Press Release No.  2009/POL/R/014-Con

The Consular Office of the Department of Foreign Affairs recently emphasized that machine readable passports (MRPs) that have been issued by Philippine Foreign Service establishments since last year do not have any page or space for annotation”. This was made in response to a query of the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah on whether the Muslim name adopted by a Filipino national who has converted to Islam could be annotated on his passport.

Hence, PDO-OCA advised that those who wish to use their Muslim names in their passports should instead “apply for a change of name in an appropriate court.” A mere annotation of such name cannot be introduced in the machine readable passport because it “does not have any page or space” for the purpose. PDO-OCA added that the amendment page could not be used for the supposed annotation “because any amendment would not be reflected in the machine readable zone (MRZ)”. In this regard, the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah shall be issuing a pro forma appropriate consular certification on religious affiliation or Muslim name of a Philippine passport holder and shall officially inform the Saudi government about this per PDO-OCA’s advice.

PDO-OCA based its position on Section 12 of Republic Act No. 8239, otherwise known as the Passport Act of 1996, which provides: "Sec. 12. Names and Titles. – The passport shall contain the full name of the applicant, but shall not include his title or titles or profession or job description. If an applicant’s name is changed by order of the court, a certified true copy of the court order or decree shall be submitted together with the birth certificate or old passport on application.” It further explained that within the purview of this provision of law, “only the name and personal circumstances of the holder as appearing in his birth certificate shall be reflected in the passport (i.e. date/place of birth, sex) to be issued. No other annotation or remark is permitted.”

Originally released 29 April 2009.