Can a Married Woman Use her Maiden Name on her Passport? Part 2

A few months back, we featured an article on the conditions for married women to use their maiden names on their passports.  In that article, it was mentioned that a married woman needs to show proof that her marriage has been annulled or that she has been widowed before she can revert to her maiden name on her passport.

How easy (or difficult) is it really to get your maiden name back especially on major IDs like a passport or a driver’s license?  Here is a personal experience I would like to share for everyone’s information and guidance.

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My mom had her passport renewed at a DFA satellite office a few weeks back.  She was excited to have this processed as she saw it as a chance to change her name on her passport back to her maiden name.  Ever since she and my dad were granted their annulment several years ago, she had been diligently updating her IDs with her maiden name and her passport was actually foremost in her agenda.

She went to the DFA satellite office with her IDs, a copy of her original birth certificate (she was born in 1946), her annulment papers, and her old passport.  When she advised the DFA personnel that she would like to revert to her maiden name, she was requested to present a copy of her PSA birth certificate.  Since she did not have a copy ready with her, she decided to reschedule her passport renewal.

We ordered for a copy of her PSA birth certificate online through PSAHelpline.ph.  In less than 15 minutes, we were done with the entire ordering and payment process because the site accepts credit card payments!  In two days, my mom received a parcel from PSAHelpline.ph.

When she opened the package, she wasn’t entirely surprised to find a Negative Certificate instead of a copy of her birth certificate.  The PSA does not have a copy of her birth records.  We were advised by a friend who works at the Quezon City Hall to file for a late registration of our mother’s birth details that will then be forwarded to the PSA for certification.  Doing so would mean traveling all the way back to Cabanatuan City, my mom’s birth place.

Since my mom did not want to wait that long to have her passport renewed, she agreed to just use her married last name.  I advised that this may be a wise decision if she intends to apply for a tourist visa to the U.S. soon as her previous visas were issued under her married name.

When she agreed to keep her married name, all she needed to submit was a copy of her Senior Citizen ID and her old passport.  She is scheduled to pick up her new passport on September 21^st, her 70^th birthday.

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You see ladies, getting your maiden name back is not as easy as most think.  So before giving it up, consider other possibilities.  In documents such as passports, you actually have the option to use your maiden name even if you are already married.

Problems with NSO Birth Certificate: Illegitimate, No Birth Certificate, and Not Acknowledged by her Mother

Alona is an illegitimate child, born to parents who were barely out of their teens.  Her mother gave her up for adoption when she was just a few days old, in exchange for a plane ticket from Manila to Iloilo.  She was never heard of from again.  Upon learning that his daughter was given to a complete stranger, Dexter (Alona’s father) requested for assistance from the barangay so he can take his daughter back.  After negotiating with the family who paid for Alona’s adoption, Dexter was finally able to take his daughter home and promised to do everything he can to raise her on his own.

Father and daughter sailed from Manila to Dumaguete and there, Alona grew up in her grandparents’ farm house while Dexter continued his studies in Cebu.

Alona is all grown up now and would like to apply for a passport so she can work abroad.  Her only problem is that she does not have a birth certificate and is clueless on how to get one.  Her father, Dexter, told her that she was born in Manila but since they have both migrated to Dumaguete, he is not sure if Alona’s birth can be registered in Dumaguete.

She has three problems:

1. Alona does not have a birth certificate.
2. She has not heard from her mother ever since she was born and in spite of several attempts to get in touch with her mother, all her efforts returned futile.
3. She no longer lives in the city where she was born.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) website (www.psa.gov.ph) , cases such as this can be worked out by filing for an Out-of-town (because she no longer lives in the city where she was born), Delayed Reporting of Birth.

The requirements for delayed registration of birth are in this previous article we posted last month.  Once Alona has these documents on hand, she can present these to the civil registrar of the LCRO of Dumaguete who shall then forward the documents to the Manila City Hall for proper registration.

Since Alona is an illegitimate child and born on September 21, 1990, there is the issue on her last name and her parents’ acknowledgment of her birth.  Only her father is present, and essentially, willing to acknowledge her as his child.

According to the PSA, if the child’s birth certificate is not yet registered and the father acknowledges his paternity over the child, the child can use the father’s last name following the procedures for R.A. 9255.

Since Dexter wanted for Alona to use his last name on her birth certificate, they need to include these documents when filing for Alona’s registration of birth:

1. Affidavit to Use Surname of Father (AUSF)
2. Consent of the child, if 18 years old and over at the time of the filing of the document (this applies to Alona).
3. Any two of the following documents showing clearly the paternity between the father and the child:
   • Employment records
   • SSS / GSIS records
   • Insurance
   • Certificate of membership in any organization
   • Statement of Assets and Liabilities
   • Income Tax Return (ITR)

Sources:

https://psa.gov.ph/civilregistration/technical-notes-vital-statistics

http://www.psa.gov.ph/civilregistration/problems-and-solutions/birth-certificate-not-yet-registered-and-father

http://www.census.gov.ph/civilregistration/republic-act-9255

Problems with NSO Birth Certificate: Delayed Registration of Birth

In a previous article, we tackled the issue of some Pinoys not having birth records with the Philippine Statistics Authority or PSA (formerly National Statistics Office or NSO).  In most cases, the owner of the certificate need to consult with the LCR where his birth was supposedly registered and check if the LCR has a copy of his registration.  The copy is then endorsed to the PSA for proper certification so that  the owner can get his birth certificate in PSA’s Security Paper.

But what if your birth was not registered at all?  If you were born in 1949 and earlier years, there is also a chance that the PSA does not have a record of your birth.

How does one acquire a birth certificate years after he was born?

According to the website of the PSA, a vital event reported beyond the reglementary period is considered delayed.  The birth of a child must be reported to the LCR office of the child’s birthplace, not less than 30 days after birth.  Any registration made beyond the reglementary period shall be considered delayed and necessary justification shall be required.

Here are the requirements for delayed registration of birth; these shall be submitted at the LCR office of the city or municipality where the person was registered.  Additional documents shall be required in case the requesting party is not the mother of the child:

a). Four (4) copies of the Certificate of Live Birth duly accomplished and signed by the proper parties;

b). Accomplished Affidavit for Delayed Registration at the back of the Certificate of Live Birth by the father, mother, or guardian, declaring therein, among other things, the following:

• Name of child
• Date and place of birth
• Name of the father if the child is illegitimate and has been acknowledged by him
• If legitimate, the date and place of marriage of parents
• Reason for not registering the birth within thirty (30) days after the date of birth.
• If the person being registered is 18 years old and above and is already married, he needs to submit a copy of his Certificate of Marriage as well.

You may inquire at the LCR how soon the birth certificate can be made available at the PSA.  Feel free to ask as well how your application for delayed registration of birth will be processed; the LCR will be glad to explain this to you.

Source: https://psa.gov.ph/content/processes-delayed-registration-vital-events

Problems with NSO Birth Certificate: Child Was Registered at the LCR Twice

While some parents fail to properly register their newborn babies at the Local Civil Registry office, therefore resulting to Late Registration when the need for the child’s birth certificate arises, others do it not once, but twice (I hope not more than that!).  The following are just some of the reasons why this happens:

• I wanted to change my child’s name;
• I wanted to remove the name of my ex-husband from my child’s birth certificate;
• My parents-in-law interfered with the child’s birth registration; and
• We got a Negative Certification from the NSO so we went ahead and registered our child again (thinking that that is the only solution). 

At the end of the day, an individual whose birth has been registered twice will still have the same question: So which of the two birth certificates should I use?

Resty Mendoza got the shock of his life when, upon receiving his birth certificate, he saw that his name and birth place were different from what he has been using and declaring all his life!  He knew his real name was Restituto Alain Mendoza and that he was born in Camarines Sur (where he now resides).  The birth certificate he received from the mail says that his name is Ferdinand Alain Mendoza and that he was born in Pasay City.  All the rest of the information were correct: his parents’ names and birth places and his birthday.  All except his name and birthplace.

When he showed his parents the copy of the birth certificate he received, they confirmed that they had indeed registered his birth in Pasay City, a few weeks after he was born.  When the family moved to Camarines Sur, they requested for a copy of his birth certificate at the NSO in the area and were advised that the NSO did not have a copy of his birth certificate.  Instead of checking with the Pasay LCR, his parents filed a late registration of his birth certificate and took the opportunity to change his name and his place of birth.  They realized now that the LCR in Pasay may have endorsed a copy of his birth registration after all and now the PSA (formerly NSO) has the first copy of his birth certificate.

Resty will be graduating from college soon and the school required him to submit a copy of his PSA birth certificates (formerly NSO birth certificate).  Which birth certificate must he use now?

This time, Resty and his parents consulted the LCR in Camarines Sur and they were advised that the entries in his first birth registration are considered as his true and official birth details – especially his name and birthplace.  Since he is graduating, he will have to advise his school that his real name is Ferdinand and that to avoid confusion on his future transactions, his school records and diploma should now bear Ferdinand as his first name.

To avoid further expenses and delays in completing his school requirements, Resty agreed to use the details in his PSA birth certificate.  Although it will take a long time before he starts responding to the name “Ferdinand”, he knows that it is the best thing to do at that point.

His friends and families continued calling him “Resty” as his nickname.  And he has not failed to explain to new acquaintances how his nickname was coined when his real name is actually Ferdinand.  By doing this, he is also able to warn people of the hassles of registering a child’s birth twice.

Problems with NSO Birth Certificate: No Birth Record

What if your request for a copy of your NSO Birth Certificate (now PSA Birth Certificate) yields a “negative certification” instead of the actual birth certificate?  Is it possible to “not have a birth certificate”?  If yes, how do you get one when you’re already almost 60 years old?

Mila is a 58-year-old public school teacher who made it through different jobs and employers, here and abroad, without a birth certificate.  She said that the system for securing passports in the late 1980s was not yet as strict – something that worked to her favor because she was able to send all three kids to school by working as a domestic helper in Hong Kong.

Her parents failed to register her birth.  She is not even sure if she is a legitimate child as she has not seen any wedding photos of her parents, or any document that would prove that they were married.

Now that she is set to retire in less than two years, she is compelled to work at getting herself a birth certificate.  It is a basic requirement in claiming her pension and other benefits after she retires from work.

Mila is just one of the many Filipinos who do not have certified copies of their birth certificates.  Here is what one needs to do in order to properly register their birth and secure a copy of their birth certificate in PSA Security Paper.

1. When you receive a Negative Certification from the Philippine Statistics Authority of PSA (formerly National Statistics Office or NSO) instead of receiving a copy of your certified birth certificate, proceed to the Local Civil Registry (LCR) office where your birth was registered and check if they have a record of your birth.
2. If they do, request that it be endorsed to the PSA.  The LCR will advise you of the time it will take before a copy of your birth certificate is made available.  You may follow-up at a PSA office or at the LCR where you filed the request for endorsement.
3. When a copy of your birth certificate is available, you need to claim this at the PSA East Avenue office.  Your succeeding requests for copies of your certified birth certificate may then be made online at psahelpline.ph or by calling the hotline (02) 737-1111.
4. In case you do not have a copy of your birth certificate at the LCR office where you were supposedly registered, you need to file for Late Registration.  You may inquire about the process at the LCR office as well.

We have a summary of solutions to the most common PSA birth certificate problems!  Read our blog, Common PSA Birth Certificate Problems (and their solutions!).

Source: https://psa.gov.ph/civilregistration/problems-and-solutions/negative-result-or-no-record-nso