Correct birth records at local registrar’s office

Correct birth records at local registrar’s office " My brother has a problem with his birth certificate. His gender was recorded as female although he was born male. He was born in Manila but he is already living and working in the province. Because of this, he is asking if he can file a petition to correct his gender in the province where he is living right now. Can he do this? Also, what are the documents to be submitted for his petition and the amount of filing fees he needs to pay? Thank you, and God bless! JoannaDear Joanna, The implementing rules of Republic Act (RA) No. 10172 or the law authorizing the civil registrar to correct the gender of a person in a birth certificate without judicial order, specifies the venue in filing a petition for correction of gender in the birth certificate. According to the rules, a verified petition for correction in the entry of sex in the birth certificate shall be filed with the city or municipal civil registrar where the said birth certificate to be corrected is registered (Rule 4, Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 10172). Thus, if your brother was born in Manila and if his birth certificate is registered there, he needs to file his petition for the correction of his gender with the civil registrar of Manila and not elsewhere since the rules do not provide for an alternate venue for correction of gender in a birth certificate.With regard to the documents that must be attached and submitted with your brother’s petition to correct his gender in his birth certificate, the rules require that the petitioner must submit his earliest school records, baptismal certificate, clearance of no pending case or criminal record, affidavit of publication from the publisher that his petition to correct his gender was published in a newspaper of general circulation along with a newspaper clipping of the said publication, and a medical certification issued by an accredited government physician that the petitioner has not undergone sex change or transplant (Rule 6, Ibid.). Lastly, with regard to the filing fees for a petition to correct the entry of your brother’s gender in his birth certificate, the rules authorize the civil registrar to collect from every petitioner an amount of P3,000. However, the rules exempt indigents from payment of the said filing fees as long as their petition is supported by a certification from the city or municipal social welfare office that the petitioner is an indigent (Rule 10, Ibid.).Again, we find it necessary to mention that this opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. The opinion may vary when the facts are changed or elaborated. We hope that we were able to enlighten you on the matter.Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to " - https://www.affordablecebu.com/