RULE 41

APPEAL FROM THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURTS

Section 1. Subject of appeal.

An appeal may be taken from a judgment or final order

that completely disposes of the case, or of a particular
matter therein when declared by these Rules to be
appealable.

No appeal may be taken from:

(a) An order denying a motion for new trial or

reconsideration;

(b) An order denying a petition for relief or any similar

motion seeking relief from judgment;

(c) An interlocutory order;

(d) An order disallowing or dismissing an appeal;

(e) An order denying a motion to set aside a judgment by

consent, confession or compromise on the ground of fraud,
mistake or duress, or any other ground vitiating consent;

(f) An order of execution;

(g) A judgment or final order for or against one or more

of several parties or in separate claims, counterclaims,
cross-claims and third-party complaints, while the main
case is pending, unless the court allows an appeal
therefrom; and

(h) An order dismissing an action without prejudice.

In all the above instances where the judgment or final

order is not appealable, the aggrieved party may file an
appropriate special civil action under Rule 65.

Sec. 2. Modes of appeal.

(a) Ordinary appeal.- The appeal to the Court of Appeals in

cases decided by the Regional Trial Court in the exercise
of its original jurisdiction shall be taken by filing a
notice of appeal with the court which rendered the
judgment or final order appealed from and serving a copy
thereof upon the adverse party. No record on appeal shall
be required except in special proceedings and other cases
of multiple or separate appeals where the law or these
 Rules so require. In such cases, the record on appeal
shall be filed and served in like manner.

(b) Petition for review.- The appeal to the Court of Appeals in

cases decided by the Regional Trial Court in the exercise
of its appellate jurisdiction shall be by petition for
review in accordance with Rule 42.

(c) Appeal by certiorari.- In all cases where only questions of

law are raised or involved, the appeal shall be to the
Supreme Court by petition for review on certiorari in
accordance with Rule 45.

Sec. 3. Period of ordinary appeal.

The appeal shall be taken within fifteen (15) days from

notice of the judgment or final order appealed from.
Where a record on appeal is required, the appellant shall
file a notice of appeal and a record on appeal within
thirty (30) days from notice of the judgment or final
order.

The period of appeal shall be interrupted by a timely

motion for new trial or reconsideration. No motion for
extension of time to file a motion for new trial or
reconsideration shall be allowed.

Sec. 4. Appellate court docket and other lawful fees.

Within the period for taking an appeal, the appellant

shall pay to the clerk of the court which rendered the
judgment or final order appealed from, the full amount of
the appellate court docket and other lawful fees. Proof
of payment of said fees shall be transmitted to the
appellate court together with the original record or the
record on appeal.

Sec. 5. Notice of appeal.

The notice of appeal shall indicate the parties to the

appeal, specify the judgment or final order or part
thereof appealed from, specify the court to which the
appeal is being taken, and state the material dates
showing the timeliness of the appeal.

Sec. 6. Record on appeal; form and contents thereof.

The full names of all the parties to the proceedings

shall be stated in the caption of the record on appeal
and it shall include the judgment or final order from
 which the appeal is taken and, in chronological order,
copies of only such pleadings, petitions, motions and all
interlocutory orders as are related to the appealed
judgment or final order for the proper understanding of
the issue involved, together with such data as will show
that the appeal was perfected on time. If an issue of
fact is to be raised on appeal, the record on appeal
shall include by reference all the evidence, testimonial
and documentary, taken upon the issue involved. The
reference shall specify the documentary evidence by the
exhibit numbers or letters by which it was identified
when admitted or offered at the hearing, and the
testimonial evidence by the names of the corresponding
witnesses. If the whole testimonial and documentary
evidence in the case is to be included, a statement to
that effect will be sufficient without mentioning the
names of the witnesses or the numbers or letters of
exhibits. Every record on appeal exceeding twenty (20)
pages must contain a subject index.

Sec. 7. Approval of record on appeal.

Upon the filing of the record on appeal for approval and

if no objection is filed by the appellee within five (5)
days from receipt of a copy thereof, the trial court may
approve it as presented or upon its own motion or at the
instance of the appellee, may direct its amendment by the
inclusion of any omitted matters which are deemed
essential to the determination of the issue of law or
fact involved in the appeal. If the trial court orders
the amendment of the record, the appellant, within the
time limited in the order, or such extension thereof as
may be granted, or if no time is fixed by the order
within ten (10) days from receipt thereof, shall redraft
the record by including therein, in their proper
chronological sequence, such additional matters as the
court may have directed him to incorporate, and shall
thereupon submit the redrafted record for approval, upon
notice to the appellee, in like manner as the original
draft.

Sec. 8. Joint record on appeal.

Where both parties are appellants, they may file a joint

record on appeal within the time fixed by section 3 of
this Rule, or that fixed by the court.

Sec. 9. Perfection of appeal; effect thereof.

 A party’s appeal by notice of appeal is deemed perfected
as to him upon the filing of the notice of appeal in due
time.

A party’s appeal by record on appeal is deemed perfected

as to him with respect to the subject matter thereof upon
the approval of the record on appeal filed in due time.

In appeals by notice of appeal, the court loses

jurisdiction over the case upon the perfection of the
appeals filed in due time and the expiration of the time
to appeal of the other parties.

In appeals by record on appeal, the court loses

jurisdiction only over the subject matter thereof upon
the approval of the records on appeal filed in due time
and the expiration of the time to appeal of the other
parties.

In either case, prior to the transmittal of the original

record or the record on appeal, the court may issue
orders for the protection and preservation of the rights
of the parties which do not involve any matter litigated
by the appeal, approve compromises, permit appeals of
indigent litigants, order execution pending appeal in
accordance with section 2 of Rule 39, and allow
withdrawal of the appeal.

Sec. 10. Duty of clerk of court of the lower court upon perfection of
appeal.

Within thirty (30) days after perfection of all the

appeals in accordance with the preceding section, it
shall be the duty of the clerk of court of the lower
court:

(a) To verify the correctness of the original record or

the record on appeal, as the case may be, and to make a
certification of its correctness;

(b) To verify the completeness of the records that will

be transmitted to the appellate court;

(c) If found to be incomplete, to take such measures as

may be required to complete the records, availing of the
authority that he or the court may exercise for this
purpose; and

(d) To transmit the records to the appellate court.

If the efforts to complete the records fail, he shall
indicate in his letter of transmittal the exhibits or
 transcripts not included in the records being transmitted
to the appellate court, the reasons for their non-
transmittal, and the steps taken or that could be taken
to have them available.
The clerk of court shall furnish the parties with copies
of his letter of transmittal of the records to the
appellate court.

Sec. 11. Transcript.

Upon the perfection of the appeal, the clerk shall

immediately direct the stenographers concerned to attach
to the record of the case five (5) copies of the
transcripts of the testimonial evidence referred to in
the record on appeal. The stenographers concerned shall
transcribe such testimonial evidence and shall prepare
and affix to their transcripts an index containing the
names of the witnesses and the pages wherein their
testimonies are found, and a list of the exhibits and the
pages wherein each of them appears to have been offered
and admitted or rejected by the trial court. The
transcripts shall be transmitted to the clerk of the
trial court who shall thereupon arrange the same in the
order in which the witnesses testified at the trial, and
shall cause the pages to be numbered consecutively.

Sec. 12. Transmittal.

The clerk of the trial court shall transmit to the

appellate court the original record or the approved
record on appeal within thirty (30) days from the
perfection of the appeal, together with the proof of
payment of the appellate court docket and other lawful
fees, a certified true copy of the minutes of the
proceedings, the order of approval, the certificate of
correctness, the original documentary evidence referred
to therein, and the original and three (3) copies of the
transcripts. Copies of the transcripts and certified true
copies of the documentary evidence shall remain in the
lower court for the examination of the parties.

Sec. 13. Dismissal of appeal.

Prior to the transmittal of the original record or the

record on appeal to the appellate court, the trial court
may motu proprio or on motion dismiss the appeal for having been
taken out of time.
 RULE 45
APPEAL BY CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT

Section 1. Filing of petition with Supreme Court.

A party desiring to appeal by certiorari from a judgment or

final order or resolution of the Court of Appeals, the
Sandiganbayan, the Regional Trial Court or other courts
whenever authorized by law, may file with the Supreme Court a
verified petition for review on certiorari. The petition shall
raise only questions of law which must be distinctly set
forth.

Sec. 2. Time for filing; extension.

The petition shall be filed within fifteen (15) days from

notice of the judgment or final order or resolution appealed
from, or of the denial of the petitioner’s motion for new
trial or reconsideration filed in due time after notice of the
judgment. On motion duly filed and served, with full payment
of the docket and other lawful fees and the deposit for costs
before the expiration of the reglementary period, the Supreme
Court may for justifiable reasons grant an extension of thirty
(30) days only within which to file the petition.

Sec. 3. Docket and other lawful fees; proof of service of petition.

Unless he has theretofore done so, the petitioner shall pay

the corresponding docket and other lawful fees to the clerk of
court of the Supreme Court and deposit the amount of P500.00
for costs at the time of the filing of the petition. Proof of
service of a copy thereof on the lower court concerned and on
the adverse party shall be submitted together with the
petition.

Sec. 4. Contents of petition.

The petition shall be filed in eighteen (18) copies, with the

original copy intended for the court being indicated as such
by the petitioner, and shall (a) state the full name of the
appealing party as the petitioner and the adverse party as
respondent, without impleading the lower courts or judges
thereof either as petitioners or respondents; (b) indicate the
material dates showing when notice of the judgment or final
order or resolution subject thereof was received, when a
motion for new trial or reconsideration, if any, was filed and
when notice of the denial thereof was received; (c) set forth
concisely a statement of the matters involved, and the reasons
or arguments relied on for the allowance of the petition; (d)
be accompanied by a clearly legible duplicate original, or a
certified true copy of the judgment or final order or
resolution certified by the clerk of court of the court a quo
and the requisite number of plain copies thereof, and such
material portions of the record as would support the petition;
and (e) contain a sworn certification against forum shopping
as provided in the last paragraph of section 2, Rule 42.

Sec. 5. Dismissal or denial of petition.

The failure of the petitioner to comply with any of the

foregoing requirements regarding the payment of the docket and
other lawful fees, deposit for costs, proof of service of the
petition, and the contents of and the documents which should
accompany the petition shall be sufficient ground for the
dismissal thereof.

The Supreme Court may on its own initiative deny the petition
on the ground that the appeal is without merit, or is
prosecuted manifestly for delay, or that the questions raised
therein are too unsubstantial to require consideration.

Sec. 6. Review discretionary.

A review is not a matter of right, but of sound judicial

discretion, and will be granted only when there are special
and important reasons therefor. The following, while neither
controlling nor fully measuring the court’s discretion,
indicate the character of the reasons which will be
considered:

(a) When the court a quo has decided a question of substance,

not theretofore determined by the Supreme Court, or has
decided it in a way probably not in accord with law or with
the applicable decisions of the Supreme Court; or

(b) When the court a quo has so far departed from the accepted
and usual course of judicial proceedings, or so far sanctioned
such departure by a lower court, as to call for an exercise of
the power of supervision.

Sec. 7. Pleadings and documents that may be required; sanctions.

For purposes of determining whether the petition should be

dismissed or denied pursuant to section 5 of this Rule, or
where the petition is given due course under section 8 hereof,
the Supreme Court may require or allow the filing of such
pleadings, briefs, memoranda or documents as it may deem
necessary within such periods and under such conditions as it
may consider appropriate, and impose the corresponding
sanctions in case of non-filing or unauthorized filing of such
pleadings and documents or non-compliance with the conditions
therefor.

Sec. 8. Due course; elevation of records.

If the petition is given due course, the Supreme Court may

require the elevation of the complete record of the case or
specified parts thereof within fifteen (15) days from notice.

Sec. 9. Rule applicable to both civil and criminal cases.

The mode of appeal prescribed in this Rule shall be applicable

to both civil and criminal cases, except in criminal cases
where the penalty imposed is death, reclusion perpetua or life
imprisonment.

RULE 58
PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

Section 1. Preliminary injunction defined; classes.

A preliminary injunction is an order granted at any stage of

an action or proceeding prior to the judgment or final order,
requiring a party or a court, agency or a person to refrain
from a particular act or acts. It may also require the
performance of a particular act or acts, in which case it
shall be known as a preliminary mandatory injunction.

Sec. 2. Who may grant preliminary injunction.

A preliminary injunction may be granted by the court where the

action or proceeding is pending. If the action or proceeding
is pending in the Court of Appeals or in the Supreme Court, it
may be issued by said court or any member thereof.

Sec. 3. Grounds for issuance of preliminary injunction.

A preliminary injunction may be granted when it is

established:

(a) That the applicant is entitled to the relief demanded, and

the whole or part of such relief consists in restraining the
commission or continuance of the act or acts complained of, or
in requiring the performance of an act or acts, either for a
limited period or perpetually;

(b) That the commission, continuance or non-performance of the

act or acts complained of during the litigation would probably
work injustice to the applicant; or
(c) That a party, court, agency or a person is doing,
threatening, or is attempting to do, or is procuring or
suffering to be done, some act or acts probably in violation
of the rights of the applicant respecting the subject of the
action or proceeding, and tending to render the judgment
ineffectual.

Sec. 4. Verified application and bond for preliminary injunction or

temporary restraining order.

A preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order may be

granted only when:

(a) The application in the action or proceeding is verified,

and shows facts entitling the applicant to the relief
demanded; and

(b) Unless exempted by the court, the applicant files with the
court where the action or proceeding is pending, a bond
executed to the party or person enjoined, in an amount to be
fixed by the court, to the effect that the applicant will pay
to such party or person all damages which he may sustain by
reason of the injunction or temporary restraining order if the
court should finally decide that the applicant was not
entitled thereto. Upon approval of the requisite bond, a writ
of preliminary injunction shall be issued.

(c) When an application for a writ of preliminary injunction

or a temporary restraining order is included in a complaint or
any initiatory pleading, the case, if filed in a multiple-sala
court, shall be raffled only after notice to and in the
presence of the adverse party or the person to be enjoined. In
any event, such notice shall be preceded, or contemporaneously
accompanied, by service of summons, together with a copy of
the complaint or initiatory pleading and the applicant’s
affidavit and bond, upon the adverse party in the Philippines.

However, where the summons could not be served personally or

by substituted service despite diligent efforts, or the
adverse party is a resident of the Philippines temporarily
absent therefrom or is a nonresident thereof, the requirement
of prior or contemporaneous service of summons shall not
apply.

(d) The application for a temporary restraining order shall

thereafter be acted upon only after all parties are heard in a
summary hearing which shall be conducted within twenty-four
(24) hours after the sheriff’s return of service and/or the
records are received by the branch selected by raffle and to
which the records shall be transmitted immediately.
Sec. 5. Preliminary injunction not granted without notice; exception.

No preliminary injunction shall be granted without hearing and

prior notice to the party or person sought to be enjoined. If
it shall appear from facts shown by affidavits or by the
verified application that great or irreparable injury would
result to the applicant before the matter can be heard on
notice, the court to which the application for preliminary
injunction was made, may issue ex parte a temporary
restraining order to be effective only for a period of twenty
(20) days from service on the party or person sought to be
enjoined, except as herein provided. Within the said twenty-
day period, the court must order said party or person to show
cause, at a specified time and place, why the injunction
should not be granted, determine within the same period
whether or not the preliminary injunction shall be granted,
and accordingly issue the corresponding order.

However, and subject to the provisions of the preceding

sections, if the matter is of extreme urgency and the
applicant will suffer grave injustice and irreparable injury,
the executive judge of a multiple-sala court or the presiding
judge of a single-sala court may issue ex parte a temporary
restraining order effective for only seventy-two (72) hours
from issuance but he shall immediately comply with the
provisions of the next preceding section as to service of
summons and the documents to be served therewith. Thereafter,
within the aforesaid seventy-two (72) hours, the judge before
whom the case is pending shall conduct a summary hearing to
determine whether the temporary restraining order shall be
extended until the application for preliminary injunction can
be heard. In no case shall the total period of effectivity of
the temporary restraining order exceed twenty (20) days,
including the original seventy-two hours provided herein.

In the event that the application for preliminary injunction

is denied or not resolved within the said period, the
temporary restraining order is deemed automatically vacated.
The effectivity of a temporary restraining order is not
extendible without need of any judicial declaration to that
effect and no court shall have authority to extend or renew
the same on the same ground for which it was issued.

However, if issued by the Court of Appeals or a member

thereof, the temporary restraining order shall be effective
for sixty (60) days from service on the party or person sought
to be enjoined. A restraining order issued by the Supreme
Court or a member thereof shall be effective until further
orders.
Sec. 6. Grounds for objection to, or for motion of dissolution of,
injunction or restraining order.

The application for injunction or restraining order may be

denied, upon a showing of its insufficiency. The injunction or
restraining order may also be denied, or, if granted, may be
dissolved, on other grounds upon affidavits of the party or
person enjoined, which may be opposed by the applicant also by
affidavits. It may further be denied, or, if granted, may be
dissolved, if it appears after hearing that although the
applicant is entitled to the injunction or restraining order,
the issuance or continuance thereof, as the case may be, would
cause irreparable damage to the party or person enjoined while
the applicant can be fully compensated for such damages as he
may suffer, and the former files a bond in an amount fixed by
the court conditioned that he will pay all damages which the
applicant may suffer by the denial or the dissolution of the
injunction or restraining order. If it appears that the extent
of the preliminary injunction or restraining order granted is
too great, it may be modified.

Sec. 7. Service of copies of bonds; effect of disapproval of same.

The party filing a bond in accordance with the provisions of

this Rule shall forthwith serve a copy of such bond on the
other party, who may except to the sufficiency of the bond, or
of the surety or sureties thereon. If the applicant’s bond is
found to be insufficient in amount, or if the surety or
sureties thereon fail to justify, and a bond sufficient in
amount with sufficient sureties approved after justification
is not filed forthwith, the injunction shall be dissolved. If
the bond of the adverse party is found to be insufficient in
amount, or the surety or sureties thereon fail to justify a
bond sufficient in amount with sufficient sureties approved
after justification is not filed forthwith, the injunction
shall be granted or restored, as the case may be.

Sec. 8. Judgment to include damages against party and sureties.

At the trial, the amount of damages to be awarded to either

party, upon the bond of the adverse party, shall be claimed,
ascertained, and awarded under the same procedure prescribed
in section 20 of Rule 57.

Sec. 9. When final injunction granted.

If after the trial of the action it appears that the applicant

is entitled to have the act or acts complained of permanently
enjoined, the court shall grant a final injunction perpetually
restraining the party or person enjoined from the commission
or continuance of the act or acts or confirming the
preliminary mandatory injunction.

RULE 65
CERTIORARI, PROHIBITION AND MANDAMUS

Section 1. Petition for certiorari.

When any tribunal, board or officer exercising judicial or

quasi-judicial functions has acted without or in excess of its
or his jurisdiction, or with grave abuse of discretion
amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction, and there is no
appeal, or any plain, speedy, and adequate remedy in the
ordinary course of law, a person aggrieved thereby may file a
verified petition in the proper court, alleging the facts with
certainty and praying that judgment be rendered annulling or
modifying the proceedings of such tribunal, board or officer,
and granting such incidental reliefs as law and justice may
require.

The petition shall be accompanied by a certified true copy of

the judgment, order or resolution subject thereof, copies of
all pleadings and documents relevant and pertinent thereto,
and a sworn certification of non-forum shopping as provided in
the third paragraph of section 3, Rule 46.

Sec. 2. Petition for prohibition.

When the proceedings of any tribunal, corporation, board,

officer or person, whether exercising judicial, quasi-judicial
or ministerial functions, are without or in excess of its or
his jurisdiction, or with grave abuse of discretion amounting
to lack or excess of jurisdiction, and there is no appeal or
any other plain, speedy, and adequate remedy in the ordinary
course of law, a person aggrieved thereby may file a verified
petition in the proper court, alleging the facts with
certainty and praying that judgment be rendered commanding the
respondent to desist from further proceedings in the action or
matter specified therein, or otherwise granting such
incidental reliefs as law and justice may require.

The petition shall likewise be accompanied by a certified true

copy of the judgment, order or resolution subject thereof,
copies of all pleadings and documents relevant and pertinent
thereto, and a sworn certification of non-forum shopping as
provided in the third paragraph of section 3, Rule 46.
Sec. 3. Petition for mandamus.

When any tribunal, corporation, board, officer or person

unlawfully neglects the performance of an act which the law
specifically enjoins as a duty resulting from an office,
trust, or station, or unlawfully excludes another from the use
and enjoyment of a right or office to which such other is
entitled, and there is no other plain, speedy and adequate
remedy in the ordinary course of law, the person aggrieved
thereby may file a verified petition in the proper court,
alleging the facts with certainty and praying that judgment be
rendered commanding the respondent, immediately or at some
other time to be specified by the court, to do the act
required to be done to protect the rights of the petitioner,
and to pay the damages sustained by the petitioner by reason
of the wrongful acts of the respondent.

The petition shall also contain a sworn certification of non-

forum shopping as provided in the third paragraph of section
3, Rule 46.

Sec. 4. Where petition filed.

The petition may be filed not later than sixty (60) days from
notice of the judgment, order or resolution sought to be
assailed in the Supreme Court or, if it relates to the acts or
omissions of a lower court or of a corporation, board, officer
or person, in the Regional Trial Court exercising jurisdiction
over the territorial area as defined by the Supreme Court. It
may also be filed in the Court of Appeals whether or not the
same is in aid of its appellate jurisdiction, or in the
Sandiganbayan if it is in aid of its jurisdiction. If it
involves the acts or omissions of a quasi-judicial agency, and
unless otherwise provided by law or these Rules, the petition
shall be filed in and cognizable only by the Court of Appeals.
Sec. 5. Respondents and costs in certain cases.

When the petition filed relates to the acts or omissions of a

judge, court, quasi-judicial agency, tribunal, corporation,
board, officer or person, the petitioner shall join, as
private respondent or respondents with such public respondent
or respondents, the person or persons interested in sustaining
the proceedings in the court; and it shall be the duty of such
private respondents to appear and defend, both in his or their
own behalf and in behalf of the public respondent or
respondents affected by the proceedings, and the costs awarded
in such proceedings in favor of the petitioner shall be
against the private respondents only, and not against the
judge, court, quasi-judicial agency, tribunal, corporation,
board, officer or person impleaded as public respondent or
respondents.
Unless otherwise specifically directed by the court where the
petition is pending, the public respondents shall not appear
in or file an answer or comment to the petition or any
pleading therein. If the case is elevated to a higher court by
either party, the public respondents shall be included therein
as nominal parties. However, unless otherwise specifically
directed by the court, they shall not appear or participate in
the proceedings therein.

Sec. 6. Order to comment.

If the petition is sufficient in form and substance to justify

such process, the court shall issue an order requiring the
respondent or respondents to comment on the petition within
ten (10) days from receipt of a copy thereof. Such order shall
be served on the respondents in such manner as the court may
direct, together with a copy of the petition and any annexes
thereto.

In petitions for certiorari before the Supreme Court and the

Court of Appeals, the provisions of section 2, Rule 56, shall
be observed. Before giving due course thereto, the court may
require the respondents to file their comment to, and not a
motion to dismiss, the petition. Thereafter, the court may
require the filing of a reply and such other responsive or
other pleadings as it may deem necessary and proper.

Sec. 7. Expediting proceedings; injunctive relief.

The court in which the petition is filed may issue orders

expediting the proceedings, and it may also grant a temporary
restraining order or a writ of preliminary injunction for the
preservation of the rights of the parties pending such
proceedings. The petition shall not interrupt the course of
the principal case unless a temporary restraining order or a
writ of preliminary injunction has been issued against the
public respondent from further proceeding in the case.

Sec. 8. Proceedings after comment is filed.

After the comment or other pleadings required by the court are

filed, or the time for the filing thereof has expired, the
court may hear the case or require the parties to submit
memoranda. If after such hearing or submission of memoranda or
the expiration of the period for the filing thereof the court
finds that the allegations of the petition are true, it shall
render judgment for the relief prayed for or to which the
petitioner is entitled.
The court, however, may dismiss the petition if it finds the
same to be patently without merit, prosecuted manifestly for
delay, or that the questions raised therein are too
unsubstantial to require consideration.

Sec. 9. Service and enforcement of order or judgment.

A certified copy of the judgment rendered in accordance with

the last preceding section shall be served upon the court,
quasi-judicial agency, tribunal, corporation, board, officer
or person concerned in such manner as the court may direct,
and disobedience thereto shall be punished as contempt. An
execution may issue for any damages or costs awarded in
accordance with section 1 of Rule 39.