A court filing now circulating online shows that Claudia Isabelle Barretto, the daughter of actor-comedian Dennis Padilla and Marjorie Barretto, has formally petitioned to make Barretto her legal surname in place of Baldivia, drawing a sorrowful public response from her father.
The petition, identified as Special Proceedings Case No. R-QZN-25-10117-SP, was lodged before Branch 302 of the Regional Trial Court in Quezon City. Court papers seen online describe the matter as the change of name of “Claudia Isabelle Barretto Baldivia” to “Claudia Isabelle Barretto,” with the petitioner listed under the alias “Claudia Barretto.” Named as respondents are the Republic of the Philippines through the Office of the Solicitor General, the local civil registrars of Quezon City and Muntinlupa City, and the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Padilla, whose real surname is Baldivia, addressed the development through a message shared on social media. Reacting to a post tied to the filing, he wrote: “Love you Claui… I respect your decision… Malungkot lang talaga.”
A separate caption attributed to the actor framed his feelings in more personal terms, reading: “Kung ang lungkot ko ay kasiyahan mo anak… Hindi magbabago ang pagmamahal ko syo Claudia – Papa.”
The current petition revives a point of conflict that has trailed the family for more than a decade. As Rappler documented in an April 2025 timeline, Padilla’s eldest daughter with Marjorie, Julia Barretto, first sought to swap Baldivia for Barretto back in July 2014, with her camp at the time attributing the move to a desire to “prevent confusion” between her screen identity and her official records.
Padilla mounted a legal fight over that earlier effort. GMA’s Startalk reported in 2014 that the actor, represented pro bono by lawyer JV Bautista, filed a petition for relief from judgment at the Quezon City RTC after learning that Claudia’s surname case had already been submitted for decision without his participation. According to that same report, Marjorie’s counsel Lorna Kapunan countered that the actor’s move came too late because the matter had reached the decision stage.
The dispute has repeatedly surfaced in interviews over the years, with Padilla previously describing the prospect of his children dropping Baldivia in stark terms. Speaking about Julia’s bid, he said in remarks carried by Rappler: “That was a dagger, it’s not the pangalan (name). That’s my blood.”
Tensions resurfaced most recently around Claudia’s wedding earlier in 2025, an event Padilla said publicly left him feeling treated like a guest rather than the father of the bride.
Julia ultimately walked back her own surname petition years ago, telling PEP.ph at a 2015 press event for her debut that she saw “really no need to change my last name.”
