Republic Act No. 10172

Republic of the Philippines

Congress of the Philippines

Metro Manila

Fifteenth Congress

Second Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-fifth day of July, two thousand eleven.

[REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10172]

AN ACT FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY OR MUNICIPAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OR THE CONSUL GENERAL TO CORRECT CLERICAL OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS IN THE DAY AND MONTH IN THE DATE OF BIRTH OR SEX OF A PERSON APPEARING IN THE CIVIL REGISTER WITHOUT NEED OF A JUDICIAL ORDER, AMENDING FOR THIS PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED NINETY FORTY-EIGHT

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Section 1 of Republic Act No. 9048, hereinafter referred to as the Act, is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SECTION 1. Authority to Correct Clerical or Typographical Error and Change of First Name or Nickname. – No entry in a civil register shall be changed or corrected without a judicial order, except for clerical or typographical errors and change of first name or nickname, the day and month in the date of birth or sex of a person where it is patently clear that there was a clerical or typographical error or mistake in the entry, which can be corrected or changed by the concerned city or municipal civil registrar or consul general in accordance with the provisions of this Act and its implementing rules and regulations.”

SEC. 2. Section 2, paragraph (3) of the Act is likewise amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 2. Definition of Terms. – As used in this Act, the following terms shall mean:

(1) xxx xxx

(2) xxx xxx

(3) ‘Clerical or typographical error’ refers to a mistake committed in the performance of clerical work in writing, copying, transcribing or typing an entry in the civil register that is harmless and innocuous, such as misspelled name or misspelled place of birth, mistake in the entry of day and month in the date of birth or the sex of the person or the like, which is visible to the eyes or obvious to the understanding, and can be corrected or changed only by reference to other existing record or records: Provided, however, That no correction must involve the change of nationality, age, or status of the petitioner.”

SEC. 3. Section 5 of the Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 5. Form and Contents of the Petition. – The petition for correction of a clerical or typographical error, or for change of first name or nickname, as the case may be, shall be in the form of an affidavit, subscribed and sworn to before any person authorized by law to administer oaths. The affidavit shall set forth facts necessary to establish the merits of the petition and shall show affirmatively that the petitioner is competent to testify to the matters stated. The petitioner shall state the particular erroneous entry or entries, which are sought to be corrected and/or the change sought to be made.

The petition shall be supported with the following documents:

(1) A certified true machine copy of the certificate or of the page of the registry book containing the entry or entries sought to be corrected or changed;

(2) At least two (2) public or private documents showing the correct entry or entries upon which the correction or change shall be based; and

(3) Other documents which the petitioner or the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general may consider relevant and necessary for the approval of the petition.

No petition for correction of erroneous entry concerning the date of birth or the sex of a person shall be entertained except if the petition is accompanied by earliest school record or earliest school documents such as, but not limited to, medical records, baptismal certificate and other documents issued by religious authorities; nor shall any entry involving change of gender corrected except if the petition is accompanied by a certification issued by an accredited government physician attesting to the fact that the petitioner has not undergone sex change or sex transplant. The petition for change of first name or nickname, or for correction of erroneous entry concerning the day and month in the date of birth or the sex of a person, as the case may be, shall be published at least once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation.

Furthermore, the petitioner shall submit a certification from the appropriate law enforcements, agencies that he has no pending case or no criminal record.

The petition and its supporting papers shall be filed in three (3) copies to be distributed as follows: first copy to the concerned city or municipal civil registrar, or the consul general; second copy to the Office of the Civil Registrar General; and third copy to the petitioner.”

SEC. 4. Section 8 of the Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 8. Payment of Fees. – The city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general shall be authorized to collect reasonable fees as a condition for accepting the petition. An indigent petitioner shall be exempt from the payment of the said fee.

The fees collected by the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general pursuant to this Act shall accrue to the funds of the Local Civil Registry Office concerned or the Office of the Consul General for modernization of the office and hiring of new personnel and procurement of supplies, subject to government accounting and auditing rules.”

SEC. 5. Separability Clause. – If any provision of this Act shall at any time be found to be unconstitutional or invalid, the remainder thereof not affected by such declaration shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 6. Repealing Clause. – Any laws, decrees, rules or regulations inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 7. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,

(Sgd.) FELICIANO BELMONTE JR.

Speaker of the House

of Representatives (Sgd.) JUAN PONCE ENRILE

President of the Senate

This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 3113 and House Bill No. 4530 was finally passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on May 30, 2012 and June 5, 2012, respectively.

(Sgd.) MARILYN B. BARUA-YAP

Secretary General

House of Representatives (Sgd.) EMMA LIRIO-REYES

Secretary of the Senate

Approved: AUG 15 2012

(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III

President of the Philippines

Published on the Philippine Star and Manila Bulletin on August 24, 2012.

Work ethics as influenced by the Christian thought, still regarded as a punishment from God after committing sin by eating the fruit of knowledge. However, Christian thought introduced the idea that work, despite a punishment has a brighter side of it. Man has to work to earn and to be productive. Work taught man to be self-reliant, to be hard working and to be persevering. Christian doctrines taught man to share his blessings to others.

Likewise, it taught man to focus not on the physical things of the world but to give importance on the more and higher purpose of man’s labor. Moreover, the Christian Church eyed on the social structure man occupies in the hierarchy of society. Sharing of wealth and blessings to the poor were acceptable while those wealthy men who loaned money and earn interest or overpriced goods were widely considered unacceptable.

The kind of work man holds was related to his social status. St. Thomas Aquinas developed a hierarchy of profession and trades where agricultural works ranked first, handicrafts next and commerce as the third. St. Aquinas referred these works as the work of the world as compared to those of the church clergy whose task is considered a higher category. It was the monastic life that was considered as the most ideal occupation one has to dream for. For St. Aquinas, no matter what work you have, worldly or monastery works, each persons endeavor is a result God’s calling, and it is the responsibility of the person to work and remain in his class and pass it down to his family. A father who is a carpenter has to pass on to his son his calling as a carpenter. Thus, the son’s occupation as he grows up will have to be a carpenter.

The medieval period considered work as just mere work with the purpose of providing for the needs of the family and community. The people thought that having no work means being idle and having no work is a sin. They believed that work is part of God’s plan.

The period of Reformation, is characterized by religious and political outcry. Not only it changed the history of the church but as also brought new revolution to the concept and how we view work. Two religious leaders influenced this era, Martin Luther and John Calvin.

Luther who was an Augustinian friar who was dissatisfied with the Catholic Church led the Protestant movement. He believed that man can better serve God with the kind of work they have or the kind of profession and that work is a primary element in the society. He likewise believed that men should work diligently and earnestly and not change his profession to which he was born. And doing so would be to go against God’s law since God gave us a specific place in this world.

Luther also believed that what the medieval period believed that the monastic and contemplative life as egoistic on the part of the monks or people working in the monastery. Luther argued that a person’s vocation was equated as his calling and all callings are of spiritual dignity.

Moreover , Luther believed that a person into a business is not considered as a work. Men should earn a living enough only to meet his basics needs believed that “man” should not accumulate or horde wealth as it is considered as a sinful act.
A new revolution took place when John Calvin, another counterpart of Martin Luther that introduced theological doctrines combined with those ideas of Martin Luther. John Calvin, a French theologian believed on the concept of predestination. He believed that God chooses those persons to inherit eternal life and all other people were damned and nothing can change that since god is unchanging.
Calvin believed that it’s impossible to know with certainty whether the person in one of the Elect, but rather, a person can sense it based on his personal experiences and encounters with God and all his successes in life. Calvin believed that the person’s daily life and deeds, and his success in the worldly endeavors was a sign that he is possibly included as one of the chosen Elect. A person who shows indifferent and is idle was certainly damned.

Calvin said that man has to work because to work is God’s will. It was mans duty to serve and serve as God’s instrument and reshape the world in the manner God fashioned his Kingdom. Men should not crave and lust over wealth or possessions or easy living but rather to reinvest over and over again. Using the profits to help other people and to rise from an oppressor. . He likewise believed that men who help other people rise from a lesser level of subsistence is to violate God’s will. Moreover, using profits to help others rise from a lesser state violates God’s will since people who want to be among the Elect should do it out of their own hardwork.

Calvinist believed that selecting an occupation and pursuing it in order to achieve profit is a religious duty. Unlike Martin Luther, john Calvin believed that it is proper for man to look for an occupation which will give him greater income. If the pursuit means abandoning the family trade or profession, the change will not be allowed.  The teachings and beliefs of Luther and Calvin lead to a greater understanding and meaning of work ethics.

The next article will present more historical background on how it evolved over the years.