Dear PAO,

Nowadays, no one will give importance to you if you do not have an educational title. I am not a lawyer but they call me “Atty. Y” in our barangay because of my God-given skills in communicating and arguing. I am planning to adopt the said name and I intend to sign all documents, whether it be public or private, using such name. I think that it is easier to entice a person to agree with me or close a real estate transaction (as I am also into buying and selling of real property) if they hear that I am called “Atty. Y”. Is this legally permissible?

Zanoy

Dear Zanoy,

Using the name mentioned in your letter, which is not your registered name, is tantamount to using pseudonyms or aliases. The following provisions of Republic Act (RA) 6085, which amended Commonwealth Act 142 (An Act to Regulate the Use of Aliases), govern the use of aliases:

“Sec. 1. Except as a pseudonym solely for literary, cinema, television, radio or other entertainment purposes and in athletic events where the use of pseudonym is a normally accepted practice, no person shall use any name different from the one with which he was registered at birth in the office of the local civil registry, or with which he was baptized for the first time, or, in case of an alien, with which he was registered in the bureau of immigration upon entry; or such substitute name as may have been authorized by a competent court: Provided, That persons, whose births have not been registered in any local civil registry and who have not been baptized, have one year from the approval of this act within which to register their names in the civil registry of their residence. The name shall comprise the patronymic name and one or two surnames.

“Sec. 2. Any person desiring to use an alias shall apply for authority therefor in proceedings like those legally provided to obtain judicial authority for a change of name, and no person shall be allowed to secure such judicial authority for more than one alias. The petition for an alias shall set forth the person’s baptismal and family name and the name recorded in the civil registry, if different, his immigrant’s name, if an alien, and his pseudonym, if he has such names other than his original or real name, specifying the reason or reasons for the use of the desired alias. The judicial authority for the use of alias, the Christian name and the alien immigrant’s name shall be recorded in the proper local civil registry, and no person shall use any name or names other, than his original or real name unless the same is or are duly recorded in the proper local civil registry.

“Section 3. No person having been baptized with a name different from that with which he was registered at birth in the local civil registry, or in case of an alien, registered in the Bureau of Immigration upon entry, or any person who obtained judicial authority to use an alias, or who uses a pseudonym, shall represent himself in any public or private transaction or shall sign or execute any public or private document without stating or affixing his real or original name and all names or aliases or pseudonym he is or may have been authorized to use.”

The general rule is, no person shall use a name other than his or her name registered with the local civil registry and it requires prior authority to use an alias or pseudonym, which shall be recorded also with the proper civil register. The use of alias or pseudonym which does not fall under the exemptions mentioned in Section 1 of the law is prohibited. This finds support in Pequero v. People of the Philippines, GR 263676, Aug. 7, 2024, where the Supreme Court, speaking through Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan, stated that:

“In this case, Pedro’s alleged alias, ‘Atty. Epafrodito Nollor,’ was used not for literary, cinema, television, radio, or entertainment purposes and in athletic events but to represent himself as a lawyer to the prejudice of the believing public. Pedro, likewise, had no authority to use the alias. Records are bereft of any showing that Pedro was legally authorized to use other names than his name registered at birth in the civil registry.”

Applying the above-quoted decision to your situation, your intention to use “Atty. Y” as an alias in order to entice others to agree with you or close a transaction does not fall under any of the exemptions provided under Commonwealth Act 142, as amended. It is important to emphasize that the use of pseudonym is allowed only for literary, cinema, television, radio, or entertainment purposes and in athletic events. Finally, the use of alias requires prior authority, such as obtaining judicial authority for change of name. Beyond this scope, the use of alias is not allowed, and may even subject a person to criminal and civil liabilities.

We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice was 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.

Thank you for your continued trust and support.

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]