PHILIPPINES Law and Practice Contributed by: Ramon G. Songco, Anthony W. Dee, Ricardo Ma. P.G. Ongkiko and Russel L. Rodriguez, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan
assets so that they are preserved prior to the satisfac - tion of a judgment), a similar remedy referred to as a “preliminary attachment” is available to litigants in the Philippines. A “preliminary attachment” is defined as “a provi - sional remedy issued upon order of the court where an action is pending to be levied upon the property or properties of the defendant therein, the same to be held thereafter by the sheriff as security for the satisfaction of whatever judgment might be secured in said action by the attaching creditor against the defendant.” When a property is attached, the affected party is not necessarily prohibited from transferring it to a third party. However, such transferee is bound to acknowledge and respect the encumbrance. A party subject to a freezing order or whose property is attached may be required to attend a court exami - nation for the purpose of giving information respecting their property and may be examined under oath. This may also be done in relation to a person owing debts to the party whose property is attached or having in their possession or under their control any credit or other personal property belonging to such party. Examination of a Judgment-Debtor During Execution Proceedings The Rules of Court allow the judgment-creditor to examine, under oath, the judgment-debtor, as well as the debtors of the judgment-debtor, before the same court that rendered the judgment in cases where the judgment award has remained unsatisfied. In this regard, the service of the order of the court requiring the debtors of the judgment-debtor to appear shall bind all the credits due to the judgment obligor and all of the money and property of the judg - ment-debtor in the possession or in the control of the debtor from the time of service. 2. Domestic Judgments 2.1 Types of Domestic Judgments The different types of domestic judgments available in the Philippines include the following.
• Final judgments or final orders, which determine the merits of the case generally after a full-blown hearing and state clearly and distinctly the facts and the law on which they are based, signed by the presiding judge or justices, and filed with the clerk of the court. In the absence of a conventional full- blown hearing, a final judgment or final order may be rendered as follows. (a) Judgment on the pleadings, which is rendered upon motion of the plaintiff when the defend - ant’s answer fails to tender an issue or oth - erwise admits the material allegations of the plaintiff’s complaint. (b) Summary judgment, which is rendered when the pleadings of the parties fail to tender a genuine issue of fact. In such a case, the court may render its judgment based on the plead - ings, supporting affidavits, depositions, and admissions on file. (c) Judgment in default, which is rendered when a defendant fails to file an answer within the time allowed by the relevant rules of procedure, and after the defendant has been declared in default. In this case, the party declared in de - fault is barred from actively participating in the proceedings. • Interlocutory orders, which do not put an end to the ordinary proceeding in the nature of a judicial action. Under this category are provisional rem - edies which are temporary and auxiliary remedies availed of in connection with a principal action for various purposes, such as the preservation of rights in a main action (eg, preliminary injunction). The different types of domestic judgments available in the Philippines may involve the following: • civil action where a party sues another for the enforcement or protection of a right or for the pre - vention or redress of a wrong: (a) ordinary: (i) action that is incapable of pecuniary esti - mation (eg, specific performance); (ii) action involving title or possession of real property; (iii) action involving the demand of a sum of money; or (iv) action involving the demand of damages,
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