).

This negative result can be due to several reasons: it may be that the documents from the local civil registrar have not been forwarded to the NSO, or if forwarded, are still among the piles of documents which have not yet been encoded.

If the NSO does not have a copy of your birth certificate, you must request an endorsement of your birth certificate from the local civil registrar to the office of the Civil Registrar-General who is also the Administrator of the NSO.

In order to obtain an endorsement you must:

Obtain an NRC from the NSO. You can obtain this when you request a copy of your NSO birth certificate and none can be located. The NRC must have been issued within 6 months from the request for endorsement.

With this NRC, file a request for endorsement of your certificate of birth with the civil registrar’s office where your record of birth is located.

The local civil registrar’s office will verify the existence of your record. To expedite the process, show the local civil registrar a copy of your birth certificate, even a photocopy, if you have one.

After you pay the endorsement fee, the civil registrar or staff will prepare and sign the endorsement letter for the NSO and attach a true copy of the birth certificate obtained from their files.

The endorsement letter and attached copy of the birth certificate will be sent to the NSO by courier with a tracking number.

Secure a copy of the endorsement letter to the NSO and take note of the tracking number/dispatch number, reference number, dispatch date and transmittal date; continuously follow up the request with the NSO Office and provide them with the tracking/dispatch number.

Once you are told by the NSO that the birth certificate has been encoded, request for an NSO copy of your birth certificate a few weeks after the same was dispatched to the NSO.

An easier way is for you to apply for an endorsement of your birth certificate online by going to verified.teleserv.ph/endorsement

Q 6: I am single and gave birth to a baby (after August 3, 1988, the date when the Family Code took effect). What should I put in the birth certificate of my baby in the entry for the name of the father?

If you are single, and the father does not acknowledge your baby, you should write Not Applicable (NA) in the entry for the name of the father in the Certificate of Live Birth Form (COLB). No information should be entered which would lead to the identity of the parent who is not acknowledging the baby as his child.

If the father of your baby acknowledges your child, enter the name of the father and his information, provided the father executes the Affidavit of Acknowledgment or Affidavit of Admission of Paternity at the back of the COLB. See answer to Q 7 (p. 9) on the use of the father’s surname by an illegitimate child.

Q 7: I am a single mother. I was told that my baby can only use my surname since my baby is illegitimate. Is this correct?

The general rule is that an illegitimate child shall use the surname of the mother. An illegitimate child is a child born out of wedlock.

However, Republic Act No. 9255 (RA 9255), entitled An Act Allowing Illegitimate Children to Use the Surname of Their Father, Amending for the Purpose Article 176 of Executive Order No. 209, Otherwise Known as the Family Code of the Philippines, which Republic Act became law on March 19, 2004, allows an illegitimate child to use the surname of the father provided the father recognizes or acknowledges the child and executes and submits, among others, an Affidavit of Acknowledgment or Affidavit of Admission of Paternity, and the Affidavit to Use the Surname of the Father (AUSF).

If your baby’s birth has not yet been registered–

have the father accomplish the back of the Certificate of Live Birth Form (COLB) which has an Affidavit of Acknowledgment/Admission of Paternity where he acknowledges that he is the father of the baby; or

have the father execute an acknowledgment of paternity in a separate public document (notarized document); or

the acknowledgment of paternity may be in a private handwritten instrument.

If admission of paternity is done at the back of the COLB, no annotation is made on the COLB. However, annotation shall be made in the Register of births:

Acknowledged by (name of father) on (date) pursuant to RA 9255

(Rule 8.1.2, Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 2004, Rules and Regulations Governing the Implementation of RA. 9255).

If admission of paternity is made in a separate public document, an annotation shall be made in the COLB and the Register of Births. The annotation shall be:

Acknowledged by (name of father) on (date) pursuant to RA 9255

(Rule 8.1.3, Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 2004, Rules and Regulations Governing the Implementation of RA. 9255).

•   In addition, the father should also execute the AUSF which document is a registrable document filed with the local civil registrar within 20 days from execution (Rule 6, Rules and Regulations Governing the Implementation of RA 9255).

Aside from the AUSF, the following must be obtained and submitted:

Consent of the child, if he or she is 18 years old and over at the time of the filing of the document.

If the admission of paternity is made through a private handwritten document, the registration must be supported by:

the AUSF;

consent, if the child is 18 years old or over; and

any two of the following documents clearly showing the paternity between the father and the child:

Employment records;

SSS/GSIS records;

Insurance;

Certification of membership in any organization;

Statement of Assets and Liabilities;

Income Tax Return (Rule 7.1.2, Rules and Regulations Governing the Implementation of RA. 9255).

Where the child’s birth has been previously registered using the surname of the mother–

and the father recognized the child by executing the Affidavit of Acknowledgment/Affidavit of Admission of Paternity, or recognized the child in a public document or a private handwritten instrument, the child can use the surname of the father in accordance with RA. 9255 by submitting the AUSF, and the other documents listed above;

The document evidencing the admission of paternity and AUSF shall be recorded in the Register of Legal Instruments. Proper annotation shall be made in the COLB and the Register of Birth, as follows:

The surname of the child is hereby changed from (surname of the mother) to (surname of the father) pursuant to RA 9255.

In this case, the original surname of the child appearing in the COLB and Register of Births shall not be changed or deleted (Rule 8.2.1, Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 2004, Rules and Regulations Governing the Implementation of Republic Act No. 9255).

There is a difference in the appearance of the COLB if the acknowledgment of Paternity/AUSF is executed before or after a COLB is already issued.

If the COLB of the child is not yet issued when the acknowledgement of paternity and AUSF are made:

the surname of the child is the surname of the father.

no notation is made on the COLB (however, an annotation shall be made in the Register of Births but this does not appear on the COLB).

If the COLB of the child is already issued and the child initially used the surname of the mother:

the original surname of the child (surname of the mother) on the COLB is not deleted or changed, but a notation appears on the COLB:

The surname of the child is hereby changed from (original surname/mother’s name) to (new surname) pursuant to RA 9255

(Rule 8.2 Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 2004, Rules and Regulations Governing the Implementation of Republic Act No. 9255)

Q 8: Does an illegitimate child have a middle name?

It depends.

An illegitimate child who is acknowledged by the father and carries his surname in accordance with the provisions of RA 9255 carries the last name of the mother as the middle name of the illegitimate child.

If the middle name was initially left blank in the Certificate of Live Birth, a supplemental report should be filed in the local civil registry where the birth is recorded.

Before the middle name can be supplied, an Affidavit indicating the entry omitted (the middle name) and the reason for its omission should be submitted by the parent or applicant, among the other documents which may be required.

If the illegitimate child is not acknowledged by the father, the illegitimate child will have no middle name and will simply have the surname of the mother as the last name with no middle name. (Office Memorandum 2011–12. Implementation of Memorandum dated June 30, 2009 re: Guidelines in the Execution of Affidavit of Acknowledgment/Admission of Paternity)

Q 9: I am a single mother. The father of my baby is married but we both want the baby to use the surname of the father. Is this allowed?

The general rule is that illegitimate children shall use the surname of the mother.

However, Republic Act No. 9255 which became law on March 19, 2004, allows an illegitimate child to use the surname of the father provided the father recognizes or acknowledges the child and executes and submits, among others, an Affidavit of Acknowledgment/Affidavit of Admission of Paternity and the Affidavit to Use the Surname of the Father (AUSF). See answer and procedure in Q 6–8 (pp. 9–14).

Q 10: My parents were both single when I was conceived (when my mother became pregnant). My parents subsequently married each other. I know my status before their marriage was illegitimate; can I change this to legitimated since my parents are already married to each other?

Yes, you can. Your parents, by their marriage to each other, have actually upgraded your status from illegitimate to legitimated. However, you must go through the process of legitimation to officially change your status from illegitimate to legitimated with all the rights of a legitimate child.

Legitimation is allowed if at the time of conception, your father and mother could have married each other (Art. 177, Family Code as amended by Republic Act 9858 [RA 9858], An Act Providing for the Legitimation of Children Born to Parents Below Marrying Age, Amending for the Purpose the Family Code of the Philippines, as amended).

Despite the title of RA 9858, the provisions apply even if the parents are above 18 years of age provided the father and mother were not disqualified from marrying each other.

The requirements for legitimization are:

1) child is born out of wedlock;

2) child’s parents at the time of conception were not disqualified from marrying each other OR the parents were disqualified from marrying each other only because they were both below 18 years of age; and

3) subsequent valid marriage between the parents of the child.

In order to officially change your status from illegitimate to legitimated the following must be done:

Both your parents should execute in triplicate (3 copies) a Joint Affidavit of Legitimation which should state, among others, certain details such as:

Name of the parents and place of residence;

Your name and your date of birth;

The fact that you were conceived when both your parents were single and that at the time of your conception there was no legal impediment for them to marry each other;

Date and place of the marriage of your parents;

Name of the priest or other solemnizing officer and other matters;

Date and place where your birth was registered;

A statement that by virtue of the subsequent marriage, the child is now legitimated (Rule 4.2 Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 2010, Rules & Regulations Governing the Implementation of RA 9858); and

Manner by which you were acknowledged by your parents before or after the celebration of the marriage (e.g., by public document, etc.).

The Affidavit of Legitimation shall be registered within 30 days from date of execution at the local Civil Registry office where the child was born (Rule 5.4.1 & 5.4.2, Rules & Regulations Governing the Implementation of RA 9858).

Submit a certified copy of your birth certificate from the NSO.

Submit three (3) certified copies of the Marriage Contract between your father and mother.

Submit the NSO Certificate of No Record of Marriage (CENOMAR) for both your father and mother (they should have obtained this from the NSO and submitted this to the civil registrar when they applied for a marriage license).

Submit a certification of registration of both your birth certificate and the marriage contract of your parents from the civil registrar’s office where the same is recorded.

If you have not yet been acknowledged, also submit three (3) copies of the Affidavit of Acknowledgment/Affidavit of Admission of Paternity.

After the process has been completed, request a certified true copy of the NSO birth certificate and