REPUBLIC OF THE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND LOCAL ‘A: Francisco Gold Condominium II EDSA cor. Mapagmahal. Diliman, Quezon City July 26, 2001 MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. _2001 = 92 TO : PROVINCIAL GOVERNORS, CITY MAYORS, MUNICIPAL MAYORS, DILG REGIONAL DIRECTORS AND ALL OTHERS CONCERNED. SUBJECT: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RULES AND REGULATIONS: OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9048, ENTITLED AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE CITY OR MUNICIPAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OR THE CONSUL GENERAL TO CORRECT A CLERICAL OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR IN AN ENTRY AND/ OR CHANGE OF FIRST NAME OR NICKNAME IN THE CIViL REGISTER WITHOUT NEED OF A JUDICIAL ORDER AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE ARTICLES 376 AND 412 OF THE CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES. nn ‘The civil status of a person determines the nature of his relationship with his fellowman, as well as his legal standing before society. To emphasize the importance of documenting information relative to an individual’s personal history, laws have been enacted for this purpose. Act No. 3753, otherwise known as the Civil Register Law, and Republic Act No. 386, or the Civil Code of the Philippines, were enacted mandating the establishment of a civil register for recording the civil status of all persons who were ‘born or have been residents in the country. Article 408 of the Civil Code requires the entry of the following information in the Civil Register of every city or municipality in the country: (1) births; (2) marriages; @) deaths; (4) legal separations; (5) annulment of marriages; (6) judgments declaring marriages. void from the beginning; (7) legitimations; (8) adoptions; () acknowledgements of natural children; (10) naturalization; (11) Joss, or (12) recovery of citizenship; (12) civil interdiction (14) judicial determination of filiation; (15) voluntary emancipation of a minor; and (16) changes of name. oa aa “\a. Gains‘Since keeping a register to record personal information of inhabitants in a given locality is an essential function of governance, the person to whom this serious task is given is equally important, Section 479 of Republic Act No. 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991, as amended, emphasizes the importance of local Civil Registrars by providing that the appointment of a Civil Registrar shall be mandatory for city and municipal governments. Despite this legal requirement and the fact that the Local Government Code of 1991 has beex in existence for close to a decade, still a number of the country’s cities and municipalities have yet to comply with the law and appoint their permanent Civil Registrars. ‘The need for permanent Civil Registrars has been reiterated with the enactment of Republic Act No, 9043, which took effect on 22 April 2001. That law expanded on the basic quasi-judicial duties and functions of the Civil Registrar as provided under paragraph c, Section 479 of Republic Act No. 7160. It amended Articles 376 and 412 of the Civil Code of the Philippines, by granting the city and municipal civil registrars, among other specified officials, the authority to eorrect clerical or typographical error and to change first name or nickname in the civil register without need of a judicial order. But more importantly, the new law, albeit indirectly, qualifies or limits the use of said authority by defining under paragraph 1, Section 2 of the amendatory law, the term “city or municipal civil registrar”, In that provision, such official is identified as “the ci of mt Le ca who is appointed as s city or municipal mayor in accordance with the provisions o «existing laws (underscoring supplied). For this reason, an OIC-Local Civil Registrar can not validly exercise this additional power vested by law, thus depriving the affected constituents of the benefits given by the new enactment. Pursuant to Section 10 of the same amendatory law, the Office of the Civil Registrar General, in consultation with the representatives from the Department of Justice, Department of Foreign Affairs, Office of the Supreme Court Administrator, University of the Philippines’ Law Center and the Philippine Association of Civil Registrars, has promulgated Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 2001, providing for the Rules and Regulations governing the exercise of such authority, To give full meaning to the intentions of the Local Government Code and Republic Act No. 9048 regarding the importance of local Civil Registrars to further the aims of local governance, City and Municipal Mayors are enjoined to appoint their permanent local Civil Registrars and to instruct them to cause the widest dissemination of this Memorandum Circular for the benefit of their constituents.All DILG Regional Directors are, likewise, hereby directed to provide support, Where necessary and as may be appropriate, to all local government units within their jurisdictions. For the information and guidance of all concerned. By Authority of the Secretary: Wha spared! SOl 1, Undersecretary ft Attested by: Raa, ‘ ATTY. AGRIPINO'G. YyfRca Head Executive Assistant