Unclogging the Court Dockets

The courts are swamped with cases due to indiscriminate filing, delayed disposition, and constitutional and procedural processes among others. The congestion of cases leads to extension of hearing schedules which leads again to further congestion of cases. A never ending cycle.

So the congress assembled and enacted laws to alleviate this problem. Among those is Republic Act 9048, AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE CITY OR MUNICIPAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OR THE CONSUL GENERAL TO CORRECT A CLERICAL OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR IN AN ENTRY AND/OR CHANGE OF FIRST NAME OR NICKNAME IN THE CIVIL REGISTER WITHOUT NEED OF A JUDICIAL ORDER, AMENDING FOR THIS PURPOSE ARTICLES 376 AND 412 OF THE CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES.

Pursuant to this law, verified petition for change of first name or correction of clerical error may be filed in the local civil registry where the person is originally registered. But you don’t have to go back to your birthplace in case you have already migrated to another city, province or municipality. The law allows filing of migrant petition wherein the case will be heard in the city or municipality where the interested party presently resides. What a convenience!

So I filed a migrant petition in the local civil registrar in Quezon City. The members of the staff in the Civil Registry are courteous and accommodating both in phone and in person. Upon arrival, I was given a checklist of requirements and fees and given a schedule of hearing. I was checking my calendar to make sure it’s not in conflict with any existing schedule but realized that I need not to. Hearing is set on August which is four months from date of filing! My immediate protests turned futile as the attending employee politely explained to me that their office is packed with similar petitions and there’s no way my hearing can be set to an earlier date. Reluctantly, I wrote the case details on my calendar. My first appointment for the month of August.

Yes, the courts were relieved of the pile of registry cases. But the pile remains, only in another venue.