List of Pleadings Which Must Be

Verified (Update #1)

Posted by Oli Reyes on November 19, 2009

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

Civil complaints or initiatory pleadings asserting claims for relief

(including permissive counter-claims). (See Sec. 5, Rule 7, Rules
of Civil Procedure)
Statement of Claim for Small Claims Cases, as well as the
Response thereto (See Secs. 5 & 11, Rules of Procedure for Small
Claims Cases)
Complaint for injunction (See Sec. 4, Rule 58, Rules of Civil
Procedure)
Application for appointment of receiver (See Sec. 1, Rule 59,
Rules of Civil Procedure)
Application for support pendente lite (See Sec. 1, Rule 69, Rules
of Civil Procedure)
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)
Petition for indirect contempt (See Sec. 4, Rule 71, Rules of Civil
Procedure)
Petition for relief from judgment or order. (See Sec. 3, Rule 38,
Rules of Civil Procedure)
Petition for Review from the RTC to the Supreme Court (See Sec.
2[c], Rule 41, Rules of Civil Procedure)
Petition for Review from RTC to Court of Appeals (See Sec. 1,
Rule 42, Rules of Civil Procedure)
Petition for Review under Rule 43, from CTA and other quasi-
judicial agencies to Court of Appeals (See Sec. 5, Rule 43, Rules
of Civil Procedure)
Appeal by certiorari under Rule 45, from Court of Appeals to
Supreme Court (See Sec. 1, Rule 45, Rules of Civil Procedure)
Petition for certiorari (special civil action) under Rule 64 (See
Sec. 2, Rule 64, Rules of Civil Procedure)
Petition for certiorari (special civil action) under Rule 65 (See
Sec. 1, Rule 65, Rules of Civil Procedure)
Petition for prohibition under Rule 65 (See Sec. 2, Rule 65, Rules
of Civil Procedure)
Petition for Mandamus under Rule 65 (See Sec. 3, Rule 65, Rules
of Civil Procedure)
Petition for appointment of guardian (See Sec. 2, Rule 93, Rules
of Court)
Petition for leave filed by guardian to sell or encumber property
of an estate (See Sec. 1, Rule 95, Rules of Court)
Petition for declaration of competency of a ward (See Sec. 1, Rule
97, Rules of Court)
Petition for habeas corpus (See Sec. 3, Rule 102, Rules of Court)
Petition for change of name (See Sec. 2, Rule 103, Rules of Court)
Petition for voluntary judicial dissolution of a corporation (See
Sec. 1, Rule 105, Rules of Court; see also Sec. 119, Corporation
Code)
Petition for cancellation or correction of entries in the civil
registry under Rule 108 (See Sec. 1, Rule 108, Rules of Court)
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)
 Petition for adoption (See Sec. 7, Rule of Adoption)
Petition for legal separation (See Sec. 2(b)(3), Rule on Legal
Separation)
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, 69, 73, 96, 124,127, 223, 225, 235 & 239
of the Family Code (See Arts. 239, 249 & 253, Family Code)
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)
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)
Complaints filed with the Court of Tax Appeals (See Sec. 1, Rule
6, Revised Rules of Procedure of the Court of Tax Appeals)
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

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,
counter-petitions, interventions, motions for reconsiderations,
appeals from rulings of board of canvassers. (See Sec. 3(b), Rule
7, COMELEC Rules of Procedure)
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)
Petitions for Review filed with the Regional Officer of the
HLURB (See Sec. 1, Rule XII, 1996 Revised Rules of Procedure of
the HLURB)
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)
Complaints filed in administrative cases filed with the Insurance
Commission. (Sec. 4, Rule I, Rules of Procedure Governing
Administrative Cases Before the Insurance Commission)
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)
Position Papers filed before Labor Arbiters (See Sec. 7, Rule V,
2005 Rules of Procedure of the National Labor Relations
Commission)
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)

(Update #1. There’s more! Thanks to bayanjoseph)

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)
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)
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)
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)
A petition for the issuance of a writ of habeas data and the return
thereof. (See The Rule on the Writ of Habeas Data)
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)

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