Short answer. Yes. For a change of first name, Republic Act 9048 requires the petition to be published at least once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation. This publication is on top of the sworn petition and supporting documents, and it does not apply to a mere clerical-error correction.
What the law says
the petition shall be published at least once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation
RA 9048, Section 5 — Form Contents And Publication. Read the full provision →
The publication requirement
In the case of a change of first name, the law adds a step that a clerical correction does not carry: the petition shall be published at least once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation. The reason is that changing what a person is called touches the public interest, since creditors, relatives and the State have an interest in identity, so the change is announced rather than done quietly. Publication runs alongside, not instead of, the other requirements the section imposes, and it is specific to changing a name rather than fixing an error.
Why first-name changes are treated differently
Republic Act 9048 created a fast administrative route, handled by the civil registrar rather than a court, for two things: correcting clerical or typographical errors, and changing a first name or nickname. A clerical error, a misspelling or an obvious slip, is corrected on documents alone. A change of first name is a genuine change of how you are identified, so the law surrounds it with more safeguards: the two-week publication, and a certification about your record. The heavier process reflects that you are altering identity, not fixing a typist's mistake, and the difference decides how much you must do.
The other things the same section demands
Publication is one of several requirements bundled together. The petition must be an affidavit, sworn before someone authorised to administer oaths, setting out the facts and your competence to testify. It must be supported by a certified copy of the record and at least two documents showing the correct entry. For a first-name change specifically, you must also submit a certification from the appropriate law-enforcement agencies that you have no pending case or criminal record, and file the petition in three copies distributed to the registrar, the Civil Registrar General and yourself.
What publication does not settle
Publishing the notice is a condition for the petition, not a guarantee it will be granted; the registrar still decides on the merits and the grounds the law recognises. Nor does publication convert every name problem into this administrative track. Changes that go beyond a first name, or that affect status, nationality or filiation, generally require a court petition with its own, often stricter, publication and notice rules. If your real aim is to correct a surname, a birth date or a sex entry, a different procedure applies, and the newspaper notice here will not carry it. Confirm which remedy fits before you spend on publication.
A later law expanded this process
The administrative correction process described here comes from Republic Act No. 9048. In 2012, Republic Act No. 10172 amended Republic Act No. 9048 to bring two further errors — a wrong day or month in the date of birth, and a wrong entry of sex — into the same local civil registrar route, without a court order. The procedure, the documents, and the officials described above still apply; Republic Act No. 10172 widened the kinds of error the process can fix rather than changing how it works. For a day, month, or sex correction, follow this same administrative route under the amended law.