Cabrera v. PSA

Doctrine: Venue is procedural, not jurisdictional, and hence, may be waived.

Facts: Petitioner alleged that she was born on July 20, 1989 at Zuba Estate, Lahad Datu Sabah, Malaysia. However, due to the distance between their house and the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, it was only on August 27, 2008 that her mother reported her birth. NSO in Manila, not PSA, received her first Report of Birth. Subsequently, petitioner discovered that her date of birth was wrongfully entered as July 20, 1980. However, instead of correcting the said error with the Philippine Embassy, petitioner's mother registered her birth for the second time. 

Because she had two Reports of Birth, petitioner encountered difficulties in securing official documents, prompting her to file a petition for cancellation of her first Report of Birth before RTC Davao City. RTC granted the petition. OSG filed a motion for reconsideration which was denied. 

OSG appealed to the CA which was granted upon a finding that since petitioner's birth was already validly registered, it can no longer be the subject of a second registration. The proper recourse would have been to file a petition for correction of entry to correct her first Report of Birth under Rule 108.

Instead of filing a motion for reconsideration therefrom, petitioner re filed the present petition to: (a) correct her year of birth from July 20, 1980 to July 20, 1989 in her first Report of Birth; and (b) cancel her second Report of Birth under Rule 108. The RTC dismissed the petition. The petition should have been filed with the RTC where petitioner's first Record of Birth was registered, i.e., the RTC of the place where the PSA is located, which is Quezon City, and not the RTC of petitioner's residence in Davao City.

Issue: Whether or not the RTC erred in dismissing the re-filed petition on the ground of improper venue.

Held: Yes. Venue is procedural, not jurisdictional, and hence, may be waived. Venue is the place of trial or geographical location in which an action or proceeding should be brought. In civil cases, venue is a matter of procedural law. A party's objections to venue must be brought at the earliest opportunity either in a motion to dismiss or in the answer; otherwise, the objection shall be deemed waived. When the venue of a civil action is improperly laid, the court cannot motu proprio dismiss the case.