Silverio v. Republic (2007): Sex Entry in the Birth Certificate

The petitioner was registered as male at birth. In 2001, the petitioner underwent sex reassignment surgery abroad. The petitioner then asked a Regional Trial Court in Manila to change the first name and the sex entry in the birth certificate, from male to female.

The trial court granted the petition. On the Republic's petition, the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court. The petitioner appealed to the Supreme Court.

Can a person's first name and sex entry in the birth certificate be changed on the ground of sex reassignment?

The Supreme Court denied the petition.

First name. The Court said: "RA 9048 now governs the change of first name. It vests the power and authority to entertain petitions for change of first name to the city or municipal civil registrar or consul general concerned." So the petition "was not within that court's primary jurisdiction as the petition should have been filed with the local civil registrar concerned, assuming it could be legally done." The Court added that "RA 9048 does not sanction a change of first name on the ground of sex reassignment."

Sex entry. The Court said that under Republic Act No. 9048, "a correction in the civil registry involving the change of sex is not a mere clerical or typographical error. It is a substantial change for which the applicable procedure is Rule 108 of the Rules of Court."

No error to correct. The Court found that "The birth certificate of petitioner contained no error. All entries therein, including those corresponding to his first name and sex, were all correct. No correction is necessary."

No law. The Court said: "But there is no such special law in the Philippines governing sex reassignment and its effects. This is fatal to petitioner's cause." It concluded that "the determination of a person's sex made at the time of his or her birth, if not attended by error, is immutable."

A matter for Congress. The Court said "it is for the legislature, should it choose to do so, to determine what guidelines should govern the recognition of the effects of sex reassignment."

Without a law recognizing sex reassignment, the sex entered in the birth certificate at birth, if not attended by error, cannot be changed on the ground of sex reassignment; a change of the sex entry is a substantial change, not a clerical error.

Silverio sets the rule for requests to change the sex entry after sex reassignment surgery: the Court will not order it without a law that recognizes sex reassignment. The case is often read with Republic v. Cagandahan (2008). There, the respondent had a congenital intersex condition, and the Court allowed the change because the classification at birth was inconclusive. The difference is the facts: in Silverio the entry at birth was correct; in Cagandahan it was not conclusive.

A 2012 law, Republic Act No. 10172, now lets the local civil registrar correct a clerical or typographical mistake in the sex entry without going to court (as described in Republic v. Gallo, 2018). Silverio was decided before that law.

For how to request a copy of a birth certificate, see the PSA birth certificate guide.

Read the full decision on the Supreme Court E-Library (link in the sources below). For a case on a civil registry entry, see where to find legal help.