FAQ on Civil Registration Procedures: Births

Who are legitimate children?

Children born after one hundred and eighty days following the celebration of the marriage,
and before three hundred days following its dissolution or the separation of the spouses shall
be presumed to be legitimate. (Art. 225, Civil of the Philippines).
Children conceived or born during the marriage of the parents are legitimate.
Children conceived as a result of artificial insemination of the wife with the sperm of the
husband or that of a donor are likewise legitimate children of the husband and his wife,
provided that both of them authorized or ratified such insemination in a written instrument
executed and signed by them before the birth of the child. The instrument shall be recorded
in the civil registry together with the birth certificate of the child. (Art. 164, Family Code of
the Philippines)
Is the child considered legitimate although the mother may have declared against its
legitimacy?
The child shall be considered legitimate although the mother may have declared against its
legitimacy or may have been sentenced as an adulteress. (Art. 167, Family Code of the
Philippines)
What are the rights of legitimate children?
Legitimate children shall have the right :
1. To bear the surnames of the father and the mother:
2. To receive support from them, from their ascendants, and in a proper case, from their
brothers and sisters, in conformity with article 291 and,
3. To the legitimate and other successional rights which this Code recognise in their
favor. (Art. 263, Civil Code of the Philippines)
Does the practice of some Filipino Muslim of using the first name of the father as the
family name of the children violate the provisions on the use of surnames?
Legitimate child have the right to bear the surname of the father and of the mother. (Art.
62(a) of P.D. 1083 (Code of Muslim Personal Law of the Philippines)
The provisions of the law governing use of surnames were formulated in order to avoid
confusion in the use of surnames, and to settle doubts on their proper use (Report of Code
Commission, p51, cited in Tolentino, supra, p.721), we are unable to find any provision in
the Muslim Code or the Civil Code which would authorize the use of the name as the family
name of surname of the children of Muslim parents, for purposes of registration, especially
in accomplishing the Certificate of Live Birth (Mun. Form No.102). Accordingly, unless the
law is amended to reflect the alleged tradition or practice, the children should bear the family
or surname of their father for registration purposes. (Opinion No. 112, Series of 1985, from
the Minister of Justice Estelto P. Mendoza)
Who are illegitimate children?
Children conceived and born out a valid marriage are illegitimate, unless otherwise provided
in the Family Code (Art. 165, F.C.)
Who are considered illegitimate children?
The following are illegitimate children :
 1. Children born to couples who are not legally married or of common-law marriages;
2. Children born of incestuous marriages;
3. Children born of bigamous marriages;
4. Children born of adulterous relations between parents;
5. Children born of marriages void for reason of public policy under Art. 38 of the
Family Code;
6. Children born of couples below 18, whether they are married (which married is void)
or not; and,
7. Children born of other void marriages under Art. 15 unless otherwise provided.
(OCRG Cir. No. 89-13 dated July 17, 1989)
What is the rule on the registration of births of illegitimate children who were born
prior to August 3, 1988?
Illegitimate children as defined under the Civil Code of the Philippines who were born prior
to August 3, 1988 and whose births were not previously registered shall be registered under
the following rules in addition to those provided for delayed registration of births :
1. Recognition or acknowledgement of an illegitimate child may be made jointly by the
father and mother or by only one of them (Art. 276, C.C.) When the father or the
mother makes the recognition separately, he or she shall not reveal the name of the
person with whom he or she had the child; neither shall he or she state any
circumstance whereby the other parent may be identified (Art. 280,.C.C.)
2. An illegitimate child has the right to bear the surname of the parent recognizing him
(par. 1, Art. 282, C.C.) However, an illegitimate child who is not recognized or
aknowledged by both parents in accordance with law shall be registered under the
surname of the mother (Opinion No. 147 s. 1986, Minister of Justice)
3. Recognition shall be made in the record of birth, a will, statement before a record, or
in any authentic writing (Art. 278, C.C.). If made on record of birth at hte time of
registration the affidavit of aknowledgement printed at the back of the certificate of
live birth shall be signed and sworn to jointly by the parents of the illegitimate child,
or only by the mother if the father refuses (Sec. 5, Act No. 3753).
May an illegitimate child born on or after August 3, 1988 carry the surname of the
father if the father executes an affidavit of admission of paternity?
Illegitimate children born on or after August 3, 1988 shall use the surname of the mother.
(Section 1 OCRG Circular No.4 dated October 11, 1988).
The father of an illegitimate child who wishes to have his name indicated in item 13 of the
Certificate of Live Birth shall execute an affidavit of Admission of Paternity in lieu of the
affidavit of aknowledgement. The purpose of affidavit of admission of paternity is for the
support and succession only, and it does not entitle the illegitimate child to use the surname
of his father. (Section 2 OCRG Circular No. 4 dated October 11, 1988)
What is the rule on the registration of births illegitimate children who were born on
August 3, 1988 and thereafter ?
The following rules shall govern the registration of illegitimate children who were born on
August 3, 1988 and thereafter :
 1. An illegitimate child shall use the surname of his mother (Art. 176, F.C.) regardless
of whether or not his father admits paternity (opinion of Civil Code Revision
Committee, September 23, 1988).
2. The name of the father of the illegitimate child may be indicated on the the birth
certificate of the latter whenever the former executes an affidavit of admission of
paternity, provided that such affidavit shall not affect the naming of the illegitimate
child (opinion of the Civil Code Revision Committee, September 23, 1988)
3. The affidavit mentioned in the immediately preceding paragraph, if executed by the
father shall be permanently attached to and shall form part of the birth certificate of
the illegitimate child. The birth certificate in such a case must have a remark "With
Attached Affidavit of Admission of Paternity" impressed with a rubber stamp at the
upper left-hand margin and duly signed by the local civil registrar or authorized civil
registry personnel.
4. Illegitimate children falling under this classification who were not registered within
the prescribed period of registration shall comply with the requirement of delayed
registration of births. (Section 4 Circular No. 89-13 dated 17 July 1989)
What consist the full name of an individual?
The full name of an individual consists of a first or given name, a middle name which is the
mother's maiden surname and the last name which is generally the father's surname.Entries
of names in the birth certificate should, as much as possible and leagally permissible, follow
the above convention. (I.M. p 14)
Is it permissible to leave the first name of the child blank in case the parents cannot
decide on the name yet?
If until registration the parents are not decided on the first name for the child, write only the
middle and last name but never write "Baby Boy or Baby Girl". Entries such as "Jr." of "II"
affixed to an individual's first name to distinguish him from an ascendant of the same name
are acceptable as added identification. (I.M. p. 14-15).
What are the rules in making the entry of the last name of a child?
• For a child born to a legally married couple, write the last name of father ;
• For a child born to a mother who is not married during a pregnancy and at the time of
birth, the following rules shall apply:
1. If the child was born on or after 3 August 1988, write the last name of the
mother.
2. If the child was born before 3 August 1988:
 Enter the last name of the father if both parents execute the Affidavit
of Aknowledgement at the back of the Certificate of Live Birth.
 Enter the last name of the aknowledging parent if either the father or
the mother alone aknowledges the child. In this case, no information
should lead to the identity of the paren not aknowledging the child,
that is, the space provided for the information about the parent must
have "Not Applicable", or "N.A." as entry".
 If no parent aknowledges the child, enter the last name of the mother
(I.M. p. 15-16)
What is the rule in the registration of the place of birth?
1. For births that occur in hospital, clinic or institution, write the complete name and
address of the hospital or institution.
2. For births that did not occur in any of the above institution, write the complete
address where the birth occured. (I.M. p. 17)
Is it important to indicate the date and place of the marriage of the parents in the
certificate of live birth?
It is extremely important that this item (Item 18) is not left blank, otherwise, the legitimacy
of the child will be questioned.
If the parents have forgotten the exact date of their marriage, enter the approximate year. If
they cannot approximate the year, enter "forgotten".
Enter "Not Applicable" if the child has unknown father or mother.
Enter "Unknown", "Don't Know" or "D.K." if the informant could not supply the
information.
Enter "Not Married" if the parents of the child are not legally married on or before the birth
of the child and their names appeared in Item 6 and Item 13. (I.M. p. 24-25)
What is the implication if Item 22 (Received at the Office of the Civil Registrar) is not
signed by the receiver?
The signature affixed in this item indicates that the certificate was filed and accepted by the
civil registrar. The date indicates whether the birth certificates was filed within the
reglamentary period.
The absence of the necessary signature in Item 22 can be a basis for questioning the validity
of the certificate. (I.M. p.27)
What is meant by an "out-of-town Reporting of Birth"?
An out-of-town reporting of birth is meant as:
An out-of-town reporting of birth occurs when the Certificate of Live Birth is presented to
the civil registrar of a city or municipality which is not the place of birth, not for registration
but to be forwarded to the civil registrar of the city or municipality where the birth occured
and where it should be registered.
The duty of accepting Certificate of Live Birth for out-of-town reporting by the concerned
civil registrar may also be performed by the Civil Registrar-General of by his authorized
representatives who are the Regional Administrators and Provincial Statistics Officers of the
National Statistics Office. (Rule 20, A.O. No. 1 s 1993).
What are the requirements to be complied with by the concerned parties in the out-of-
town reporting of birth?
1. The party who is applying for out-of-town reporting of birth shall execute an affidavit
declaring therein, among other things, the facts of birth and the reasons why said
birth was not recorded in the civil registrar of the city or municipalty where it
occured. The affidavit which must be attested by at least two (2) witnesses, shall
serve as an application for registration shall be submitted to the civil registar together
with four (4) copies of the Certificate of Live Birth;
 2. If the application is for delayed registration of birth, the requirements under the rules
governing delayed registration of birth shall also be complied with;
3. The civil registrar or the authorized representative of the National Statistics Office to
the application for out-of-town reporting is presented may require from the applicant
such other supporting papers as may be considered necesarry in establishing the facts
of birth especially those pertaining to the date and place of birth and filiation of the
child whose birth is being sought for registration;
4. The Certificate of Live Birth, for the purpose of this Rule, shall have the marginal
annotation in the form of the following remark : " Registered pursuant to Rule 20 of
the Administrative Order No. 1, s. 1993" ; and,
5. The civil registrar of the city or municipality where the out-of-town reporting is
sought, upon receipt of the Certificate of Live Birth and pertinent papers, shall
proceed with the registration. He shall indicate the date when he received the
document, and shall sign over his printed name in appropriate space in the Certificate
of Live Birth. When the Certificate of Live Birth has been duly recorded and
assigned a registry number, the civil registrar shall send back the original copy to the
civil registrar or the authorized representative of the National Statistics Office who
forwarded the Certificate of Live Birth, who in turn shall give the copy bearing the
registry number to the registrant. (Rule 20, A.O. Order No. 1 S. 1993)
What is the legitimation and who can be legitimated ?
1. Legitimation is a remedy by means of which those who in fact were not born in
wedlock and should, therefore, be considered illegitimate, are, by fiction, considered
legitimate, it being supposed that they were born when their parents were already
validly married. (1 Manresa 550, as cited on p. 251, Handbook on Family Code of the
Philippines, Alicia V. Sempio-Diy).
2. Only children conceived and born outside of wedlock of parents who, at the time of
the conception of the former, were not disqualified by any impediments to marry
each other, may be legitimated. (Art. 177, Family Code)
3. Legitimation of children by subsequent marriage of parents shall be recorded in the
civil registry office of the place where the birth was recorded. The requirements for
registration of legitimation of illegitimate children are:
a) Certificate of Marriage;
b) Certificate of Live Birth of the child;
c) Acknowledgement (not required for illegitimate children born on or after
3 August 1988);
d) Affidavit of legitimation executed by both parents which shall contain the
following facts:
1. (1) the names of the parents;
2. (2) that at the time when child was conceived, the aforesaid
parents could have contracted marriage, and that they
subsequently contracted marriage;
3. (3) the date and place when such marriage was solemnized;
4. (4) the name of the officer who officiated the marriage;
 5. (5) the city or municipality where such marriage was recorded;
6. (6) the name of the child to be legitimated, and the other facts
of birth;
7. (7) the date and place where the birth of the child was
registered ; and
8. (8) the manner by which the child was acknowledged by the
parents which may be in the child's record of birth, in a will, a
statement before a court of record, or in any authentic
writing(not required for illegitimate children born or after 3
August 1988).
4. For a child to be considered legitimated by subsequent marriage, it is necessary that :
○ the parents could have legally contracted marriage at the time the child was
conceived ;
○ that the child has been acknowledged by the parents before or after the
celebration of their marriage ; and
○ the acknowlegement has been made with the consent of the child, if age or
with the approval of the court, if a minor, unless it has been made in the
certificate before a court of record, or in any authentic writing.
2. The original family name of the child as appearing in Registrar of Births shall not be
erased or deleted, but in the remarks space shall be written "Legitimated by
Subsequent Marriage" indicating the family name which the child shall bear by virtue
of the legitimation also giving reference to the entry number in the Registrar of Legal
Instruments.
3. When the interested party requests a copy of the birth certificate of a legitimated
child a certified copy of the certificate of LIve Birth bearing the annotation
"Legitimated by Subsequent Marriage on ________ (date of marriage) at
__________ (place of marriage)" or a certified transcription using standard form
from the Register of Births bearing the effects of legitimation and the same
annotation indicated in the certified true copy shall be issued. (Rule 66, A.O. No. 1 S.
1993)
How does legimation take place?
Legitimation shall take place by a subsequent valid marriage between parents. The anulment
of a viodable marriage shall not affect the legitimation (Art. 178, Family Code of the
Philippines).
What is adoption?
Adoption may be considered a process "to take into one's family through legal means and
raise as one's own child". (The Groiler International Dictionary, vol. 1, 1981 : Houghton
Mifflin Company).
Adoption is also defined as " a judicial act which creates between two persons a relationship
similar to that which results from legitimate paternity and filiation" (A Valverde 473, quoted
in Prasnick vs. Rep. of the Phil. 665). (Civil Law Reviewer by Desiderio P. Jurado, 1882
Twelfth Edition with Supplement published by National Book Store, Inc.)
Rule 1 of OCRG Circular No. 90-2 dated 28 March 1990 likewise define Adoption as a legal
process pursuant to P.D. No. 603, as amended by Executive Order No. 209 (Family Code of
the Philippines) in which a child's legal right and duties toward his natural parents are
terminated and similar rights and duties toward his adoptive parents are substituted.
Adoption is always a juridical act (Lazatin v. Campos, 92 SCRA 250) and it cannot be
granted administratively. And because there can be no valid adoption without a court decree
granting the same, a mere agreement of adoption between the adopters and the parents of the
child is not a valid adoption (Ynigo v. Republic, 95 Phil. 244), nor the mere fact that the
child has lived with the alleged adopter who had treated him like his own child sufficient to
establish a valid adoption between the alleged adopter and the child (Lazatin v. Campos, 92
SCRA 250).
What are the requirements for registration of adoption?
The following documents shall be submitted to the local civil registrar for entry in the
Register Of Court Decrees :
1. Four (4) copies of judicial decree of adoption to be distributed as follows: first copy
to the registrant, second copy for the local civil registrar making the entry, third copy
to the local civil registrar of the place where the birth of the child was originally
registered and the fourth copy to the Office of the Civil Registrar-General.
2. Four (4) copies of the birth certificate of the birth certificate of the adopted to be
distributed in accordance with the immediately preceding paragraph (OCRG Circular
No. 90-2 dated 28 March 1990).
What are the requirements that shall be complied with by concerned parties in the
preparation and issuance of the Amended Certificate of Live Birth of the adopted
child?
The following requirements shall be complied with by the concerned parties :
1. Certification of registration of the adoption decree to be issued by the civil registrar
of the city or municipality where the adoption decree was recorded ;
2. Authenticated copy of the adoption decree bearing registry number and date of
registration ;
3. Copy of the registered Certificate of Live Birth of the Adopted child. If the birth of
the adopted child was not previously registered, the same should first be recorded in
the civil registrar with the child's natural parents under the rules governing delayed
registration of birth;
4. If the adopted child was a foundling, the document to be amended is his Certificate of
Live Birth based on the available information which may be obtained from the
adopting parents, or from reliable and competent sources ;
5. The amended Certificate of Live Birth shall be attached to the original Certificate of
Live Birth of the child which is filed at the office of the Civil Registrar ; and
6. When the interested party requests a copy of the amended Certificate of Live Birth,
the copy to be issued shall not bear the annotation or any remark that will disclose the
facts of the adoption. (Rule 55 A.O. No. 1 S. 1993).