Dear PAO,

My parents are married, but my father left my mother almost a decade ago. Since then, my mother has refrained from leaving the country because she does not want to use her passport, which bears my father’s surname. His abandonment has deeply affected her emotionally and psychologically, and even seemingly simple matters, like her passport surname, are significant to her. But I was told by a colleague that married women now have the option to revert to their maiden surname. Is this true? I thought our laws only allow married women to revert to their maiden surname if their marriage has been annulled or a divorce has been validly obtained abroad. If my colleague is correct, this would be great news for me because I have been wanting to travel abroad with my mother. I want her to experience new adventures as my way of thanking her for raising me as a single parent.

Ailyn

Dear Ailyn,

Under Republic Act (RA) 8239, otherwise known as the Philippine Passport Act, which was approved on Nov. 22, 1996, married women who have secured a Philippine passport using their married surname may only apply for reversion to their maiden surname if they obtained a recognition of divorce decree, an annulment of marriage, or a declaration of nullity of marriage. This is expressly provided under Section 5 thereof:

“Sec. 5. Requirements for the Issuance of Passport. — No passport shall be issued to an applicant unless the Secretary or his duly authorized representative is satisfied that the applicant is a Filipino citizen who has complied with the following requirements x x x

“(d) In case of a woman who is married, separated, divorced or widowed or whose marriage has been annulled or declared by court as void, a copy of the certificate of marriage, court decree of separation, divorce or annulment or certificate of death of the deceased spouse duly issued and authenticated by the Office of the Civil Registrar General: Provided, That in case of a divorce decree, annulment or declaration of marriage as void, the woman applicant may revert to the use of her maiden name: Provided, further, That such divorce is recognized under existing laws of the Philippines;” (Emphasis supplied)

Nevertheless, with the passage and approval on March 11, 2024, of RA 11983, otherwise known as the New Philippine Passport Act, it appears that a married woman who is using her husband’s surname may now opt to revert to her maiden surname even during the subsistence of her marriage. It bears emphasis, though, that such reversion can only be done once and provided that all other existing identification cards and pertinent documents of the applicant must also reflect her maiden name. Section 5 of RA 11983 explicitly states:

“Section 5. Requirements for the Application and Issuance of a Passport. – The DFA Secretary, or a duly authorized consular official, shall issue a passport to an applicant who is a Filipino citizen and who has complied with the following requirements:

“(a) Personal appearance for biometric and biographic data capturing;

“(b) A duly accomplished application form;

“(c) Proof of citizenship as prescribed by relevant laws regarding the acquisition of Philippine citizenship which includes, x x x

“(d) Valid and sufficient proof of identity, foremost of which is the applicant’s PhilID issued pursuant to Republic Act No. 11055 or the ‘Philippine Identification System Act,’ or competent proof of identity;

“(e) For a married woman who wishes to use her husband’s surname, Certificate of Marriage or Report of Marriage, whichever is applicable, authenticated by the PSA;

“(f) For a woman who wishes to revert to the use of her maiden name, a duly authenticated birth certificate by the PSA: Provided, That she can only revert to her maiden name once and all her other existing identification cards and pertinent documents shall likewise reflect her maiden name.

“If the reversion is by virtue of an annulment, declaration of nullity of marriage, legal separation, judicially-recognized foreign divorce, or death of a husband, a duly annotated Certificate of Marriage or Report of Marriage, whichever is applicable, or Certificate of Death or Report of Death, whichever is applicable, authenticated by the PSA;” (Emphasis supplied)

We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.

Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to [email protected]