THIRD DIVISION
G.R. No. 231998, November 20, 2017
ERIC SIBAYAN CHUA, Petitioner, v. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent.
D E C I S I O N
VELASCO JR., J.:
WHEREFORE PREMISES CONSIDERED, the Court hereby orders the Local Civil Registrar of Balaoan, La Union to change the name of the petitioner from ERIC S. KIAT to ERIC S. CHUA in his Certificate of Live Birth under Registry No. 422-K-73 of the Local Civil Registrar of Balaoan, La Union.The Republic, represented by the Office of the Solicitor General, interposed an appeal from the foregoing ruling.
Let a copy of the judgment be furnished the Office of the Local Civil Registrar, Balaoan, La Union and the National Statistics Office (NSO), Quezon City, Metro Manila for guidance, information and execution of the necessary corrections and the subsequent issuance of the updated/corrected Certificate of Live Birth.
SO ORDERED.9
WHEREFORE, the instant appeal is hereby GRANTED. The January 22, 2014 Decision of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 34, Balaoan, La Union in Special Proceedings Case No. 907 is REVERSED and SET ASIDE. The petition for change of name filed by petitioner appellee Eric Sibayan Kiat is DISMISSED for lack of factual and legal basis.According to the CA, Eric failed to establish a compelling ground for changing his name. The CA deemed that there was no proof offered tending to establish that Eric's father, Cheong, was able to secure a court judgment allowing him to officially change his surname from "Kiat" to "Chua." Eric and Melania's testimonies were seen as mere allegations that do not satisfy the requisite quantum of evidence to establish such fact. There was then no basis for Eric's adoption of the surname "Chua."11 The appellate court likewise held that no proof was offered to show that Eric will be prejudiced by his use of his registered name.12 Thus, since Eric's evidence fell short of preponderant, his petition for change of name must necessarily be dismissed, so the CA ruled.
SO ORDERED.10
(a) when the name is ridiculous, dishonorable or extremely difficult to write or pronounce;Avoidance of confusion was invoked in Alfon v. Republic,15 wherein the Court granted the petition for change of name of Maria Estrella Veronica Primitiva Duterte to Estrella S. Alfon. In allowing the change of name, the Court held that:
(b) when the change results as a legal consequence such as legitimation;
(c) when the change will avoid confusion;
(d) when one has continuously used and been known since childhood by a Filipino name, and was unaware of alien parentage;
(e) a sincere desire to adopt a Filipino name to erase signs of former alienage, all in good faith and without prejudicing anybody; and
(f) when the surname causes embarrassment and there is no showing that the desired change of name was for a fraudulent purpose or that the change of name would prejudice public interest.14 (emphasis added)
In the case at bar, it has been shown that petitioner has, since childhood, borne the name Estrella S. Alfon although her birth records and baptismal certificate show otherwise; she was enrolled in the schools from the grades up to college under the name Estrella S. Alfon; all her friends call her by this name; she finished her course in Nursing in college and was graduated and given a diploma under this name; and she exercised the right of suffrage likewise under this name. There is therefore ample justification to grant fully her petition which is not whimsical but on the contrary is based on a solid and reasonable ground, i.e. to avoid confusion.16The same circumstances are attendant in the case at bar. As Eric has established, he is known in his community as "Eric Chua," rather than "Eric Kiat." Moreover, all of his credentials exhibited before the Court, other than his Certificate of Live Birth, bear the name "Eric Chua." Guilty of reiteration, Eric's Certificate of Baptism, Voter Certification, Police Clearance, National Bureau of Investigation Clearance, Passport, and High School Diploma all reflect his surname to be "Chua." Thus, to compel him to use the name "Eric Kiat" at this point would inevitably lead to confusion. It would result in an alteration of all of his official documents, save for his Certificate of Live Birth. His children, too, will correspondingly be compelled to have their records changed. For even their own Certificates of Live Birth state that their father's surname is "Chua." To deny this petition would then have ramifications not only to Eric's identity in his community, but also to that of his children.
Endnotes:
1Rollo, pp. 39-47. Penned by Associate Justice Pedro B. Corales and concurred in by Associate Justices Sesinando E. Villon and Rodil V. Zalameda.
2 Id. at 49-50.
3 Id. at 51-53.
4 Id. at 41.
5 Id. at 90.
6 Id. at 41.
7 Id.
8 Id. at 89-91. Penned by Judge Manuel R. Aquino.
9 Id. at 90-91.
10 Id. at 47.
11 Id. at 45.
12 Id. at 46-47.
13 G.R. No. 189476, February 2, 2011, 641 SCRA 533.
14 Id. at 538.
15 186 Phil. 600 (1980).
16 Id. at 603-604.