84 Remo vs Secretary of Foreign Affairs AUTHOR: Valcos

TOPIC: Use of Surnames NOTES:

PONENTE: CARPIO, J.
CASE LAW/ DOCTRINE: In the case of renewal of passport, a married woman may either adopt her husbands
surname or continuously use her maiden name. If she chooses to adopt her husbands surname in her new passport, the
DFA additionally requires the submission of an authenticated copy of the marriage certificate. Otherwise, if she prefers to
continue using her maiden name, she may do so. The DFA will not prohibit her from using her maiden name.
Emergency Recit:

FACTS:
Maria Virginia V. Remo is a Filipino citizen married to Francisco R. Rallonza, hence, the following entries appear
in her passport: Rallonza as her surname, Maria Virginia as her given name, and Remo as her middle name.
Prior to the expiry of the validity of her passport, Virginia applied for renewal with the DFA office in Chicago,
Illinois, USA. Though her marriage is still subsisting, she requested to revert to her maiden name and surname in
the replacement passport. When her request was denied, she wrote a similar request to DFA Sec. Domingo
Siason. The DFA, through Asec. Belen Anota, denied Virginias request and stated that:
This Office is cognizant of the provision in the law that it is not obligatory for a married woman to use her
husbands name. Use of maiden name is allowed in passport application only if the married name has not been
used in previous application. The Implementing Rules and Regulations for Philippine Passport Act of 1996
clearly defines the conditions when a woman applicant may revert to her maiden name, that is, only in cases of
annulment of marriage, divorce and death of the husband. Ms. Remos case does not meet any of these conditions.
Virginia appealed to the Office of the President but her appeal was dismissed. The OP ruled that Section 5(d) of
Republic Act No. 8239 (RA 8239) or the Philippine Passport Act of 1996 offers no leeway for any other
interpretation than that only in case of divorce, annulment, or declaration of nullity of marriage may a married
woman revert to her maiden name for passport purposes. It further held that in case of conflict between a general
and special law, the latter will control the former regardless of the respective dates of passage. Since the Civil
Code is a general law, it should yield to RA 8239.
Virginia then filed a petition for review of the OPs decision with Court of Appeals. The CA denied the petition
and affirmed the ruling of OP.
ISSUE(S): WON Virginia can revert to the use of her maiden name in the replacement passport, despite the subsistence
of her marriage

HELD: NO. Virginia cannot use her maiden name in the replacement passport while her marriage subsists.
RATIO:
As settled in the case of Yasin vs. Honorable Judge Sharia District Court, a married woman has an option, but not a duty,
to use the surname of the husband in any of the ways provided by Article 370 of the Civil Code.
(1) Her maiden first name and surname and add her husbands surname, or
(2) Her maiden first name and her husbands surname, or
(3) Her husbands full name, but prefixing a word indicating that she is his wife, such as Mrs.

She is therefore allowed to use not only any of the three names provided in Article 370, but also her maiden name upon
marriage. She is not prohibited from continuously using her maiden name once she is married because when a woman
marries, she does not change her name but only her civil status.

The conflict between Article 370 of the Civil Code and RA 8239 (the law governing passport issuance) is more imagined
that real. RA 8239, including its implementing rules and regulations, does not prohibit a married woman from using her
maiden name in her passport. In fact, in recognition of this right, the DFA allows a married woman who applies for a
passport for the first time to use her maiden name. Such an applicant is not required to adopt her husbands surname.

However, once a married woman opted to adopt her husbands surname in her passport, she may not revert to the use of
her maiden name, except in the following cases enumerated in Section 5(d) of RA 8239: (1) death of husband, (2) divorce,
(3) annulment, or (4) nullity of marriage. Since Virginias marriage to her husband subsists, she may not resume her
maiden name in the replacement passport. Otherwise stated, a married womans reversion to the use of her maiden name
must be based only on the severance of the marriage.