‘Cagandahan bill’ seeks easier gender changes
The Akbayan bloc in the House of Representatives has filed a bill that would allow intersex Filipinos to change their names and gender markers in official documents without going through costly and time-consuming court proceedings.
Akbayan Reps. Perci Cendaña, Chel Diokno and Dadah Ismula authored House Bill No. 5474, which seeks to amend Republic Act Nos. 9048 and 10172 to authorize city or municipal civil registrars and consuls general to correct the sex and first name of intersex persons in the civil registry without the need for a judicial order.
The measure draws inspiration from the 2008 Supreme Court ruling in Republic of the Philippines v. Jennifer Cagandahan (G.R. No. 166676), which recognized the right of an intersex individual to amend the sex marker in their civil registry to reflect their lived identity.
“Under the current law, intersex Filipinos have to go through the eye of a needle just to change their name and sex in legal documents. Why must they go through the courts when it can be done at the municipal level?” Cendaña said in a statement on Thursday.
“Intersex Filipinos deserve to be recognized under the law. They should have the right to live in alignment with their identities without the tedious and expensive process of hiring a lawyer, proving themselves before a court, and waiting indefinitely for a ruling,” he added.
No need for litigation
According to the Intersex Society of North America, intersex is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t fit the typical definitions of female or male.
For example, a person might be born appearing to be female on the outside, but having mostly male-typical anatomy on the inside. HB 5474 aims to make government processes more inclusive by providing a straightforward and administrative pathway for intersex people to correct their documents without having to litigate their identities.
Under the proposed measure, intersex individuals of legal age may file a verified petition before the local civil registrar or consul general to correct the entry for sex and/or first name in their birth record.
The petition must be supported by a medical certificate from a licensed physician confirming the presence of intersex traits and other relevant documents.
Once approved, a new certificate of live birth shall be issued reflecting the petitioner’s correct sex and name. The bill also includes a confidentiality clause, ensuring that all records related to the correction remain private in accordance with the Data Privacy Act.
