CHIU HAP CHIU, PETITIONER AND APPELLEE, VS. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, OPPOSITOR AND APPELLANT.

Chiu Hap Chiu seeks to change his name to Lo Hap
Chiu in a petition filed before the Court of First Instance of Davao. He testified that he was 30 years old,
single, a doctor of medicine, and a resident of Davao
City; that the name given him at birth was Lo Hap Chiu;
that during his school days, or from elementary school to
college, he was called by his classmates as Lo Hap Chiu
for which reason he desires to have said name adopted
instead of Chiu Hap Chiu to avoid confusion in the use
of his name; and that the name given him in his alien
certificate of registration is Chiu Hap Chiu.

After the reception of the evidence, the court a quo granted the petition. It found that petitioner was born
on February 1, 1930 at Kulagsu, Fuken, China; that he is
a Chinese citizen holding an alien certificate of residence; that he is a physician by profession and has no
criminal record; that he has paid all his taxes to the government; that he desires to change his name from Chiu Hap
Chiu to Lo Hap Chiu for the reason thatthe latter is the
name he used while studying in the school and because his
present name and surname are the same.

The government opposed the petition in view of its
failure to find sufficient justification for the change
of name desired by petitioner.

This
Court has already had occasion to express the view that the State has
an interest in the names borne by individuals and entities for purposes
of identification and that a change of name is a privilege and not a
matter of right. So that before a person can be authorized to change
the name given him either in his certificate of birth or in the civil
registry he must show proper or reasonable cause or any compelling
reason which may justify such change. Otherwise, the request should be
denied (Ong Peng Oan vs. Republic, 102 Phil., 468). The following may be considered, among
others, as proper and reasonable causes that may warrant
the grant of a petition for change of name: (1) when the
name is ridiculous, tainted with dishonor, or is extremely difficult to write or pronounce; (2) when the request
fcrchange is a consequence of a change of status, such
as when a natural child is acknowledged or legitimized;
and (3) when the change is necessary to avoid confusion
(Tolentino, Civil Code of the Philippines, 1953 ed., Vol.
I, p. 660).

Petitioner has not shown any proper or compelling
reason that may justify the request for change of name
other than his desire to use the name Lo Hap Chiu on the
alleged reason that that is the name given him in his
birth certificate and in the schools he attended, but this
claim was not satisfactorily proven, for aside from his
own testimony and a photostatic copy of a certification
issued in his favor as Doctor of Medicine by the University of Santo Tomas wherein it appears faat his name is Lo Hap
Chiu, there is nothing in the record to show that he used
said name from grade school to college for he failed to
present any documentary evidence to prove it. The truth
is that he was registered in the Bureau of Immigration
as Chiu Hap Chiu and in all the clearances secured by
him from said Bureau the name used therein was Chiu Hap
Chiu thereby indicating that he considered himself as such
as regards the public. He has not shown that he will be
prejudiced by the use of his true and official name, and
as a matter of fact he was referred to as Dr. Chiu Hap
Chiu in his clearance from the Court of First Instance of
Davao. Since the State has an interest in the name borne
by an individual, especially an alien, and the latters
identity as a rule is established by the name appearing
in his alien certificate of registration, we find no plausible reason for authorizing the change of name desired by
petitioner.

Wherefore, the order appealed from is set aside.
No costs.

Bengzon, C.J., Concepcion, Reyes, J.B.L., Barrera, Dizon, Regala, Makalintal, Bengzon, J.P., Zaldivar, and Sanchez, JJ., concur.