Health sector reforms

WITH the recent appointment of a new chief at the Department of Health, expectations are high it will now be able to institute the much-needed reforms in the health sector in the post-COVID-19 period.

August 28, 2019).

“In Republic v. Sali, the Court held that a change of therein respondent Lorena Omapas Sali’s first name from ‘Dorothy’ to ‘Lorena’ was primarily administrative in nature and should be filed under the procedure provided in R.A. 9048.

“Hence, the change of first name from ‘Feliciano’ to ‘Ruben’ should have been filed with the local civil registry pursuant to Republic Act 9048” (cited in G.R. 243288, August 28, 2019).

“In Republic v. Gallo, the Court unequivocally held that a prayer to enter a person’s middle name is a mere clerical error, which may be corrected by referring to existing records.”

Thus, Bartolome’s prayer that his middle name, ‘Cruz’ be entered, is a mere clerical correction and must be undertaken through the administrative proceeding provided under Republic Act 9048 (G.R. 243288, August 28, 2019).

“As regards petitioner’s (Bartolome) misspelled surname, it bears noting that in 1988 and prior to the enactment of R.A. 9048 as amended, the Court, in Labayo-Rowe v. Republic, held that a correction in the spelling of therein petitioner’s surname from “Labayo/Labayu” to “Labayo” was a mere clerical error that could be corrected through a summary proceeding under Rule 108” (G.R. 243288, August 28, 2019).

“In Labayo-Rowe, the Court defined clerical errors as ‘those harmless and innocuous changes such as the correction of names clearly misspelled, occupation of parents, errors that are visible to the eye or obvious to the understanding, errors made by a clerk or transcriber, or a mistake in copying or writing’” (G.R. 243288, August 28, 2019).

“It can be readily seen that this jurisprudential definition was expressly incorporated into R.A. 9048, which, as already discussed, expressly removed the correction of clerical or typographical errors from the ambit of Rule 108 of the Rules of Court…

“[T]he Court categorically holds that typographical or clerical errors in a person’s surname must likewise be corrected through the administrative proceeding…”(G.R. 243288, August 28, 2019).

“As herein petitioner’s allegedly misspelled surname, ‘Bartholome’ may be readily corrected by merely referring to the existing records of the civil registrar, such as the surnames of petitioner’s parents and immediate family members, the petition should have been filed under R.A. 9048 and not under Rule 103 of the Rules” (G.R. 243288, August 28, 2019).

“In sum, … if the prayer to administratively change petitioner’s first name is denied, the same may be brought under Rule 103 of the Rules of Court.

“If the prayers to administratively correct petitioner’s middle name and surname are denied, the same may be brought under Rule 108 of the Rules of Court” (G.R. 243288, August 28, 2019).

In the case of Santos v. Republic et al., Luigi Santos, son of Bong Revilla with another woman, “prays that he be allowed to change his surname from ‘Santos’ to ‘Revilla’ to ‘avoid confusion, x x x to show [his] sincere and genuine desire to associate himself to (sic) [Bong] Revilla[,] Jr. and to the Revillas, x x x to show that he accepts and embraces his true identity, and to show his true and genuine love to his biological father” (G.R. 250520, May 05, 2021). The Supreme Court held “that petitioner correctly availed himself of the remedy under Rule 103 to change his surname from “Santos” to “Revilla.”

Contrary to the findings of the CA, Rule 108 is inapplicable as petitioner does not allege or identify any erroneous entry that requires substantial rectification or cancellation” (G.R. 250520, May 05, 2021).

“In the instant case, it is apparent that petitioner does not seek to correct any clerical or substantial error in his birth certificate or to effect any changes in his status as an adopted child of Patrick Santos.

“As such, neither Rule 108 nor R.A. 9048 as amended applies… [t]hus, he properly availed himself of… Rule 103 since he ‘seeks to alter the designation by which he is known and called in the community’” (G.R. 250520, May 5, 2021).

While the legal procedure was correct, there is “no basis to allow petitioner to change his (surname) to ‘Revilla’ simply because he is, biologically, the son of Bong Revilla and wants to associate himself with the Revilla family.”

Besides, the “adoption [of Luigi Santos by Patrick Santos] severs all legal ties between the adoptee and his or her biological parents” (G.R. 250520, May 5, 2021).

It is evident “[t]he State has an interest in the names borne by individuals and entities for purposes of identification. A change of name is a privilege, not a right [and for this reason] [p]etitions for change of name are controlled by statutes” (Silverio v. Republic cited in G.R. 243288, August 28, 2019).

Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa faces a raft of challenges in his new post.

There’s the ‘brain drain’ in the health sector, with hospitals experiencing an acute shortage of nurses in recent years as many of them would rather seek greener pastures in the four corners of the world to feed their families.

Can we blame our nurses from leaving the country to work abroad where they can earn much better pay and help their families face a brighter future?

Over at the Senate, one suggestion is for the DOH to ask Congress for salary upgrades for nurses to make them stay in the country.

The Philippine Nursing Practice Act of 2022, filed last October, seeks to provide better compensation and training to local nurses.

Secretary Herbosa said he wants the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to relax licensing rules and make employment easier for fresh graduates.

The problem, he noted, is the Civil Service Commission (CSC) allows only licensed nurses to work in the health sector in government.

Hence, he suggests the PRC should issue temporary three-year licenses to nursing graduates so they can work in government. Congress has approved the Regional Specialty Centers Act that seeks to establish medical specialty centers in each region within the next five years. Three regions are being prioritized, and the specialty centers will cater to patients with heart,