Rules and Regulations Governing Registration of Acts and Events Concerning Civil Status of Muslim Filipinos (Act No. 3753)

January 6, 1993

OCRG ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 2-93

 

Pursuant to Section 2 of Act No. 3753, otherwise known as the Civil Registry Law of the Philippines, which took effect on 27 February 1931, in conjunction with Chapters 1 and 2, Title VI, Book II of Presidential Decree No. 1083, otherwise known as the Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines, which took effect on 4 February 1977, the following rules and regulations are hereby promulgated for the information, guidance and compliance of all concerned:

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

This Order shall be suppletory to Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 1993, which is the implementing rules and regulations of Act No. 3753 and other laws in civil registration. It shall be applicable to all citizens of the Philippines, who profess the Islamic faith whether residing here or abroad. For purposes of this Order, such person shall hereinafter be referred to as a Muslim.

The head of the National Statistics Office of the Civil Registrar General. The person in charge of recording birth and death events occurring among the Muslims in cities and municipalities is the civil registrar appointed by the Mayor in accordance with the Local Government Code of 1991. In the matter of Muslim marriage, divorce and revocation of divorce, and conversion to Islam, recording thereof is the responsibility of the Clerk of Court of the Shari'a Circuit hereinafter referred to as the Circuit Registrar. Above all, judicial decrees and legal instruments concerning civil status of Muslims issued by the Shari'a Court shall be registered in accordance with Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 1993 and this Order.

RULE 1. Definition of Terms. — As used in these Rules:

1. Muslim is a person who testifies to the oneness of God and the Prophethood of Mohammad and one who professes Islam.

2. Muslim Personal Law includes all laws relating to personal status, marriage and divorce, matrimonial and family relations, succession and inheritance and property relations between spouses as provided for in the Muslim Code.

3. Muslim Laws refers to all the ordinances and resolutions governing Muslims as found principally in the Quran and the Hadith.

4. Circuit Registrar is the Clerk of the Shari'a Circuit Court acting in the performance of their function under Title VI, Book Two of P.D. 1083 and these Rules.

5. District Registrar is the Clerk of Court of the Shari'a District Court acting in the performance of their function under Title VI, Book Two of P.D. 1083 and these Rules. aHTcDA

6. Idda is the period of waiting prescribed for a woman whose marriage has been dissolved by death or by divorce the completion of which shall enable her to contract a new marriage.

7. Talaq is the repudiation of the wife by the husband.

8. Tafwid is the exercise by the wife of the delegated right to repudiate.

9. Wali is the guardian in marriage.

10. Muslim Code refers to Presidential Decree No. 1083.

RULE 2. Registrable act and events concerning civil status of Muslim. — The following acts and events concerning civil status of Muslim shall be recorded in the appropriate civil registry book:

1. Acts and events enumerated under Rule 7 of Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 1993, insofar as they are applicable to Muslim; and THCSAE

2. Muslim marriages, divorces, revocations of divorces and conversions.

RULE 3. Registry Books. — The Circuit Registrar shall keep and preserve in his Office the following registry books:

1. Register of Muslim Marriages

2. Register of Muslim Divorces

3. Register of Revocation of Muslim Divorces

4. Register of Conversion to Islam.

RULE 4. Places where this Order shall apply. — This Order shall apply in all cities and municipalities in the Philippines where acts and events concerning civil status of Muslim may occur.

RULE 5. Registration of Births. — Registration of births of Muslim shall be governed by pertinent provisions of Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 1993 supplemented by the following specific rules:

1. Regardless of the period of intra-uterine life of the fetus when born alive, however briefly, shall be recorded in the Register of Births as live births.

2. Upon receiving the Certificate of Live Birth (Mun. Form 102, Revised January 1993), the city/municipal civil registrar (C/MCR) shall examine Item No. 15 (Religion of the Father). In case the entry therein is "Islam" or "Moslem" or "Muslim", the C/MCR shall require the informant to accomplish or to give the following data in order to accomplish the Municipal Form No. 102 Attachment: Name of the child, date of birth (hijrah), and the ethnic affiliation.

3. The Municipal Form No. 102 and the attachment shall be permanently stapled together and shall constitute as the record of birth of a Muslim.

RULE 6. Registration of Deaths. — Registration of deaths of Muslim shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 1993, supplemented by the following specific rules:

1. In accordance with the Islamic Law and jurisprudence, the dead body shall be buried as soon as possible even without the certificate of death; Provided, That the death shall be reported by the person who performed the burial rites within forty-eight hours after the date of burial to the local health authority who shall issue the certificate of death and who shall direct its registration. SHADEC

2. Upon receiving the Certificate of Death (Mun. Form 103, Revised January 1993), the city/municipal civil registrar (C/MCR) shall examine Item No. 3 (Religion). In case the entry therein is "Islam" or "Moslem" or "Muslim", the C/MCR shall require the informant to accomplish or to give the following data in order to accomplish the Municipal Form 103 Attachment: name of deceased after coming back from Mecca (Al Haj), name of the person who performed the burial rites, name of the surviving spouse.

3. The Municipal Form No. 103 and the Attachment shall be permanently stapled together and shall constitute the record of death of a Muslim.

RULE 7. Registration of Marriages. — Registration of marriages among Filipino Muslims shall be governed by the following specific rules:

1. Marriage (among Muslims) is not only a civil contract but a social institution. Its nature, consequences and incidents are governed by P.D. 1083 and the Shari'a, and not subject to stipulations, except that the marriage settlements may to a certain extent fix the property relations of the spouses. (Art. 14, P.D. No. 1083)

2. Marriages among Muslims performed under their customs, traditions, rites and practices shall be reported within thirty days after the date of marriage by the officiating persons, or in his default, by the parties to the marriage, to the Circuit Registrar for registration to the city or municipality where there is no Shari'a Circuit Court, marriages among Muslims shall be reported to the office of the civil registrar constituted under Republic Act No. 7160 (1991 Local Government Code). DcSACE

3. The persons officiating the marriage shall indicate in the certificate of marriage (Municipal Form 97, Revised January 1993) that said marriage was solemnized in accordance with P.D. No. 1083, and shall fill up the attachment to the certificate of marriage with the following information: Amount of Mahr (dowry), first or subsequent marriage, tafwid, if granted and such other stipulations. The certificate of marriage and the attachment shall be permanently stapled together and shall constitute as the record of marriage of the concerned parties.

4. The certificate of marriage shall be prepared in four copies and shall be distributed by the Circuit Registrar, or by the C/MCR, as the case may be, as follows: first copy to the contracting parties; second copy to the Office of the Civil Registrar General; third copy to the Circuit Registrar or to the C/MCR, as the case may be; and the fourth copy to the solemnizing officer.

5. Other matters relative to registration of marriages among Muslim not covered by this Rule shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 1993.

RULE 8. Registration of Divorces. — Registration of divorces among Muslim shall be governed by the following specific rules:

1. Divorce is the formal dissolution of the marriage bond in accordance with P.D. 1083 to be granted only after the exhaustion of all possible means of reconciliation between the spouses. It may be effected by:

a. Repudiation of the wife by the husband (talaq);

b. Vow of continence by the husband (ila);

c. Injurious assimilation of the wife by the husband (zihar);

d. Acts of imprecation (li'an);

e. Redemption by the wife (khul);

f. Exercise by the wife of the delegated right to repudiate (tafwid); or

g. Judicial decree (faskh) (Art. 45, P.D. 1083)

2. A divorce pronounced by the husband or by the wife in case of "tafwid" and such other forms of divorce shall not become irrevocable until after the expiration of the prescribed "idda". The first and second divorce (talaq) are revocable during the "idda" and the third is irrevocable. If the spouses fail to reconcile during the "idda", they can only reconcile through a new contract of marriage. In case of third divorced, they cannot anymore reconcile to each other unless the wife is married by an intervening husband and the latter divorces her and after the expiration of the "idda", the former husband may remarry her.

3. Any Muslim husband who has pronounce a talaq shall, without delay, file with the Clerk of Court of the Shari'a Circuit Court of the place where his family resides, a written notice of such fact and the circumstances attendant thereto, after having served a copy thereof to the wife concerned. The notice filed shall be conclusive evidence that talaq has been pronounced and shall constitute the Certificate of Divorce. In case the divorce is through court decree, the corresponding court decision shall constitute the Certificate of Divorce. HIESTA

 

4. Four copies of the Certificate of Divorce or the court decree shall be submitted within 30 days after the date of divorce by the interested party to the Circuit Registrar for registration in the city or municipality where such court exists and where the divorce was obtained. In the city or municipality where there is no Shari'a Circuit Court, the divorce shall be reported for registration to the office of the C/MCR constituted under Republic Act No. 7160 (Local Government Code). For the purpose of this Rule, the interested party may either be the husband or the wife or any of the husband's of wife's immediate relatives.

The C/MCR of the city or municipality where there is no Shari'a Circuit Court shall record the certificate of divorce in the Register of Court Decrees.

The Circuit Registrar of the C/MCS as the case may be, shall distribute the four copies of the certificate of divorce or court decree of divorce as follows: First copy to the husband, second copy to the wife, third copy to the Civil Registrar General, and fourth copy to his file.

5. In a case where the place of marriage and the place of divorce are not in the same city or municipality, additional copy of the certificate of divorce or the court decree, shall be submitted by the interested party to the Circuit Registrar or the C/MCR, as the case may be, of the city or municipality where the marriage was registered for annotation in the Register of Marriages. cITAaD

RULE 9. Registration of Revocation of Divorces. — Registration or revocation of divorces among Muslims shall be governed by the following specific rules:

1. Within seven days after the revocation of a divorce by reconciliation (ruju), the husband shall, with the wife's written consent, file a sworn statement thereof in five copies with the Circuit Registrar of the city or municipality where the Certificate of Divorce or court decree of divorce was previously registered. In the city or municipality where there is no Circuit Registrar, the sworn statement shall be submitted for registration with the C/MCR. The fact of revocation of divorce shall be annotated in the certificate of divorce or court decree or divorce.

The five copies of the sworn statement of the revocation of divorce, after registration, shall be distributed by the Circuit Registrar or by the C/MCR, as the case may be, as follows: first copy to the husband, second copy to the wife, third copy to the Civil Registrar General, fourth copy to the Clerk of the Shari'a District Court, and the fifth copy for his file.

RULE 10. Registration of Conversion to Islam. — Registration of a person's conversion to Islam is a prima facie proof that he professes the Islamic faith and thus becomes a Muslim. It shall be governed by the following specific rules:

1. A person who desires to embrace Islamic faith shall accomplish the Certificate of Conversion to Islam by providing the following information: his or her full name, sex, civil status, date of birth and age, place of birth, occupation, residence, citizenship, parents and their respective religion. The certificate shall be attested to by at least two witnesses who must be Muslims. In case the convert is a minor, the consent of the parents, or the guardian is necessary.

2. The certificate in four copies shall be submitted for registration within thirty days after the date of its execution by the concerned person to the Circuit Registrar in the city or municipality where there is no Shari'a Circuit Court, registration of conversions shall be done at the office of the C/MCR constituted under Republic Act No. 7160 (1991 Local Government Code). The C/MCR shall record the certificate in a special log book with the following columns: (a) Registry Number, (b) date of registration, (c) name of convert, (d) Muslim name adopted, (e) date of birth, (f) former religion, (g) name of father and his religion, (h) name of mother and her religion, (i) residence, and (j) names of witnesses. DScTaC

3. The four copies of the certificate of conversion shall be distributed, after registration, by the Circuit Registrar or by the C/MCR, as the case may be as follows: first copy to the convert; second copy to the Civil Registrar General; third copy to the District Registrar and the fourth copy to his file.

RULE 11. Other Aspect of Registration. — All other aspects of registration such as assigning of registry number, records keeping, submission of reports, issuance of certifications, violation of civil registration laws, and others shall be governed by Act 3753, Presidential Decree No. 1083, Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 1993 and other pertinent laws, circulars and issuances.

RULE 12. Repealing Clause. — All previous rules and regulations, order, memoranda or circulars issued by the Civil Registrar General not inconsistent with these rules and regulations shall continue to be in full force and effect, otherwise, the same shall be deemed repealed or modified accordingly.

RULE 13. Effectivity Clause. — This order shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

DONE in the City of Manila, Philippines, this 6th day of January, 1993.

 

(SGD.) TOMAS P. AFRICACivil Registrar General

APPROVED:

By authority of the President:

 

(SGD.) TEOFISTO T. GUINGONA, JR.Executive Secretary