Every law student knows of the urgency of the verification requirement; that a defective or absent verification when required may be cause of the outright junking of the pleading so impaired. Many clients have ended up befuddled, if not outraged, at seeing their complaints dismissed due to improper verification. Indeed, the verification requirement has been the cause for minor paranoia among lawyers in the Philippines, and the prudential rule has emerged that whenever in doubt, verify. (Another common, often fatal flaw in verification is the continued adherence by some lawyers to the now obsolete rule that a pleading may be verified as “true and correct based on knowledge or belief”. Since the adoption of A.M. No. 00-2-10-SC, amending Section 4, Rule 7 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, pleadings must know be verified as “true and correct based on personal knowledge or based on authentic records.”) Still, as a general rule, pleadings need not be verified, and it is only when required by statute or a procedural rule that a pleading should be verified. What follows below, for the benefit of practictioners, is a comprehensive list of pleadings filed before the courts or quasi-judicial agencies that are required to be verified. BEFORE THE COURTS o
Civil complaints or initiatory pleadings asserting claims for relief (including permissive counter-claims). (See Sec. 5, Rule 7, Rules of Civil Procedure)
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Statement of Claim for Small Claims Cases, as well as the Response thereto (See Secs. 5 & 11, Rules of Procedure for Small Claims Cases)
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Complaint for injunction (See Sec. 4, Rule 58, Rules of Civil Procedure)
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Application for appointment of receiver (See Sec. 1, Rule 59, Rules of Civil Procedure)
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Application for support pendente lite (See Sec. 1, Rule 69, Rules of Civil Procedure)
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Petition for forcible entry or unlawful detainer, the answers thereto, and the answers to any compulsory counter-claim and cross-claim pleaded in the answer (See Sec. 4, Rule 70, Rules of Civil Procedure)
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Petition for indirect contempt (See Sec. 4, Rule 71, Rules of Civil Procedure)
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Petition for relief from judgment or order. (See Sec. 3, Rule 38, Rules of Civil Procedure)
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Petition for Review from the RTC to the Supreme Court (See Sec. 2[c], Rule 41, Rules of Civil Procedure)
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Petition for Review from RTC to Court of Appeals (See Sec. 1, Rule 42, Rules of Civil Procedure)
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Petition for Review under Rule 43, from CTA and other quasi-judicial agencies to Court of Appeals (SeeSec. 5, Rule 43, Rules of Civil Procedure)
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Appeal by certiorari under Rule 45, from Court of Appeals to Supreme Court (See Sec. 1, Rule 45, Rules of Civil Procedure)
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Petition for certiorari (special civil action) under Rule 64 (See Sec. 2, Rule 64, Rules of Civil Procedure)
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Petition for certiorari (special civil action) under Rule 65 (See Sec. 1, Rule 65, Rules of Civil Procedure)
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Petition for prohibition under Rule 65 (See Sec. 2, Rule 65, Rules of Civil Procedure)
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Petition for Mandamus under Rule 65 (See Sec. 3, Rule 65, Rules of Civil Procedure)
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Petition for appointment of guardian (See Sec. 2, Rule 93, Rules of Court)
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Petition for leave filed by guardian to sell or encumber property of an estate (See Sec. 1, Rule 95, Rules of Court)
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Petition for declaration of competency of a ward (See Sec. 1, Rule 97, Rules of Court)
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Petition for habeas corpus (See Sec. 3, Rule 102, Rules of Court)
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Petition for change of name (See Sec. 2, Rule 103, Rules of Court)
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Petition for voluntary judicial dissolution of a corporation (See Sec. 1, Rule 105, Rules of Court; see also Sec. 119, Corporation Code)
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Petition for cancellation or correction of entries in the civil registry under Rule 108 (See Sec. 1, Rule 108, Rules of Court)
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Petition for correction of a clerical or typographical error in an entry and/or change of first name or nickname in the civil register filed with the civil register office pursuant to Republic Act No. 9048 (See. Sec. 3, Rep. Act No. 9048)
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Petition for adoption (See Sec. 7, Rule of Adoption)
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Petition for legal separation (See Sec. 2(b)(3), Rule on Legal Separation)
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Petition for declaration of absolute nullity of void marriages and annulment of voidable marriages (See Sec. 5, Rule on Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Void Marriages and Annulment of Voidable Marriages) Petitions in summary judicial proceedings in the family law based on Articles 41, 51,
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69, 73, 96, 124,127, 223, 225, 235 & 239 of the Family Code (See Arts. 239, 249 & 253, Family Code) o
Complaints filed
under the Interim Rules of Procedure on Intra-Corporate
Controversies, as well as the Answer thereto. (See Sec. 3, Rule 2, Interim Rules of Procedure on Intra-Corporate Controversies) o
All pleadings, motions, oppositions, defenses or claims filed by any interested party in any proceeding governed by the Rules of Procedure on Corporate Rehabilitation (2008) (See Sec. 1, Rule 3, Rules of Procedure on Corporate Rehabilitation)
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Complaints filed with the Court of Tax Appeals (See Sec. 1, Rule 6, Revised Rules of Procedure of the Court of Tax Appeals)
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Petitions for Review filed with the CTA (See Sec. 2, Rule 6, Revised Rules of Procedure of the Court of Tax Appeals) BEFORE CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSIONS/QUASI-JUDICIAL AGENCIES
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The following pleadings filed before the Commission on Elections, as well as the answers thereto: protests or petitions in ordinary actions, special actions, special cases, special reliefs, provisional remedies, special proceedings, counter-protests, counterpetitions, interventions, motions for reconsiderations, appeals from rulings of board of canvassers. (See Sec. 3(b), Rule 7, COMELEC Rules of Procedure)
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Complaints filed with the Regional Office of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (See Sec. 1, Rule III, 1996 Revised Rules of Procedure of the HLURB, as amended)
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Petitions for Review filed with the Regional Officer of the HLURB (See Sec. 1, Rule XII, 1996 Revised Rules of Procedure of the HLURB)
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Applications for new services, complaints, petitions, oppositions and answers filed with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (See Sec. 2, Rule 3, Rules of Practice and Procedure Before the LTFRB)
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Complaints filed in administrative cases filed with the Insurance Commission. (Sec. 4, Rule I, Rules of Procedure Governing Administrative Cases Before the Insurance Commission)
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Complaints filed with Insurance Commission seeking relief from insurance companies or mutual benefit associations. (See Sec. 1, Rule 3, Rules of Procedure Governing Hearings Before the Insurance Commission)
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Position Papers filed before Labor Arbiters (See Sec. 7, Rule V, 2005 Rules of Procedure of the National Labor Relations Commission)
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Complaints and petitions filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the exercise of its adjudicative functions, as well as the answers thereto. (See Sec. 3-3, Rule III, Revised Rules of Procedure 2000 of the Securities and Exchange Commission) Some items from the list were culled from Agpalo’s Legal Forms: Practical Exercises in Pleading & Conveyance (2006 ed.), though this stands as a more updated and comprehensive enumeration. Let us know if we’ve missed out on any other pleading which must be verified, we’ll also be updating this list from time to time to reflect the current status of relevant laws or rules)
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All complaints, compulsory counterclaims and cross-claims’ pleaded in the answer, and the answers thereto, filed under summary procedure in the Metropolitan Trial Courts, the Municipal Trial Courts in Cities, the Municipal Trial Courts, and the Municipal Circuit Trial Courts. (See Sec. 3, Rule 2, Revised Rules on Summary Procedure)
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Petition for review, as well as the comment thereto, filed with the Secretary of the Department of Justice, appealing from resolutions of Chief State Prosecutors, Regional State Prosecutors, and Provincial/City prosecutors in cases subject of preliminary investigation/reinvestigation. (See Secs. 4 & 8, 2000 NPS Rule on Appeal)
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Application of an issuance for a writ of search and seizure in civil actions for infringement of intellectual property rights (See Sec. 4, Rule on Search and Seizure in Civil Actions for Infringement of IP Rights)
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A petition for the issuance of a writ of amparo and the return thereof; and in connection with the amparo proceedings, motion for an inspection order or for a production order. (See The Rule on the Writ of Amparo)
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A petition for the issuance of a writ of habeas data and the return thereof. (See The Rule on the Writ of Habeas Data)
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Election protests or petitions for quo warranto relating to elective municipal and barangay officials filed with the general courts; as well as the answers thereto (See Sec. 7, Rule 3 & Sec. 1, Rule 4, Rules of Procedure in Election Contests Before the Courts Involving Elective Municipal and Barangay Officials)
