Republic vs.

Coseteng- Magpayo Facts: Julian Edward Emerson Coseteng Magpayo claimed that his parents were never married and filed a petition in QC to change his name to Julian Edward Emerson Marquez Lim Coseteng (using the maiden name of his mother) Respondent submitted proof o Mother has no record of marriage from NSO o Records which show that he has been using the surname of Coseteng since childhood (academic records) Trial Court granted petition and ordered Civil Registrar to: o Delete the entry date and place of marriage(of parents) in respondents live birth certificate o Change entry of Last name from Magpayo to Coseteng o Delete entry of Coseting from Middle name o Delete entry of Fulvio Miranda Magpayo Jr in the entry for Father Republic filed a motion against the order of the court stating that: o The change of name of respondent also calls for a change of civil status from legitimate to illegitimate. o Court exceeded jurisdiction when it ordered deletion of name of the father A person can effect a change of name under rule 103 using valid grounds: o when the name is ridiculous, dishonorable or extremely difficult to write or pronounce o when the change results as a legal consequence such as legitimation o when the change will avoid confusion o when one has continuously used and been known since childhood by a Filipino name, and was unaware of alien parentage o a sincere desire to adopt a Filipino name to erase signs of former alienage, all in good faith and without prejudicing anybody o when the surname causes embarrassment and there is no showing that the desired change of name was for a fraudulent purpose or that the change of name would prejudice public interest Issue: WON respondents change of name was affected through an appropriate adversary proceeding Held: Respondents reason for changing his name cannot be considered as anyone of the recognized grounds in rule 103 (respondent denies his legitimacy by affecting his legal status in relation to his parents) Since respondents desired change affects his legitimacy, rule 108 should apply Rule 108 clearly directs that a petition which concerns ones civil status should be filed in the civil registry in which the entry is sought to be cancelled or corrected (Makati, not QC) and "all persons who have or claim any interest which would be affected thereby" should be made parties to the proceeding. When a petition for cancellation or correction of an entry in the civil register involves substantial and controversial alterations including those on citizenship, legitimacy of paternity or filiation, or legitimacy of marriage, a strict compliance with the requirements of Rule 108 of the Rules of Court is mandated Decision of Trial Court was nullified

On a side note, there were other cases mentioned in this case to try and explain rule 108 better. I didnt include them here anymore but if you want to read them, here is a link to the original case.

http://www.lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2011/feb2011/gr_189476_2011.html