A married woman is not prohibited from using her maiden name upon marriage; she has an option, not a duty, to use her husband’s surname (Article 370, Civil Code; Yasin vs. Hon. Judge Shari’a District Court, 311 Phil. 696, 707 [1995]). Accordingly, a married woman who applies for a passport for the first time is allowed to use her maiden name. If she opts to adopt her husband’s surname in her passport, she may not revert to the use of her maiden name, except in the following instances as enumerated in Section 5(d) of Republic Act No. 8239 or the Philippine Passport Act of 1996: (1) death of husband, (2) divorce, (3) annulment, or (4) nullity of marriage. In other words, she may not revert to the use of her maiden name in her replacement passport as long as her marriage subsists. So said the Supreme Court in the case of Remo vs. Secretary of Foreign Affairs (G.R. 169202; 5 March 2010)
(Click on Digested Cases under Tools to find a summary of the case of Remo vs. Secretary of Foreign Affairs G.R. 169202; 5 March 2010.)
