GMA bill to let women use maiden surnames

GMA What’s in a surname? A lot, according to Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who filed a bill on Tuesday allowing

married women to use her maiden surname sans a court order.

Arroyo’s House Bill No. 6028 pointed out that the Supreme Court had decided that women may revert to using her

surname before marriage after securing a judicial order for annulment or nullity of marriage.

Hence, Arroyo, in any case, said there was still “inadequate acknowledgment of the ladies’ entitlement to keep utilizing her

the family name” because of legal prerequisites and other extensive court forms.