Affidavit of Discrepancy (Philippines) — Sample and Free Generator

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
CITY OF [DAVAO CITY] ) S.S.
x----------------------------------------x

AFFIDAVIT OF DISCREPANCY

I, [ANNA MARIE R. REYES], of legal age, single, Filipino, and a resident of [78 Quimpo Boulevard, Barangay Ecoland, Davao City], after having been duly sworn in accordance with law, hereby depose and state that:

1. I am the same person referred to in the documents described below, all of which pertain to me and to no other person;

2. In my Certificate of Live Birth issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority, my name appears as "[ANNA MARIE RIVERA REYES]" and my date of birth appears as "[14 February 1994]";

3. However, in my [Unified Multi-Purpose ID (UMID) No. 0123-4567890-1], my name appears as "[ANA MARIE R. REYES]", while in my [Transcript of Records issued by the University of Mindanao] my date of birth appears as "[14 February 1993]";

4. The said differences were due to [a typographical error committed at the time the records were encoded, and were not intended to misrepresent my identity in any way];

5. The true and correct entries are those appearing in my Certificate of Live Birth, namely "[ANNA MARIE RIVERA REYES]" and "[14 February 1994]";

6. [ANNA MARIE RIVERA REYES], [ANA MARIE R. REYES] and the person named in the said Transcript of Records refer to one and the same person, that is, myself;

7. I am executing this affidavit to attest to the truth of the foregoing and for the purpose of [supporting my application with the Department of Foreign Affairs / the Social Security System], and for whatever legal purpose this may serve.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this ____ day of __________, 20____, at [Davao City], Philippines.

                                        ______________________________
                                        [ANNA MARIE R. REYES]
                                        Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this ____ day of __________, 20____, at [Davao City], affiant exhibiting to me [her Philippine Passport No. P7654321B] as competent evidence of identity.

                                        ______________________________
                                        Notary Public

Doc. No. ______;
Page No. ______;
Book No. ______;
Series of 20____.

The problem this document solves

Filipino records disagree with each other constantly. A middle initial appears in one document and not another, a school spells a surname the way it sounds, a clerk types 1993 for 1994, a married woman appears under her maiden name in one file and her married name in another. When an agency notices, the transaction stops — and what they usually ask for is an affidavit of discrepancy.

Its whole job is to declare, under oath, that the differing entries belong to one person, to identify which entry is correct, and to explain how the difference arose. It is accepted by the DFA for passports, by the SSS, GSIS, Pag-IBIG and PhilHealth, by banks, by schools, and by employers.

Which entry should you declare as the correct one?

As a rule, the PSA civil registry record controls. Your Certificate of Live Birth is the primary evidence of your name and date of birth, and agencies treat everything else as secondary. So unless the birth certificate itself is the document in error, declare the birth certificate entry as the true and correct one, and describe the others as errors in transcription.

If the birth certificate is the wrong one — you were actually born on a different date, or your name was misspelled at registration — say so plainly and file the RA 9048 or RA 10172 petition. In that case the affidavit of discrepancy is a stopgap while the correction is processed, and you should say which petition is pending.

Common discrepancies and how agencies treat them

Legal basis: RA 9048 as amended by RA 10172 (administrative correction of clerical errors and of the day and month of birth and sex); Rule 108 of the Rules of Court (judicial correction of substantial entries); Revised Penal Code art. 183 (perjury).

How to fill it in

1. 1

   List every document that disagrees

   Give the document's full name, its issuing office, and its number. One numbered paragraph per document. Do not summarise — quote the entry exactly as it appears, in quotation marks.

2. 2

   Explain the cause honestly

   'A typographical error committed at the time of encoding' is the usual and truthful cause. If you actually used a different name for years, say that instead — do not misstate it under oath.

3. 3

   Declare the correct entry

   State plainly which entry is true and correct, and name the document it comes from.

4. 4

   Add the one-and-the-same-person clause

   This is the sentence the agency is looking for: that all the names listed refer to one and the same person, yourself.

5. 5

   State the purpose

   Name the office and the transaction. Agencies file the affidavit against that transaction.

If the record itself has to be corrected: the RA 9048 route

When the affidavit is only a stopgap and the PSA record must actually change, the process is administrative and you file it at the local civil registrar — not in court, and not through the PSA directly.

1. 1

   File the petition where the record is kept

   At the local civil registry office of the city or municipality where the birth was registered. If you now live elsewhere, you may file a petition in your place of residence for transmittal, and Filipinos abroad may file through the Philippine Consulate.

2. 2

   Bring the supporting documents

   The PSA copy of the record to be corrected, and at least two public or private documents showing the correct entry — baptismal certificate, school records, voter's records, employment records, medical records, an NBI or police clearance. The registrar decides how many are enough.

3. 3

   Pay the filing fee and, for a change of first name, publish

   A petition to change a first name or nickname must be published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation. A simple clerical correction does not require publication.

4. 4

   Wait for the decision and the annotated record

   The registrar decides, and the decision is transmitted to the Civil Registrar General for affirmation. What you eventually receive is an annotated PSA copy — the original entry stays visible with the correction noted beside it.

RA 10172 extended this administrative route to corrections in the day and month of birth and in the entry for sex, where the error is clerical or typographical — but those petitions require publication and stricter proof, including earliest school and medical records and, for a correction of sex, a certification from an accredited physician that the petitioner has not undergone a sex change or transplant. Anything beyond that — the year of birth, legitimacy, filiation, nationality — still needs a court petition under Rule 108.

What if…

1. 1

   …the agency also wants an affidavit of two disinterested persons

   That is common where the discrepancy is old or the supporting records are thin. Two people not related to you swear that they have known you for years and that you are the same person in both records.

2. 2

   …the discrepancy is in a deceased relative's records

   You can execute the affidavit as an heir, describing your relationship and personal knowledge. For estate and BIR purposes, expect to also produce the PSA documents connecting the names.

3. 3

   …you have been using the wrong name for decades

   Consider a proper change-of-name petition under RA 9048 rather than repeatedly explaining the difference. Agencies increasingly refuse to accept serial affidavits in place of a corrected record.