PHILIPPINES Law and Practice Contributed by: Leland R Villadolid Jr, Gilberto D Gallos, Antonio Jose Gerardo T Paz and Leo Frederick Z Cruz, Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz
submitted to the jurisdiction of the court if they seek affirmative relief from the court. 3.4 Initial Complaint A civil action is commenced when the plaintiff files a “complaint” with the appropriate court. A complaint is the initial document filed by the plaintiff in a lawsuit containing the allegations, legal claims and the relief sought. Generally, the plaintiff is required to attach to the complaint the sworn statements of their intended witnesses and copies of the documentary evidence cited in the body of the complaint. A plaintiff is allowed to amend the complaint once as a matter of right at any time before the defendant files a responsive pleading, called an “answer”. After the defendant files an answer, the plaintiff may make substantial amendments to the complaint only with leave of court. Formal or nominal amendments to the complaint may be made at any stage of the judicial proceed- ings, provided no prejudice is caused to the defendant. 3.5 Rules of Service A defendant is informed of the filing of the com- plaint through the service of summons upon them, together with a copy of the complaint. Summons is served by personally handing this to the defendant and informing them that they are being served. Domestic private corporations are served summons through their President, managing partner, general manager, corporate secretary, treasurer or in-house counsel. In the case of foreign private corporations, summons is served upon their resident agent in the Phil- ippines. If service upon the defendant by hand cannot be made, substituted service of sum- mons may be resorted to. Summons may also be served even if the defendant is not located
in the Philippines. In such cases, extraterrito- rial service of summons may be allowed by the courts. Service of summons is principally the duty of the sheriff of the court/branch to which the case has been referred. Under certain circumstances, the plaintiff may also be authorised by the court to serve summons together with the sheriff. 3.6 Failure to Respond If the defendant fails to answer within the period prescribed under the Rules of Court, the plain- tiff may – with notice to the defendant – move that the latter be declared in default. If the court declares the defendant in default, it may proceed to either render judgment granting the plaintiff such relief as the complaint may warrant or require the plaintiff to present evidence ex parte. 3.7 Representative or Collective Actions When the subject matter of the dispute is one of common or general interest to many per- sons – ie, so numerous that it is impracticable to join all of them as parties – a number of them (called representative plaintiffs) as the court finds to be sufficiently numerous and representative as to fully protect the interests of all concerned may sue or defend for the benefit of all. Under the Rules of Court, any parties-in-interest are allowed to intervene in a class suit to protect their individual interests. 3.8 Requirements for Cost Estimate Lawyers are not required by law to provide cli- ents with a cost estimate of the potential litiga- tion at the outset. However, lawyers have a fidu- ciary duty to their clients, and should charge fair and reasonable fees based on certain criteria, including (among others):
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