The Philippines is the bastion of Christianity in Asia with over 93% of our population listed as Christians; we ranked 5th worldwide according to a 2011 report of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Filipinos take religiosity pretty seriously. To us, it is not just some form of affiliation or membership, it is a legacy passed on to us, an identity we must protect and preserve at all costs.
And so it IS a big deal to have to find out that your religion, as written in your birth certificate, is anything but Catholic or Christian.
Such was the case of Arabah Joy Quinto, a Roman Catholic by birth. After receiving an Exchange Scholar grant from her high school, she immediately applied for a passport at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). She thought she had all the needed documents prepared until she was required to submit a certificate from the Office of Muslim Affairs (OMA)! Apparently, her birth certificate shows that her parents are Muslims. She insisted that her entire family has always been devout Roman Catholics, all of them baptized by the Catholic Church as supported by their birth certificates. The DFA would have none of it; either she presents the required OMA or have the entries in her birth certificate corrected.
How to Correct a ‘Wrong Religion’?
There are two ways of rectifying incorrect entries in a birth certificate:
- Under RA No. 9048 or Clerical Error Law (as amended by RA 10172) if the matter involved correcting typographical errors in the First Name, Place of Birth, Day and month of Birth , or Gender.
- Through a petition in court if the correction is not covered by any of the above cases.
Correcting the entries in ‘Religion’ is not included in the errors covered by RA 9048 or 10172.
In this case, Arabah Joy needs to file a petition for Correction of Entry in the Regional Trial Court of the place where her birth was registered. Once filed, the court shall set the case for a hearing, followed by publication of the correction in a local newspaper.
As soon as the petition is granted, the LCR of Arabah’s birth place will receive a certified copy of the court’s decision. The LCR will be directed to apply the necessary annotations on Arabah’s birth certificate, so that the same shall now reflect her parents’ correct religion.
The first corrected copy of Arabah’s birth certificate may be requested from a PSA office while succeeding copies may be ordered online at www.psahelpline.ph
If you have questions about civil registration in the Philippines, please feel free to drop usa line and we will do our best to find the answers for you.
Sources:
www.gov.ph (The Family Code of the Philippines)
MasterCitizen's Blog 
Pano po Yung Walang religion sa birth certificate? Ano po Ang dapat Gawin?
Pano po Yung Walang religion sa birth certificate? Ano po Ang dapat Gawin?
Hello po ask ko lang yung sa nso ng mama ko dpat ang nka lagay sa birthday niya 04-06-1956 kso ang nka lagay 06-04-1956 nag ka baliktad ano po ba dpat gawin ng mama ko para maayos yung nag kbaliktad na month at date kc HND siya mka pag loan ng pag ibig niya tnx sa sagot
may correction na po ba sa nso/?
Wala. Sa munisipyo kung saan ka naka register doon mo ito ayusin.
tanong ko lang po kung pano ayusin yung bc ko? kasi po ang prob po mali po yung last letter sa surname ko tas ung gender at birthday din po. sana po matulungan nyu po ako kasi kelangan ko po kumuha ng nso. may bayad po ba?
Yes may bayad ang pag aayos ng B.C mo. Iba iba ng proseso yan eh. Dalhin mo na lang sa LCR office yung kopya na galing PSA(NSO) para maumpisahan mo na.
Good Afternoon Master,
I have a question po, paano po ba maaayos yung NSO BC ko, ano-ano po ang kailangan para maayos. Ang problema po kasi mali ang lumabas na record dun sa NSO na kinuha ko pero tama naman po yung nasa original B.C ko from LCR . Ang nakalagay po dun sa Original BC ko ay Abigail Navarette Rodavia then sa NSO BC po Abigail Navarette na lang po .Nakadalawang beses na po ako ng balik sa LCR kung san aq registered but every time na bumabalik ako lagi nila sinasabi na may kulang sa requirements na dala ko, nung 1st request ko po sa knila sinabihan nila sa akin kong ano pa dapat kung dalhin na requirements then nung bumalik ako kulang pa din daw po requirements ko, eh sila nman po ang nagsabi sakin kung ano requirements ang kailangan? Di ko po tuloy alam kung ano pa dapat gawin.Sa Lian Batangas po kasi ako lumaki kaya nahihirapan po ako magpabalik-balik sa Bicol. Kailangan ko na po kasi yung NSO BC ko for my LET.
Thank you.
Yung LCR kasi ang masusunod sa ganyang pag aayos eh. Sana tinanaong bakit hinid agad sinabi yung mag requirements na yun nung una pa lang. sabihin mo hindi ka taga Bicol nag kataon lang na doon ka na register kaya ka nag aayos doon.