REMEDIAL LAW REVIEW

CIVIL PROCEDURE

Filing and Service of Pleadings,

Judgments and other Papers
(Rule 13)
What is meant by filing and service?
Papers required to be filed and served:
Every judgment, resolution, order, pleading,
subsequent to the complaint, written motion,
notice, appearance, demand, offer of
judgment or similar papers shall be filed with
the court, and served upon the parties
affected (Sec. 4).
Modes of Service service of pleadings,
motions, notices, orders, judgments and
other papers shall be made either personally
or by mail (Sec. 5).
1. Personal Service. Service of the
papers may be made by delivering
personally a copy to the party or his
counsel, or by leaving it in his office
with his clerk or with a person having
charge thereof. If no person is found in
his office, or his office is not known, or
he has no office, then by leaving the
copy, between the hours of eight in
the morning and six in the evening, at
the party's or counsel's residence, if
known, with a person of sufficient age
and discretion then residing therein.
2. Service by Mail. Service by
registered mail shall be made by
depositing the copy in the office, in a
sealed envelope, plainly addressed to
the party or his counsel at his office, if
known, otherwise at his residence, if
known, with postage fully prepaid, and
with instructions to the postmaster to
return the mail to the sender after ten
(10) days if undelivered. If no registry
service is available in the locality of
either the sender or the addressee,
service may be done by ordinary mail.
3. Substituted Service. If service of
pleadings,
motions,
notices,
resolutions, orders and other papers
cannot be made under the two
preceding sections, the office and
place of residence of the party or his
counsel being unknown, service may
be made by delivering the copy to the
clerk of court, with proof of failure of
both personal service and service by
mail. The service is complete at the
time of such delivery.
4. Completeness
of
Service.

Personal service is complete upon

actual delivery. Service by ordinary
Page 1 of 6

mail is complete upon the expiration

of ten (10) days after mailing, unless
the court otherwise provides. Service
by registered mail is complete upon
actual receipt by the addressee, or
after five (5) days from the date he
received the first notice of the
postmaster, whichever date is earlier.
5. Proof of Filing. The filing of a
pleading or paper shall be proved by
its existence in the record of the case.
If it is not in the record, but is claimed
to have been filed personally, the filing
shall be proved by the written or
stamped acknowledgment of its filing
by the clerk of court on a copy of the
same; if filed by registered mail, by
the registry receipt and by the
affidavit of the person who did the
mailing, containing a full statement of
the date and place of depositing the
mail in the post office in a sealed
envelope addressed to the court, with
postage fully prepaid, and with
instructions to the postmaster to
return the mail to the sender after ten
(10) days if not delivered.
6. Proof of Service. Proof of personal
service shall consist of a written
admission of the party served, or the
official return of the server, or the
affidavit
of
the
party
serving,
containing a full statement of the
date, place and manner of service. If
the service is by ordinary mail, proof
thereof shall consist of an affidavit of
the person mailing of facts showing
compliance with Section 7 of this Rule.
If service is made by registered mail,
proof shall be made by such affidavit
and the registry receipt issued by the
mailing office. The registry return card
shall be filed immediately upon its
receipt by the sender, or in lieu
thereof the unclaimed letter together
with the certified or sworn copy of the
notice given by the postmaster to the
addressee.
7. Notice of Lis Pendens. In an
action affecting the title or the right of
possession of real property, the
plaintiff and the defendant, when
affirmative relief is claimed in his
answer, may record in the office of the
registry of deeds of the province in
which the property is situated a notice
of the pendency of the action. Said
notice shall contain the names of the
parties and the object of the action or
defense, and a description of the
property in that province affected

REMEDIAL LAW REVIEW

CIVIL PROCEDURE

thereby. Only from the time of filing

such notice for record shall a
purchaser, or encumbrance of the
property affected thereby, be deemed
to have constructive notice of the
pendency of the action, and only of its
pendency
against
the
parties
designated by their real names.

acquire jurisdiction over the person of the

defendant. The filing of the complaint and
the payment of the required docket and legal
fees implies that the court acquires
jurisdiction over the person of the plaintiff,
and not over the defendant (Ellice vs. AgroIndustrial Corporation vs. Young, 686 SCRA
51, 61, November 21, 2012).

The
Notice
of
Lis
Pendens
hereinabove
mentioned
may
be
cancelled only upon order of the court,
after proper showing that the notice is
for the purpose of molesting the
adverse party, or that it is not
necessary to protect the rights of the
party who caused it to be recorded.

State the fundamental rule on summons

as held in the case of Planters
Development Bank vs. Julie Chandumal
(G.R. No. 195619)

Summons
(Rule 14)
What is Summons?
It is the writ by which the defendant is
notified of the action brought against
him (Republic of the Philippines vs.
Domingo, 657 SCRA 621, 632).
Fundamentally, it is a notice to the
defendant that a particular person
named therein has commenced an
action against him in a particular
court.
An important part of that notice is a
direction that the defendant answers
the complaint within the period fixed
by the Rules and that, unless he so
answers, plaintiff will take judgment
by default and may be granted the
relief applied for.

The issuance of summons is not

discretionary. It is mandatory in nature
because of the word shall. The use
of the word shall connotes the
mandatory character of the issuance
of the summons.
o According to Section 1 of Rule
14, the clerk of court shall issue
the corresponding summons to
the defendant upon:
The
filing
of
the
complaint; and
The payment of the
required legal fees.

What is the purpose of summons in

actions in personam?
The purpose of summons in actions in
personam is to satisfy the requirements of
procedural due process. However, it is not
only to comply with due process, but also

The fundamental rule is that jurisdiction

over a defendant in a civil case is acquired
either through service of summons or
through voluntary appearance in court and
submission to its authority. If a defendant
has not been properly summoned, the court
acquires no jurisdiction over its person, and a
judgment rendered against it is null and
void (PDB vs. Chandumal, G.R. No. 195619,
September 5, 2012).
What is the rule on service of summons
in action in personam?
Where the action is in personam and the
defendant is in the Philippines, service of
summons may be made through personal
service, that is, summons shall be served by
handing to the defendant in person a copy
thereof, or if he refuses to receive and sign
for it, by tendering it to him. If the defendant
cannot be personally served with summons
within a reasonable time, it is then that
substituted service may be made. Personal
service of summons should and always be
the first option, and it is only when the said
summons cannot be served within a
reasonable time can the process server
resort to substituted service.
What is the strict compliance rule?
Jurisprudence has consistently emphasized
the rule that the modes of service must be
strictly followed in order that the court may
acquire jurisdiction over the person of the
defendant (Umandap vs. Sabio, Jr., 339 SCRA
243, 248; Gan Hock vs. Court of Appeals, 197
SCRA 223, 232).
Voluntary appearance by the defendant
The jurisdiction over the person of the
defendant is acquired through coercive
process, generally by the service of
summons issued by the court, or through the
defendants
voluntary
appearance
or

Page 2 of 6

REMEDIAL LAW REVIEW

CIVIL PROCEDURE

submission to the court. Stated otherwise,

without a valid service of summons, the
court cannot acquire jurisdiction over the
person of the defendant, unless the
defendant voluntarily submits himself to the
jurisdiction of the court. When the defendant
does not voluntarily submit to the courts
jurisdiction or there is no valid service of
summons, any judgment of the court over
the person of the defendant will be null and
void for lack of jurisdiction over his person
(Manotoc vs. Court of Appeals, 499 SCRA 21,
33; Bar 1999).
Who issues the summons?
According to Sections 1 and 2 of Rule 14, it is
the clerk of court who issues the summons
and signs the same under seal.

A copy of the complaint (including a copy of

an order for the appointment of a guardian
ad litem, if necessary) shall be attached to
the original and each copy of the summons
(Sec. 2, Rule 14, Rules of Court).
Return and proof of service (Bar 2012)
When the service has been completed, the
server shall, within (5) days therefrom, serve
a copy of the return, personally or by
registered mail, to the plaintiffs counsel, and
shall return the summons to the clerk who
issued it, accompanied by proof of service
(Sec. 4, Rule 14, Rules of Court).
The proof of service shall be made:
a) In writing;
b) It shall set forth the manner, place,
and date of service;
c) Specify any papers which have been
served with the process and the name
of the person who received the same;
and
d) Be sworn to when made by a person
other than a sheriff or his deputy (Sec.
18, Rule 14, Rules of Court).

When is summons issued?

According to Section, summons shall be
issued upon:
a) The filing of the complaint; and
b) The payment of the required legal
fees.
To whom is summons directed?
The summons is a writ that is directed to the
defendant (Sec. 2, Rule 14, Rules of Court).

What is the effect if service of summons

is made without a copy of the
complaint?
The defendant is still bound to comply with
the summons if service is made without
attaching a copy of the complaint.

Who serves summons? (Bar 2012)

The summons may be served by:

Service of Summons
a) The sheriff, his deputy, or other proper
court officer; or
b) For justifiable reasons, by any suitable
person authorized by the court issuing
the summons (Sec. 3, Rule 14, Rules of
Court).
What are the contents of the summons?
The summons shall contain the following
matters:
a) The name of the court and the names
of the parties to the action;
b) A direction that the defendant answer
within the times fixed by the Rules;
and
c) A notice that, unless the defendant so
answers, the plaintiff will take
judgment by default and may be
granted the relief prayed for.

1. Service upon an entity without a

juridical personality
When two or more persons not organized as
an entity with juridical personality enter into
a transaction, they may be sued under the
name by which they are generally or
commonly known (Sec. 15, Rule 3, Rules of
Court).
Example: If A, B, and C enter into a
transaction
under
the
name,
ABC
Corporation, an entity which has actually no
juridical personality, A, B, and C may be sued
under the name ABC Corporation.
Q: How, then, may summons be served
upon the non-existent corporation or
upon
those
who
compose
the
corporation?

Page 3 of 6

REMEDIAL LAW REVIEW

CIVIL PROCEDURE

Under Sec. 8 of Rule 14, service may be

effected upon all the defendants by serving
summons upon:

When the defendant is a foreign private

juridical entity which has transacted business
in the Philippines, service may be made on:

a) Any one of them; or

b) Upon the person in charge of the office
or of the place of business maintained
in such name.

a) Resident
agent
designated
in
accordance with law for that purpose;
or
b) If there be no such agent, on the
government official designated by law
to that effect; or
c) On any of its officers or agents within
the Philippines.

The service, however, shall not bind

individually any person whose connection
with the entity, upon due notice, had been
severed before the action was brought (Bar
2011).
2. Service upon a prisoner
When the defendant is a prisoner confined in
a jail or institution, service shall be effected
upon him (the prisoner) by the officer having
the management of such jail or institution.
For this purpose, the jail manager is deemed
deputized as a special sheriff (Sec. 9, Rule
14, Rules of Court).
3. Service upon
incompetent

minor

and

If the foreign private juridical entity is not

registered in the Philippines or has no
resident agent, service may, with leave of
court, be effected out of the Philippines
through any of the following means:
a) By personal service coursed through
the appropriate court in the foreign
country with the assistance of the
Department of Foreign Affaris;
b) By publication once in a newspaper of
general circulation in the country
where the defendant may be found
and by serving a copy of the summons
and the court order by registered mail
at the last known address of the
defendant;
c) By facsimile or any recognized
electronic means that could generate
proof of service; or
d) By such other means as the court may
in its discretion direct (As amended by
A.M. No. 11-3-6-SC, March 15, 2011).

an

When the defendant is a minor, insane or

otherwise an incompetent, service shall be
made:
a) Upon him personally; and
b) On is legal guardian if he has one; or
c) If he has no legal guardian, upon his
guardian ad litem. The appointment of
the guardian ad litem shall be applied
for by the plaintiff.
d) If the defendant is a minor, service
may also be served upon his father or
mother (Sec. 10, Rule 14, Rules of
Court).

6. Service upon public corporations

When the defendant is the Republic of the
Philippines, service may be effected on:

4. Service upon a private domestic

juridical entity
When the defendant is a corporation,
partnership, or association organized under
the laws of the Philippines with a juridical
personality, service may be made upon the
following persons:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

a) The Solicitor General

In case of a province, municipality, or like
public corporations, it may be effected on its:

President
Managing Partner
General Manager
Corporate Secretary
Treasurer
In-house counsel

5. Service
upon
juridical entity

foreign

a) Executive head; or
b) On such other officer or officers as the
law or the court may direct.
7. Extraterritorial service

private

Page 4 of 6

a) When the defendant does not reside

and is not found in the Philippines;
b) The action affects the personal status
of the plaintiff or relates to; or
c) The subject of which is property within
the Philippines, in which the defendant

REMEDIAL LAW REVIEW

CIVIL PROCEDURE

has or claims a lien or interest, actual

or contingent; or
d) In which the relief demanded consists,
wholly or in part, in excluding the
defendant from any interest therein;
or
e) The property of the defendant has
been attached within the Philippines
Based on these circumstances, service may
be effected, by leave of court, out of the
Philippines by:

If the service has been made by publication,

service may be proved by the affidavit of the
printer, his foreman or principal clerk, or of
the editor, business or advertising manager,
to which affidavit a copy of the publication
shall be attached, and by an affidavit
showing the deposit of a copy of the
summons and order for publication in the
post office, postage prepaid, directed to the
defendant by registered mail to his last
known address.
Voluntary appearance

a) Personal service as under Section 6;

b) By publication in a newspaper of
general circulation in such places and
for such time as the court may order
in which case, a copy of the summons
and order of the court shall be sent by
registered mail to the last known
address of the defendant; or
c) In any other manner the court may
deem sufficient.
Any order granting such leave shall specify a
reasonable time, which shall not be less than
60 days after notice, within which the
defendant must answer.
8. Residents temporarily out of the
Philippines

The defendants voluntary appearance in the

action shall be equivalent to service of
summons. The inclusion in a motion to
dismiss of other grounds aside from lack of
jurisdiction over the person of the defendant
shall not be deemed a voluntary appearance.
Service of Summons to a Bank Manager
Accordingly, we rule that the service of
summons upon the branch manager of
petitioner at its branch office at Cagayan de
Oro, instead of upon the general manager at
its principal office at Davao City is improper.
Consequently, the trial court did not acquire
jurisdiction over the person of the petitioner
(E.B. Villarosa & Partner Co., Ltd. v. Benito,
G.R. No. 136426, August 06, 1999)

When any action is commenced against the

defendant who ordinarily resides within the
Philippines, but who is temporarily out of it,
service may, by leave of court, be also
effected out of the Philippines, as under the
preceding section.

In a latter case, it was ruled that even

if the summons were served to the
branch manager, it is the latters
obligation to give and deliver the
same to his superiors.

What is meant by leave of court?

It is any application to the court for leave to
effect service in any manner for which leave
of court is necessary. It shall be made by
motion in writing, supported by affidavit of
the plaintiff or some person on his behalf,
setting forth the grounds for the application.

What is a Motion?
A motion is an application for relief other
than by a pleading (Sec. 1, Rule 15).
Motions must be in writing

What is proof of service?

The proof of service of a summons shall be
made in writing by the server and shall set
forth the manner, place, and date of service.
It shall also specify any papers which have
been served with the process and the name
of the person who received the same. And, it
shall be sworn to when made by a person
other than a sheriff or his deputy.
Proof of service by publication

Motions
(Rule 15)

General Rule: All motions must be in writing.

Exception: Those made in open court or in
the course of a hearing or trial.
What are the contents of a motion?
A motion shall state the relief sought to be
obtained and the grounds upon which it is
based, and if required by these Rules of
necessary to prove facts alleged therein,
shall
be
accompanied
by supporting
affidavits and other papers (Sec. 3, Rule 15).

Page 5 of 6

REMEDIAL LAW REVIEW

CIVIL PROCEDURE

No written motion set for hearing shall be

acted upon by the court without proof of
service thereof.

Hearing of Motion
General Rule: Every written motion shall be
set for hearing by the applicant.
Exception: Motions which the court may act
upon without prejudicing the rights of the
adverse party.
Every written motion required to be heard
and the notice of the hearing thereof shall be
served in such a manner as to ensure its
receipt by the other party at least three (3)
days before the date of hearing, unless the
court for good cause sets the hearing on
shorter notice.
Notice of Hearing
The notice of hearing shall be addressed to
all parties concerned, and it shall specify the
time and date of the hearing which must not
be later than ten (10) days after the filing of
the motion.
Proof of Service Necessary

Motion Day: All motions shall be scheduled

for hearing on Friday afternoons, or if Friday
is a non-working holiday, in the afternoon of
the next working day; except, motions
requiring immediate action (Sec. 7, Rule 15).
Omnibus Motion: Subject to the provisions
of Section 1 of Rule 9, a motion attacking a
pleading, order, judgment, or proceeding
shall all objections then available, and all
objections not so included shall be deemed
waived (Sec. 8, Rule 15).
Motion for Leave: A motion for leave to file
a pleading or motion shall be accompanied
by the pleading or motion sought to be
admitted (Sec. 9, Rule 15).
Form: The Rule applicable to pleadings shall
apply to written motions so far as concerns
caption, designation, signature, and other
matters of form (Sec. 10, Rule 15).

Page 6 of 6