Republic of the PhilippinesSUPREME COURTManilaFIRST DIVISIONG.R. No. 174689 October 22, 27ROMME! "#CINTO D#NTES SI!VERIO, petitioner, vs.REPU$!IC OF T%E P%I!IPPINES, respondent.D E C I S I O NCORON#, J.&When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God; He created them male and female. (Genesis 5:1-2)Amihan gaed !"on the #am#oo reed "lanted #$ %athala and she heard &oices coming from inside the #am#oo. '(h )orth Wind* )orth Wind* +lease let !s o!t*,' the &oices said. ,he "ecked the reed once, then t-ice. All of a s!dden, the #am#oo cracked and slit o"en. (!t came t-o h!man #eings; one -as a male and the other -as a female. Amihan named the man '.alakas' (,trong) and the -oman '.aganda'(%ea!tif!l). (/he 0egend of .alakas and .aganda)When is a man a man and when is a woman a woman? In particular, does thelaw recognize the changes made by a physician using scalpel, drugs and counseling with regard to a persons se!? May a person successfully petition for a change of name and se! appearing in the birth certi"cate to re#ect the result of a se! reassignment surgery?$n %ovember &', &((&, petitioner Rommel )acinto *antes +ilverio "led a petition for the change of his "rst name and se! in his birth certi"cate in the Regional ,rial -ourt of Manila, .ranch /. ,he petition, doc0eted as +P -ase %o. (&12(3&(4, impleaded the civil registrar of Manila as respondent.Petitioner alleged in his petition that he was born in the -ity of Manila to the spouses Melecio Petines +ilverio and 5nita 56uino *antes on 5pril 7, 28'&. 9is name was registered as :Rommel )acinto *antes +ilverio: in his certi"cate of live birth ;birth certi"catender the law, therefore, Burisdiction over applications for change of "rst name is now primarily lodged with the aforementioned administrative o@cers. ,he intent and eJect of the law is to e!clude the change of "rst name from the coverage of Rules 2(? ;-hange of %ame< and 2(/ ;-ancellation or -orrectionof Dntries in the -ivil Registry< of the Rules of -ourt, until and unless an administrative petition for change of name is "rst "led and subse6uently denied.23 It li0ewise lays down the corresponding venue,2' form24 and procedure. In sum, the remedy and the proceedings regulating change of "rst name are primarily administrative in nature, not Budicial.R5 8(7/ li0ewise provides the grounds for which change of "rst name may be allowedE+D-,I$% 7. Gro!nds for 1hange of 3irst )ame or )ickname. I ,he petition for change of "rst name or nic0name may be allowed in any of the following casesE;2< ,he petitioner "nds the "rst name or nic0name to be ridiculous, tainted with dishonor or e!tremely di@cult to write or pronounceK;&< ,he new "rst name or nic0name has been habitually and continuously used by the petitioner and he has been publicly 0nown bythat "rst name or nic0name in the communityK or;?< ,he change will avoid confusion.Petitioners basis in praying for the change of his "rst name was his se! reassignment. 9e intended to ma0e his "rst name compatible with the se! he thought he transformed himself into through surgery. 9owever, a change of name does not alter ones legal capacity or civil status.2/ R5 8(7/ does notsanction a change of "rst name on the ground of se! reassignment. Rather than avoiding confusion, changing petitioners "rst name for his declared purpose may only create grave complications in the civil registry and the public interest..efore a person can legally change his given name, he must present proper or reasonable cause or any compelling reason Bustifying such change.28 In addition, he must show that he will be preBudiced by the use of his true and o@cial name.&( In this case, he failed to show, or even allege, any preBudice that he might suJer as a result of using his true and o@cial name.In sum, the petition in the trial court in so far as it prayed for the change of petitioners "rst name was not within that courts primary Burisdiction as the petition should have been "led with the local civil registrar concerned, assuming it could be legally done. It was an improper remedy because the proper remedy was administrative, that is, that provided under R5 8(7/. It was also "led in the wrong venue as the proper venue was in the $@ce of the -ivil Registrar of Manila where his birth certi"cate is 0ept. More importantly, it had no merit since the use of his true and o@cial name does not preBudice him at all. =or all these reasons, the -ourt of 5ppeals correctly dismissed petitioners petition in so far as the change of his "rst name was concerned.No !+7 #33o7' T-e C-+(.e o1 E(tr4 I( T-e $*rt- Cert*8c+te #' To Se2O( t-e Gro0(/ o1 Se2 Re+''*.(,e(t,he determination of a persons se! appearing in his birth certi"cate is a legal issue and the court must loo0 to the statutes.&2 In this connection, 5rticle 72& of the -ivil -ode providesE5R,. 72&. %o entry in the civil register shall be changed or corrected without a Budicial order.,ogether with 5rticle ?4' of the -ivil -ode, this provision was amended by R58(7/ in so far as clerical or t$"ogra"hical errors are involved. ,he correction or change of such matters can now be made through administrative proceedings and without the need for a Budicial order. In eJect, R5 8(7/ removed from the ambit of Rule 2(/ of the Rules of -ourt the correction of such errors.&& Rule 2(/ now applies only to substantial changes and corrections in entries in the civil register.&?+ection &;c< of R5 8(7/ de"nes what a :clerical or typographical error: isE+D-,I$% &. 4e5nition of /erms. I 5s used in this 5ct, the following terms shall meanE!!! !!! !!!;?< :-lerical or typographical error: refers to a mista0e committed in the performance of clerical wor0 in writing, copying, transcribing or typing an entry in the civil register that is harmless and innocuous, such as misspelled name or misspelled place of birth or the li0e, which is visible to the eyes or obvious to the understanding, and can be corrected or changed only by reference to other e!isting record or recordsE +ro&ided, ho-e&er, ,hat no correct*o( ,0't *(9o39e t-e c-+(.e o1 nationality, age, status or 'e2 of the petitioner. ;emphasis suppliednder R5 8(7/, a correction in the civil registry involving the change of se! is not a mere clerical or typographical error. It is a substantial change for which the applicable procedure is Rule 2(/ of the Rules of -ourt.,he entries envisaged in 5rticle 72& of the -ivil -ode and correctable under Rule 2(/ of the Rules of -ourt are those provided in 5rticles 7(4 and 7(/ of the -ivil -odeE&75R,. 7(4. 5cts, events and Budicial decrees concerning the civil status of persons shall be recorded in the civil register.5R,. 7(/. ,he following shall be entered in the civil registerE;2< .irthsK ;&< marriagesK ;?< deathsK ;7< legal separationsK ;3< annulments of marriageK ;'< Budgments declaring marriages void from the beginningK ;4< legitimationsK ;/< adoptionsK ;8< ac0nowledgments ofnatural childrenK ;2(< naturalizationK ;22< loss, or ;2&< recovery of citizenshipK ;2?< civil interdictionK ;27< Budicial determination of "liationK;23< voluntary emancipation of a minorK and ;2'< changes of name.,he acts, events or factual errors contemplated under 5rticle 7(4 of the -ivil -ode include even those that occur after birth.&3 9owever, no reasonable interpretation of the provision can Bustify the conclusion that it covers the correction on the ground of se! reassignment.,o correct simply means :to ma0e or set arightK to remove the faults or error from: while to change means :to replace something with something else of the same 0ind or with something that serves as a substitute.:&' ,he birth certi"cate of petitioner contained no error. 5ll entries therein, including thosecorresponding to his "rst name and se!, were all correct. %o correction is necessary.5rticle 7(4 of the -ivil -ode authorizes the entry in the civil registry of certain acts ;such as legitimations, ac0nowledgments of illegitimate children and naturalizationniversity ofthe Philippines. 9e too0 up Population +tudies Program, Master of 5rts in +ociology and *octor of Philosophy in +ociology at the >niversity of 9awaii, in Manoa, 9awaii, >.+.5. 7ollo, p. 7/. & ,his consisted of :penectomy Fsurgical removal of penisG bilateral oschiectomy For orchiectomy which is the surgical e!cision of the testesG penile s0in inversion vaginoplasty Fplastic surgery of the vaginaG clitoral hood reconstruction and augmentation mammoplasty Fsurgical enhancement of the size and shape of the breastsG.: Id.? $n )anuary &?, &((?, )anuary ?(, &((? and =ebruary ', &((?.7 Penned by )udge =eli!berto ,. $lalia, )r. 7ollo, pp. 3213?.3 Id., pp. 3&13? ;citations omitted