More imagined than real

Can a married woman revert to the use of her maiden name? This is the question raised by Marivic in her case.

Marivic Gracia is married to Fred Rivera. Since their marriage, she started using the surname of her husband such that when she applied for a Philippine passport, the following entries appear: “Rivera” as her surname, “Marivic” as her given name and “Gracia” as her middle name. Prior to the expiry of the validity of her passport, she applied for its renewal with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) with a request to revert to her maiden name and surname in the replacement passport, despite the subsistence of her marriage to Fred.

The DFA however denied her request. It said that under the Philippine Passport Act of 1996 (Section 5 (d), RA 8239), if a woman applicant has used her married name in a previous application, she may revert to her maiden only in cases of annulment or declaration of nullity of her marriage, divorce initiated by a foreign spouse and/or death of the husband. None of these conditions is present in Marivic’s case, the DFA said.

Marivic questioned this ruling. She contended that when a woman marries, she does not change her name but only her civil status so she can still use her maiden name. In fact article 370 of the Civil Code uses the word “may” in enumerating the ways of using her husband’s surname. In said article she may use her maiden first name and surname and add her husband’s surname, or her maiden first name and husband’ surname, or her husband’s full name but prefixing a word indicating that she is his wife, such as “Mrs”. This provision is merely permissive but not obligatory. But RA 8239 prohibiting her to revert to her maiden name in the replacement passport conflicts with, and, thus operate as an implied repeal of Article 370 of the Civil Code, she contended. Was she correct?

No. The conflict between Article 370 of the Civil Code and Section 5 (d) RA 8239 is more imagined than real. RA 8239 and its implementing rules and regulations, does not prohibit a married women from using her maiden name in her passport. In fact, in recognition of this right, the DFA allows a married woman who applies for a passport to use her maiden name. However once a married woman opted to adopt her husband’s surname in her passport, she may not revert to the use of her maiden name except in cases of (1) death of the husband, (2) divorce (3) annulment, or (4) declaration of nullity of marriage. Since Marivic’s marriage to Fred subsists, she may not resume her maiden name in the replacement passport.

Even assuming there is a conflict, the provisions of RA 8239 which is a special law specifically dealing with passport issuance must prevail over the general provisions of the Civil Code on the use of surnames. A special law prevails over a general law.

Moreover, well entrenched is the rule that an implied repeal is disfavored. The apparently conflicting provisions of two laws should be harmonized as much as possible, so that each shall be effective. For a law to repeal another law, the two laws must actually be inconsistent and repugnant as to be irreconcilable. Marivic failed to establish this fact.

Marivic would not have encountered any problem in the replacement passport had she opted to continuously and consistently use her maiden name from the time she first applied for the passport. However, she consciously chose to use her husband’s surname in her previous passport application and now desires to use her maiden name. If this is allowed nothing prevents her in the future from requesting the use of her husband’s surname. Such unjustified changes in one’s name and identity in a passport which is superior to all other official documents cannot be countenanced. Otherwise, undue confusion and inconsistency in the records of passport holders will arise. Marivic’s case is similar to the case of Remo vs. Secretary of Foreign Affairs, G.R. 169202, March 5, 2010.

Note: Books containing compilation of my articles on Labor Law and Criminal Law (Vols. I and II) are now available. Call Tel. 7249445.

* * *

E-mail at: [email protected]