Married women can now keep or maintain their maiden surname.
This is a big win for all Filipino women. Times have changed and certain circumstances are just made more complicated and difficult because of this.
The House Bill (HB) 10459, which seeks to give women the choice to keep their maiden surnames has been approved unanimously by a total of 227 congressmen present in session.
The House of Representatives has passed HB 10459 on its third and final reading, which now proposes amendment in Article 370 of Republic Act 386 or the New Civil Code of the Philippines.
With the core of providing equality between men and women, the principal authors of the bill were nine congressmen led by Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez and the revision of laws committee chairperson Cheryl Deloso-Montalla.
Married Women’s Options under HB 10459
- Use maiden first name and surname
- Use maiden first name and surname and add her husband’s surname
- Use maiden first name and her husband’s surname, or husband’s full name, but prefixing a word indicating that she is his wife, such as “Mrs.”
There are already various reactions to this bill and the only ones that matter really are the positive feedback from all the Filipinas on this freedom to choose.
Some even said that it should definitely be easier especially in processing legal papers without the hassle of carrying the marriage certificate everywhere.
Therefore the woman who retains her maiden name after marriage cannot use the prefix Mrs, but Ms.
Even though a married woman retains her maiden name but if she declares her married status on the application form, she could still be required to present her marriage certificate.