Here is another public service post arising from a personal experience. The death of my mother caused me several transactions with different government agencies. While the internet offered useful information, most are unfortunately outdated, incomplete and did not apply during my actual transaction. 

Every transaction I had with a government agency contributed to a learning experience, which I committed to share in my blog. Hoping that it would help readers in the same situation. 


In my previous posts, I shared my experiences with SSS. This time, I hope to provide useful information for those with minor or clerical errors in their birth certificates. 

Side story: I only discovered errors from my birth certificate when I submitted documents for the closure of my mother's bank account. Turns out, my birth certificate contains the following errors

1. The middle name of my Father was abbreviated (e.g. instead of Cruz, what was stated in the birth certificate was C.)

2.  The full maiden name of my mother was not completely encoded (e.g. Juana Santos Dela Cruz, what was stated in the birth certificate was Juana Dela Cruz)

3. The major mistake was on Item 16a of my birth certificate : How many children are now living? It appeared from my birth certificate that my mother has three children. When in fact my mother only had me and my brother. 

I visited the Civil Registry Office of Marikina to address my case. I was given a slip containing all the documents I need to submit. These include

Requirements for Correction of Clerical Error in Birth Certificate

1. PSA Copy of the Birth Certificate to be corrected

2. PSA Copy of the Birth Certificates of the following : Mother, Father, Siblings

3. Baptismal Certificate of the Petitioner and his / her Sibling/s

4. Marriage Contract of the Parents (PSA Copy)

5. Processing Fee of Php 1,000 and Php 100 for LBC delivery 

6. Valid IDs of the Petitioner - I presented two valid IDs 

7. Voter's Affidavit with attached Voter's Certificate - 
The Voter's Certificate can be secured from your local COMELEC Office for Php 75. 

8. Petition for Correction of Clerical Error in the Certificate of Live Birth - All three original copies should be notarized.  

9. Affidavit indicating entry to be corrected 

10. Except for number 8, all documents should be submitted with two photocopies including the receipt for the processing fee 

The requirements initially appeared manageable to me. But turns out, requirement numbers 8 and  9  were quite tricky to accomplish. 

Petition for Correction of Clerical Error in the Certificate of Live Birth

Electronic copies of this document is everywhere in the internet. However, the Local Civil Registry of Marikina has a printed version, which they strictly implement among petitioners. 

The first employee, who accommodated me on my initial visit, never gave me the sample blank form. In effect, I searched sample templates from the internet. 

On my second visit, I was hoping to successfully submit all requirements. I presented a version I secured from the internet. I got mine from the uploaded templates of the Philippine Consular Offices. 

It turns out, the Local Civil Registry has a printed format. I was told to encode all my details using a typewriter.  I decided to retype the document because this was easier than looking for a typewriter. All the while, I thought I properly answered the form. 

My second attempt to submit requirements was ruined because of this confusing table

It looks so easy to accomplish. 

I completed the entire table but it turns out, the column for the ITEM NO. SHOULD BE LEFT BLANK. 

All the while, I thought the ITEM NO corresponds to the number of the entry I wish to correct. 

Image Source : Fickey Martinez Law

For example, if you wish to correct the Mother's Maiden Name, I should encode 6 on the Item Number column. From my experience, I was told to keep it blank. 

But here's the confusing part, during my last visit, I was told to include the item number in the column for Description. 

Instead of just "How many children are now living," 
I was told to encode " Item16a. How many children are now living," in the Description Box.

It was confusing but as always, I'm just another law abiding citizens hoping to finally finish all these documents. 

TIP for those who are about to undergo the same process: 
ASK THE CIVIL REGISTRY EMPLOYEE TO SPECIFICALLY WRITE IN THE SLIP, THE ITEMS YOU NEED TO PROVIDE IN THE TABLE ABOVE. 

Affidavit Indicating Entry to be Corrected

Here's another confusing requirement. I was asked to produce an affidavit indicating the same information from the previous document. 

An affidavit containing all the entries from my birth certificate I wish to be corrected....
Why? I find this redundant given that everything was already stipulated from the Petition for Correction. 

This document also needs to be notarized. While I find this unnecessary, as always, I'm forced to comply. 

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I was able to complete the entire process after four visits. It was another exhausting, frustrating and patience testing experience from another government agency. 

My experience is another proof that the failure of government employees to clearly provide and explain requirements leads to wastage of time, resources and efforts. 

P.S. For those who wish to have an electronic copy of the following documents

1. Petition for Correction of Clerical Error in the Certificate of Live Birth
2. Affidavit Indicating Entry to be Corrected
3. Voter's Affidavit 

please feel free to send me an email :  dianewrites15(at)gmail(dot)com

I was told to wait for 3 to 4 months for the corrected copy of my birth certificate. I hope it arrives sooner. I'll update this post once I received it.