Learners Information System (LIS) Extension Names: WHERE TO PUT IT CORRECTLY?

Learners Information System (LIS) Name Extension: Where to put it correctly?

This has been an issue for quite sometime now, especially with the LIS encoding and the School Form 10 (SF10) for the Senior High School (SHS) where there is no specific data element for the extension name. So, allow us to clear all these up with these scenarios where you can easily understand how to deal with issues and problems with Extension Names in our encoding as a DepEd teacher. 

Situation (1):

 The learner's name is Juan M. Dela Cruz Jr., but on his Birth Certificate, the "Jr" is placed inside the First Name data element. Should you still place the "Jr" in the extension name label in the LIS?

Answers:

1.  If in his Birth Certificate, his name and his father's name are exactly the same (word per word) and his Birth Certificate is the old version of the NSO (not PSA) wherein there's no label indicated for extension names, therefore, his "JR" in his name will be considered as a "Junior" of his father. Consequently, this should be placed under the extension name category of the LIS and not to be considered as second name of his first name.
2. IF his name and his father's name is not identical, the "JR" will not be placed under the extension name even if it is placed in the extension name on his Birth Certificate. Example, his father's name is Juan Marco S. Dela Cruz and his name is Juan B. Dela Cruz only.
3. Even if his father's name has a "Sr." , it wouldn't necessarily imply that he's a "junior". For example, his father's name is Juan Marco S. Dela Cruz Sr. and yet his Birth Certificate indicates as Juan Jr M. Dela Cruz; there's a huge possibility that he has a brother (possibly older or younger) whose name is Juan Marco B. Dela Cruz Jr.
4. However, if everything is identical, and yet on his Birth Certificate, the "JR" is not placed correctly on the appropriate label, it will immediately imply that he is a "Junior" and the JR should be placed correctly on the extension name category within the LIS. So that when we generate the School Forms from the LIS, his name will be correct and consistent with the fact that he really is a "Junior" of his father.

Situation (2):

What if his mother would insist that he is not a "Junior" even though he and his father have exactly the same name?

Answer:

In such case, it would be an opportunity to inform and guide the parent (mother or father) on how to use Extension Names correctly in order to avoid confusion and problems in the future; not just in the LIS, but also when applying for credentials such as Police Clearance, NBI Clearance, Driver's License, Passport and etc.

Situation (3):

The student names having "I", "II", and "III" but not placed correctly?

Extension Names such as "I" (the first), "II" (the second), and "III" (the third) - which even reach sometimes to "VI" (the sixth) and so on - are very common in the Philippines. These extension names or titles are usually used when the original owner of the name (grandfather or father) already passed away (i.e. dead).

Example, Juan Marco S. Dela Cruz Sr. already passed away, he will not be called (or considered) as "Senior" anymore. Instead, he will be known as "Juan Marco S. Dela Cruz I". Notice that the "Sr" is now omitted and replaced with "I". By the same token, his son will now be Juan Marco B. Dela Cruz II (the "Jr." will now be replaced with "II"). 

In cases where there is already an existing "II" because Juan Marco S. Dela Cruz Sr. name both of his Sons exactly with his name, the older son as "Jr." and the younger as "I", in such case, the sons names will be altered accordingly:

• Older (Juan Marco B. Dela Cruz Jr.) will now be Juan Marco B. Dela Cruz I
• Younger (Juan Marco B. Dela Cruz I) will now be Juan Marco B. Dela Cruz II

And yes, this concept indeed is very confusing especially when the original owner of the title "I" (the first) should grow up and his father died, his title would move to "II" (the second) and yet his previous title will now be owned by his older brother.

Nonetheless, I hope this matter is somewhat cleared up and let's just hope we won't come across a lot of "I", "II", and "III" in our learners' names in the LIS. But if ever you do, just remember to follow the explanations above, you'd be at a safe spot. 

Related Article:

NSO/PSA Memorandum Circular on how to use Extension Names in Birth Certificates