EDITORIAL – From Rommel to Mely
Rommel Jacinto Dantes Silverio was born a man 45 years ago. That was how God intended him to be. That was also how his father intended him to be, a real man, judging by the three names he gave him – Rommel, Jacinto and Dantes.
But in a world where people are increasingly getting more demanding in acquiring rights to free choices, more and more people are springing surprises, some of them pleasant, others not so, and still others, well, just plain interesting.
The case of Silverio is not something new. In the exercise of his right to free choice, he underwent a sex change operation in
Silverio has started calling himself Mely, a take from the original Rommel, who it can be inferred must be none other than the famous German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, commander of the Third Reich’s Panzer Divisions and the Afrika Korps during World War II.
Anyway, Silverio had other plans than just looking and feeling like a woman for his own benefit. He intends to get married legally. And one hindrance to that goal is a small piece of document called a birth certificate. In that document, Silverio is officially a man.
So Silverio went to court, all the way to the Supreme Court, and there got the biggest disappointment in his life. The High Court denied his petition to make alterations in his birth certificate so he can be officially shown as being a man.
The Supreme Court, whether in recognition of emerging realities or as a concession to Silverio, did not take much issue with his desire to be what he wants to be, dwelling only on the fact that there is no law that allows factual data on birth certificates to be altered.
Many will use this case as an interesting topic for discussion. What would have been more interesting, though, was if the High Court took issue and not opt for the easy way out. As it was the ruling was largely technical. The Supreme Court offered no gems of judicial enlightenment.
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