Republic of the Philippines SUPREME COURT Manila SECOND DIVISION

G.R. No. 166676

September 12, 2008

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, Petitioner -­‐ versus -­‐ JENNIFER B. CAGANDAHAN, Respondent.

DECISION QUISUMBING, J.: This is a petition for review under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court raising purely questions of law and seeking a reversal of the Decision[1] dated January 12, 2005 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 33 of Siniloan, Laguna, which granted the Petition for Correction of Entries in Birth Certificate filed by Jennifer B. Cagandahan and ordered the following changes of entries in Cagandahan’s birth certificate: (1) the name "Jennifer Cagandahan" changed to "Jeff Cagandahan" and (2) gender from "female" to "male." The facts are as follows. On December 11, 2003, respondent Jennifer Cagandahan filed a Petition for Correction of Entries in Birth Certificate2 before the RTC, Branch 33 of Siniloan, Laguna. In her petition, she alleged that she was born on January 13, 1981 and was registered as a female in the Certificate of Live Birth but while growing up, she developed