“It was in 2019 when the Supreme Court introduced electronic filing and service for the first time in the Rules of Civil Procedure”
(Part 1)
Recently, the Supreme Court incorporated a new Rule 13-A in the Rules of Civil Procedure underscoring the “need to amend Rule 13 of the 2019 Amendments to the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure to provide for mandatory electronic filing and service for civil cases only in the first and second-level courts” (A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC).
It was in 2019 when the Supreme Court introduced electronic filing and service for the first time in the Rules of Civil Procedure. This move proved to be providential as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the following year.
Under A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC, for complaints and other initiatory pleadings, it is mandated that filing shall be made by: “(a) submitting personally the original paper…; (b) sending the paper by registered mail; or, (c) sending the paper by accredited courier. In the case of [personal filing], the clerk of court shall endorse the date and hour of filing of the complaint or initiatory pleading” (Section 3).
For registered mail and accredited courier filing, “the date of mailing of the complaint or initiatory pleading and payments or deposits, as shown by the post office stamp on the envelope or the registry receipt, shall be considered as the date of filing, payment, or deposit in court [and] [t]he envelope shall be attached to the record of the case” (Section 3).
“After the complaint or initiatory pleading has been filed through any of the three modes [mentioned]…, the filing party shall subsequently email the complaint or initiatory pleading in digital file format to the court [together with]… [its] annexes, appendices, or exhibits… [T]he electronic transmittal of the complaint or initiatory pleading… must be made within 24 hours from the completeness of the primary mode of… filing” (Section 3).
“No court shall act upon any complaint or initiatory pleading unless the latter’s filing is accompanied by the electronic transmittal… [I]f the electronic transmittal is not completed before the period, the complaint or initiatory pleading shall be deemed not filed, regardless of the completeness of the primary mode of its filing” (Section 3)
“Digital files must be transmitted by the filing party or counsel to the official email address of the court where the case is pending. A directory of the official email addresses of the lower courts maintained by the Supreme Court of the Philippines is available at https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/court-locator/” (Section 8).
On the other hand, “[t]he filing and service of non-initiatory pleadings, written motion, notice, appearance, demand, offer of judgment, or similar papers shall only be made by transmitting them in digital file format through email. The date of the electronic mailing shall be considered as the date of filing and service” (Section 4).
“Digital copies of the additional accompanying documents of non-initiatory pleadings, written motion, notice, appearance, demand, offer of judgment, or similar papers… shall likewise be filed and served through email.” The court-bound papers “not emailed to the court shall be deemed not filed, and those not emailed to the party or their counsel shall be deemed not served” (Section 4).
“The form and substance of the contents of the digital files filed in court shall be controlling. If the court determines… that there are material discrepancies between the paper copy and the electronic copy of a paper filed with the court, the court may impose an appropriate sanction or refer such finding to the proper office for disciplinary action against the lawyer, law firm, or party responsible for the filing” [Section 9 (d)].
“Upon motion… a court may expressly waive the requirement of electronic transmittal [for]: (i) annexes, appendices, exhibits, or other accompanying documents to pleadings or other court submissions not readily amenable to digitization in the prescribed digital file format; and (ii) sealed and confidential documents or records.”
“These… may be filed [or served]… personally, by registered mail, or by accredited courier…” (Section 12).
