Gender Wrong on Beneficiary Birth Certficate

[Samuel and Marvic 4]

Is there anyone else out there who has had similar experiences and could share what they had to do for correcting this? Even a recommendation on a lawyer in the region in question would be greatly appreciated, I just want to do whatever I can to help reduce the stress she's being overwhelmed with...

[VirtualLee 12]

Is there anyone else out there who has had similar experiences and could share what they had to do for correcting this? Even a recommendation on a lawyer in the region in question would be greatly appreciated, I just want to do whatever I can to help reduce the stress she's being overwhelmed with...

By the way did your Fiancee already checked her birth record at the Local Civil Registry Office?

there are some event that the one from LCR is correct and the one indorsed at NSO got error.

If the one from LCR is correct then all she need to do is asked the LCR personnel what to do next.

for MAYBE they can endorse the correct copy of her Live birth to NSO. Just giving you Hope.

[Samuel and Marvic 4]

Thanks again for all your help so far everyone. Just to provide a minor update, Marvic's mother submitted a formal inquiry to the Civil Registry and regional NSO to verify the validity of the birth certificate. We're supposed to hear back within the next two weeks as far as what they can come up with, so in the meantime she's going around getting as much supporting evidence that she can (updated baptismal records, statement from midwife who did delivery, etc.), which has been somewhat delayed what with the flooding taking place out her front door (told her to stay put til then).

Still an extremely stressful situation to say the least, but we're holding it together. We've come this far, can't let something this ridiculous stop us now, right?

[VirtualLee 12]

Thanks again for all your help so far everyone. Just to provide a minor update, Marvic's mother submitted a formal inquiry to the Civil Registry and regional NSO to verify the validity of the birth certificate. We're supposed to hear back within the next two weeks as far as what they can come up with, so in the meantime she's going around getting as much supporting evidence that she can (updated baptismal records, statement from midwife who did delivery, etc.), which has been somewhat delayed what with the flooding taking place out her front door (told her to stay put til then).

Still an extremely stressful situation to say the least, but we're holding it together. We've come this far, can't let something this ridiculous stop us now, right?

How come it take weeks to check the record? cuz in my province (Iloilo) if you request to verify you can have it right away.

and if ever her Local Civil Registry record got correct input she can request for a Certified True Copy of her BC to

backup the NSO, that will work too.

[Samuel and Marvic 4]

How come it take weeks to check the record? cuz in my province (Iloilo) if you request to verify you can have it right away.

and if ever her Local Civil Registry record got correct input she can request for a Certified True Copy of her BC to

backup the NSO, that will work too.

Apologies for the confusion; what they're doing is checking the history of my fiance's name to see if there is a possibility that someone else was registered under her name. If they can confirm the discrepancy, they can file a Affidavit of Supplemental Report to have a corrected authenticated birth certificate from the NSO (it's a lot of information I'm getting second hand, sorry if it's still confusing). Basically: if they can verify it was filed twice, they can cancel out the wrong one and get the right one to the NSO.

Fingers crossed on this for sure, but I'm still covering my bases and having her gather supporting documentation in case it's needed for her interview/if the Registry needs an Affidavit of Identification.

Edited August 8, 2012 by Samuel and Marvic

[TnJ 131]

TEN steps to be undertaken in the correction of an entry in a civil registry document

1. Contact a lawyer who will prepare the Petition for Correction of Entry.

2. Lawyers shall file the Petition in the Regional Trial Court. The fee for filing the Petition in the Regional Trial Court is Php 160.00.

3. The Petition will be raffled and assigned to a branch of the Regional Trial Court.

4. The assigned Regional Trial Court shall issue an Order for the publication of its Order in a newspaper of general circulation for three consecutive weeks. Fee for publication varies.

5. The Order contains the date of the first hearing.

6. During the first hearing, the lawyer will present compliance of the jurisdictional requirements like publication of the Order in a newspaper of general circulation.

7. After establishing compliance with jurisdictional requirements, the petitioner will be presented in Court to testify. The Court may assign the Clerk of Court to receive evidence.

8.During the hearing, it is possible that an oppositor may appear contesting the Petition. If no oppositor appears, the Clerk of Court will receive the petitioner’s evidence.

9. After presentation of evidence, the Court will rule on the Petition.

10. If the decision is favorable, the Court will order the Office of Civil Registrar to correct the entry in the civil registry document (birth/marriage/death certificate of the petitioner).

http://www.census.gov.ph/data/civilreg/ten_steps.html

This link is for Republic Act 9048. A policy on correcting clerical errors on the birth certificate. Unfortunately, gender correction does not fall under this. The 10 steps listed above are the mandatory proceedings for gender corrections. http://nso.citizenservices.com.ph/nso-certificate-ra9048

These are the steps that Jessa and I had to go through in correcting her gender on her BC. I can't tell what would be result if we hadn't done this before filing the petition. Fortunately, we caught it in time. Unfortunately, it did cause some delay in us filing our petition. Once the case is petitioned to the court, there could be 1 or more hearings. Jessa had to go through a complete GYN medical for evidence before she could state her case. Attorney fees vary, but it is mandatory to have one for this correction. They take care of the administrative work while guiding the client on the steps needed to have a successful hearing. It took about 8 months for the ruling and a few weeks give or take for LCR to make the corrections. Another several weeks for NSO to note the correction.

Edited August 8, 2012 by ToddnJessa

[TnJ 131]

Correction: it took about 8 months from start to finish. Meaning, from the time we petitioned the case to the time NSO had made the corrections. We actually filed our K-1 petition before NSO made any corrections because LCR had already made the correction, and we knew we had time to wait for NSO. If the ways that others have suggested could provide a temporary fix to the problem because you are concerned with the interview, I would go go that route. We had time to spare so we took the permanent fix. It just makes everything smoother in the end when other legal ID documents require a birth certificate to be obtained.

[Samuel and Marvic 4]

Correction: it took about 8 months from start to finish. Meaning, from the time we petitioned the case to the time NSO had made the corrections. We actually filed our K-1 petition before NSO made any corrections because LCR had already made the correction, and we knew we had time to wait for NSO. If the ways that others have suggested could provide a temporary fix to the problem because you are concerned with the interview, I would go go that route. We had time to spare so we took the permanent fix. It just makes everything smoother in the end when other legal ID documents require a birth certificate to be obtained.

Thanks for the responses. I've ran into that 10-step process quite a few times in my endless search for the proper resolution for our steps, I'm just hoping that we can find the appropriate route that will minimize the amount of time we have to be apart for longer than needed.

I'm hoping in the very least that we can get the K-1 visa to the similar point another user on the forum did where he was able to finalize the approvals before the court passed its judgement. One would think with a nearly two month wait for interview scheduling right now that we could make some leeway into it (or possibly by some grace an actual finality passed) and not add more time into the waiting game. One way or another, we will get this fixed; I just hope that we can do so without further delaying our reunion.

[VirtualLee 12]

Apologies for the confusion; what they're doing is checking the history of my fiance's name to see if there is a possibility that someone else was registered under her name. If they can confirm the discrepancy, they can file a Affidavit of Supplemental Report to have a corrected authenticated birth certificate from the NSO (it's a lot of information I'm getting second hand, sorry if it's still confusing). Basically: if they can verify it was filed twice, they can cancel out the wrong one and get the right one to the NSO.

Fingers crossed on this for sure, but I'm still covering my bases and having her gather supporting documentation in case it's needed for her interview/if the Registry needs an Affidavit of Identification.

Hope miracle happens! If she was registered twice then that would be blessing in disguise

I have encountered someone at the City Local Civil Registry Office while I was processing my request for

a TRUE COPY of my MC...that he got a double Birth Certificate

and needs to cancel one for he will be going abroad and got this kind of a problem, he was given a

checklist of requirements to bring by the LCR clerk, and process of this kind takes 2-3 months

then another process/time for the endorsement to NSO. but let's just hope for the best.

[Starflyer 59 16]

I wish you the best of luck with this - I know it can be very frustrating dealing with birth certificate changes. When my fiancee went to apply for her passport they would not allow her to do so until she got her birth certificate corrected and the only thing that was wrong with hers was that her mother's name had a one-letter misspelling - there was an "e" where there should have been an "i". I found it very frustrating that the NSO rejected her for that and it ended up taking her several months to get it corrected in order to finally apply for the passport.

Just curious: How was your fiancee able to obtain her passport while having incorrect info on her BC? Maybe the day my fiancee went the clerk was just being extra-stubborn. Hahaha.

[Samuel and Marvic 4]

Just curious: How was your fiancee able to obtain her passport while having incorrect info on her BC? Maybe the day my fiancee went the clerk was just being extra-stubborn. Hahaha.

The clerks vary from day to day in their leniency I think. The first time my girl went there, they wouldn't process her because she didn't have a government-issued Photo ID at the time (Postal ID didn't count), so she had to get her old high school yearbook and school ID for that. It was after that when we discovered the discrepancy with her birth certificate she had on hand. They basically said they can go ahead and process her passport, but it would be tricky to renew unless we got it fixed.

I guess some days are just better than others for them. Too bad this (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2012/02/03/bill-allows-correction-birth-details-without-court-orders-204120) hasn't passed yet, it'd be nice to not worry about going through a court judgement to get something fixed that seems so simple, ESPECIALLY since it adds so much unnecessary processing time to the process.

[Starflyer 59 16]

Wow! It would be nice if they would pass that. It seems that there are so many people that have dealt with this type of issue. I don't know too many people (on a personal level) that have immigrated from the Philippines, but of the few that I do know, one of them had an incorrect gender on their BC. So I'd say it happens quite a bit over there. Their courts must be completely tied up with simple issues like that.

I hope everything works out for you all in a timely manner!

[Samuel and Marvic 4]

Want to see something extremely frustrating?

http://www.senate.gov.ph/lis/bill_res.aspx?congress=15&q=SBN-3113

This right here is the Senate's approval of the aforementioned amendment to the birth certificate clause to include gender changes not needing a judicial hearing. The kicker? It's sitting on the freaking President's desk since July 19th! The one thing that could take this alleged year-long processing time and strip it down to three freaking weeks is being held up by a freaking pen! >_<

Sorry, I just have to vent because I'm getting aggravated that people who got the NOA2 the same time I did are already getting visa approvals this week; if it weren't for this stupid hold-up, I could've easily had her here as soon as next week. It kills me that something this ridiculous is holding everything up! Argh!!

All he needs to do is sign the freaking thing, and then after the 15-day waiting period we'd be scott free!!

Edited August 17, 2012 by Samuel and Marvic

[Samuel and Marvic 4]

Ummm...now that I just said that...did anyone else happen to know the rule that bills automatically become law after 30 days if they aren't signed by the President?

http://www.senate.gov.ph/about/legpro.asp#Final_Legislative_Action

Final Legislative Action

After both houses have given final approval to a bill, a final copy of the bill, known as the “enrolled bill,” shall be printed, and certified as correct by the Secretary of the Senate and the Secretary General of the House of Representatives. After which, it will be signed by the Speaker of the House and the Senate President.

A bill may become a law, even without the President’s signature, if the President does not sign a bill within 30 days from receipt in his office. A bill may also become a law without the President’s signature if Congress overrides a presidential veto by two-thirds vote.

......

7/19/2012 Enrolled copies of the consolidated version of SBN-3113 and HBN-4530, sent to the Office of the President of the Philippines, for the signature and approval of His Excellency President Benigno S. Aquino III;

......

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

...keep us in your prayers people, it's possible I may have just had a miracle take place. I'm checking the news like a hawk on the 20th, the unthinkable may happen...

Edited August 17, 2012 by Samuel and Marvic