Short answer. Under Section 9 of RA 9048, a person who violates the Act faces imprisonment of not less than six years but not more than twelve years, or a fine of not less than ten thousand pesos but not more than one hundred thousand pesos, or both, at the court's discretion. A government offender also faces civil service penalties.
What the law says
penalized by imprisonment of not less than six (6) years but not more than twelve (12) years, or a fine of not less than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) but not more than One Hundred Thousand pesos (P100,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court
RA 9048, Section 9 — Imprisonment Fine Or Both. Read the full provision →
The penalty the Act sets
Republic Act No. 9048 governs the administrative correction of clerical or typographical errors in civil registry entries and changes of first name. Its Section 9 is the penalty clause for those who abuse that process. It provides that a person who violates any provision of the Act shall, upon conviction, be penalized by imprisonment of not less than six (6) years but not more than twelve (12) years, or a fine of not less than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) but not more than One Hundred Thousand pesos (P100,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court. So the court may impose prison time, a fine, or both, choosing within those ranges based on the case.
Imprisonment, fine, or both — the court decides
The clause deliberately gives the court flexibility. The imprisonment runs from a floor of six years to a ceiling of twelve; the fine runs from ten thousand to one hundred thousand pesos. Crucially, the penalties are framed with or both, at the discretion of the court, meaning a judge is not locked into a single form of punishment. Depending on the gravity of the violation and the surrounding circumstances, the offender may face jail, a monetary penalty, or a combination of the two. This structure lets the sentence match the seriousness of what was actually done to the registry records.
An added consequence for government personnel
The section reserves extra exposure for public servants who abuse the correction process. It states that if the offender is a government official or employee he shall suffer the penalties provided under civil service laws, rules and regulations. This is on top of the imprisonment or fine, not instead of it. A government official or employee who falsifies or otherwise violates the Act therefore risks both the criminal penalty and separate administrative sanctions under the civil service framework, which can include consequences affecting their government employment. The law holds those entrusted with registry functions to a stricter account.
How to understand this
Section 9 is written from the state's perspective — it defines the punishment for violating the Act, rather than describing a private party's remedy. It fixes the ranges of penalty but leaves the precise sentence to the court's judgment on the proven facts. It does not, by itself, lay out how a case is investigated, charged and tried, which the ordinary rules of criminal procedure supply. What it establishes clearly is that tampering with or falsifying a civil registry correction is a serious offense carrying years of possible imprisonment, a substantial fine, or both, with added civil service liability for government offenders.