Supreme Court rules a he cannot become a she in the Philippines

 The high tribunal issued the ruling following a plea by a 45-year-old Filipino man to alter his birth records after becoming a woman through a sex-change operation in Bangkok five years ago.

The petitioner wanted to change his gender and name in his birth certificate to reflect her transformation so she can marry her American boyfriend.

The Supreme Court, however, ruled that the man's request was not possible at this time in the predominantly Catholic Philippines.

"Under the Civil Registrar Law, a birth certificate is a historical record of the facts as they existed at the time of birth," the court ruling said. "Thus, the sex of a person is determined at birth, visually done by the birth attendant by examining the genitals of the infant." 

The high tribunal said new legislation was needed to allow persons who undergo sex-change surgery to alter the data on their birth certificate.

"The court recognizes that there are people whose preferences and orientation do not fit neatly into the commonly recognized parametres of social convention," it said. "However, the remedies the petitioner seeks involve questions of public police to be addressed by the legislature, not by the courts."//DPA