RULE 108

CANCELLATION OR CORRECTION OF ENTRIES IN THE CIVIL REGISTRY

I. Who may file petition

Sec. 1. Who may file petition. - Any person interested in any act, event, order or decree concerning the civil status of persons which has been recorded in the civil register, may file a verified petition for the cancellation or correction of any entry relating thereto, with the Court of First Instance of the province where the corresponding civil registry is located.

Nature
Either summary or adversarial in nature.
If the correction sought to be made in the civil register is clerical, the procedure to be adopted is summary. If the rectification affects the civil status, citizenship or nationality of a party, it is deemed substantial and the procedure to be followed is adversarial. Republic v Bautista L-35316 (1987)

Adversarial Proceeding
One of which the party seeking relief has given legal waning to the other party and afforded the latter an opportunity to contest it. Republic v Valencia (1986)

Does correction for wrong filiation allowed under Rule 108

ALLOWED
Where the petition seeks to correct an erroneous entry, which was fraudulently falsified, remedy under Rule 108 may be proper.
Lee v CA G.R. No. 118387

The Scope of Rule 108

Sec. 2. Entries subject to cancellation or correction. - Upon good and valid grounds, the following entries in the civil register may be cancelled or corrected:
(a) births; (b) marriages; (c) deaths; (d) legal separations;

The Scope of Rule 108

(e) judgments of annulments of marriage; (f) judgments declaring marriages void from the beginning; (g) legitimations; (h) adoptions; (i) acknowledgments of natural children; (j) naturalization (k) election, loss or recovery of citizenship (l) civil interdiction; (m) judicial determination of filiation; (n) voluntary emancipation of a minor; and (o) changes of name

Who can be parties to the proceedings

Sec. 3. Parties. - When cancellation or correction of an entry in the civil register is sought, the civil registrar and all persons who have or claim any interest which would be affected thereby shall be made parties to the proceeding.

What happens after the petition is filed

Sec. 4. Notice and publication. - Upon the filing of the petition, the court shall, by an order, fix the time and place for the hearing of the same, and cause reasonable notice thereof to be given to the persons named in the petition. The court shall also cause the order to be published once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the province.

Is publication alone sufficient to notify the parties?

NO.

Publication is not enough. Summons must still be served, not for the purpose of vesting the courts with jurisdiction but to comply with the requirements of fair play and due process.
(Ceruila v. Delantar GR 140305)

How to oppose the petition under Rule 108?

Sec. 5. Opposition. - The civil registrar and any person having or claiming any interest under the entry whose cancellation or correction is sought may, within fifteen (15) days from notice of the petition, or from the last date of publication of such notice, file his opposition thereto.

Proceedings under Rule 108 may be subject to injunction.

Sec. 6. Expediting proceedings. - The court in which the proceeding is brought may make orders expediting the proceedings, and may also grant preliminary injunction for the preservation of the rights of the parties pending such proceedings.

What happens after the hearing?

Sec. 7. Order. - After hearing, the court may either dismiss the petition or issue an order granting the cancellation or correction prayed for. In either case, a certified copy of the judgment shall be served upon the civil registrar concerned who shall annotate the same in his record.

May the trial court dismiss the petition under Rule 108 motu prioprio without allowing the petitioner to present evidence to support the same?

An appropriate adversary suit or proceeding is one where the trial court has conducted proceedings where all relevant facts have been fully and properly developed, where opposing counsel have been given opportunity to demolish the opposite party's case, and where the evidence has been thoroughly weighed and considered.
(Eleosida v. LCR Quezon City GR130277).