CHANGE OF SEX AND NAME:

                Under Rep. Act No. 9048, a correction in the civil registry involving the change of sex is not a mere clerical or typographical error. It is a substantial change for which the applicable procedure is Rule 108 of the Rules of Court.

                As for respondents change of name under Rule 103, the Supreme Court has held that a change of name is not a matter of right but of judicial discretion, to be exercised in the light of the reasons adduced and the consequences that will follow. The trial courts grant of respondent’s change of name from Jennifer to Jeff implies a change of a feminine name to a masculine name. Considering the consequence that respondent’s change of name merely recognizes his preferred gender, the Supreme Court found merit in respondent’s change of name. Such a change will conform with the change of the entry in his birth certificate from female to male (REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES vs. JENIFFER CAGANDAHAN, G.R. No. 166676, September 12, 2008, Second Division, Quisumbing, J.).