REPUBLIC v.

CAGANDAHAN
FACTS:
On December 11, 2003, respondent Jennifer Cagandahan fled a Petition for
Correction of Entries in Birth Certifcate
[2]
before the !C, Branch 33 of "iniloan, #ag$na%
&n her petition, she alleged that she 'as born on Jan$ar( 13, 1)*1 and 'as registered
as a female in the Certifcate of #i+e Birth b$t 'hile gro'ing $p, she de+eloped secondar(
male characteristics and 'as diagnosed to ha+e Congenital ,drenal -(perplasia .C,-/ 'hich
is a condition 'here persons th$s a0icted possess both male and female characteristics%
"he then alleged that for all interests and appearances as 'ell as in mind and emotion, she
has become a male person% !h$s, she pra(ed that her birth certifcate be corrected s$ch
that her gender be changed from female to male and her frst name be changed from
Jennifer to Je1%
!o pro+e her claim, respondent testifed and presented the testimon( of Dr% 2ichael
"ion3on of the Department of Ps(chiatr(, 4ni+ersit( of the Philippines5Philippine 6eneral
-ospital% Dr% "ion3on iss$ed a medical certifcate stating that respondent7s condition is
8no'n as C,-% -e e9plained that geneticall( respondent is female b$t beca$se her bod(
secretes male hormones, her female organs did not de+elop normall( and she has t'o se9
organs : female and male%
!he !C granted respondent7s petition%
!h$s, this petition b( the O;ce of the "olicitor 6eneral .O"6/ see8ing a re+ersal of
the abo+ementioned r$ling%
Issue: <O= the petitioner can change his>her gender% .?E"/
HELD:
espondent $ndisp$tedl( has C,-% !his condition ca$ses the earl( or @inappropriateA
appearance of male characteristics% , person, li8e respondent, 'ith this condition prod$ces
too m$ch androgen, a male hormone% , ne'born 'ho has BB chromosomes co$pled 'ith
C,- $s$all( has a .1/ s'ollen clitoris 'ith the $rethral opening at the base, an ambig$o$s
genitalia often appearing more male than femaleC .2/ normal internal str$ct$res of the
female reprod$cti+e tract s$ch as the o+aries, $ter$s and fallopian t$besC as the child gro's
older, some feat$res start to appear male, s$ch as deepening of the +oice, facial hair,
and fail$re to menstr$ate at p$bert(% ,bo$t 1 in 10,000 to 1*,000 children are born 'ith
C,-%
In deciding this case, we consider the compassionate calls for recognition of the
various degrees of intersex as variations which should not be subject to outright denial. It
has been suggested that there is some middle ground between the sexes, a no-mans land
for those individuals who are neither truly male nor truly female.
[25]
!he current state of
"hilippine statutes apparently compels that a person be classi#ed either as a male or as a
female, but this $ourt is not controlled by mere appearances when nature itself
fundamentally negates such rigid classi#cation.
&n the instant case, if 'e determine respondent to be a female, then there is no basis
for a change in the birth certifcate entr( for gender% B$t if 'e determine, based on medical
testimon( and scientifc de+elopment
sho'ing the respondent to be other than female, then a change in the s$bDect7s
birth certifcate entr( is in order%
Ultimatel! "e a#e $% t&e vie" t&at "&e#e t&e 'e#s$( is )i$l$*i+all $#
(atu#all i(te#se, t&e -ete#mi(i(* %a+t$# i( &is *e(-e# +lassi.+ati$( "$ul- )e
"&at t&e i(-ivi-ual! li8e respondent, ha+ing reached the age of maDorit(, 'ith good
reason thin8s of his>her se9% espondent here thin8s of himself as a male and considering
that his bod( prod$ces high le+els of male hormones .androgen/ there is preponderant
biological s$pport for considering him as being male% "e9$al de+elopment in cases
E$ino Chipeco
C&F#,< EF&E< Page 1
of interse9 persons ma8es the gender classifcation at birth inconcl$si+e% &t is at mat$rit(
that the gender of s$ch persons, li8e respondent, is f9ed%
!o him belongs the h$man right to the p$rs$it of happiness and of health%
E$ino Chipeco
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