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Small Money Claims
Small Money Claims
1. For money owed under any of the following contracts: Lease, Loan,
Services, Sale, or Mortgage.
2. For damages arising from: Fault or negligence, Quasi-contract, or
Contract
3. The enforcement of a barangay amicable settlement or an arbitration
award involving a money claim covered by this Rule pursuant to Sec.
417 of Republic Act 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government
Code of 1991.
3. Response. The defendant shall file with the court and serve on the plaintiff a
duly accomplished and verified Response (affidavits of witnesses and other
evidence in its support) within a non-extendible period of 10 days from
receipt of summons. In case of faulure to file a Response, the court by itself
shall render judgment as may be warranted by the facts alleged in the
Statement of Claim limited to what is prayed for.
5. Judicial Dispute Resolution (JDR). At the hearing, the judge shall conduct
JDR through mediation, conciliation, early neutral evaluation, or any other
mode of JDR. If JDR fails and the parties agree in writing that the hearing of the
case shall be presided over by the judge who conducted the JDR, the hearing
shall so proceed in an informal and expeditious manner and terminated within
1 day. Absent such agreement, the case shall, on the same day, be referred to
the pairing judge for hearing and decision within 5 working days from referral.
6. Decision. After the hearing, the court shall render its decision on the same
day. The decision shall be final and unappealable.
What is the date of effectivity of this Rule?
The Rule of Procedure for Small Claims Cases took effect on October 1, 2008
for the pilot courts designated to apply the procedure for small claims cases
following its publication in two newspapers of general circulation.
Most people decide not to sue a debtor when the amount involved seems
relatively small because of the known hassles and expenses of filing cases in
court. With litigation expenses and time wasted in court, forgetting a debt
seemed to be a practical solution instead, until recently, when the Supreme
Court issued the Small Claims Rule.
This is an inexpensive and simple procedure for going after money claims that
are not more than P 100,000.00 (one hundred thousand Philippine pesos).
The proceedings are quick and informal and all you have to do is obtain a
blank form for Plaintiffs (the one suing), fill it up completely and attach the
required documents to prove your claim. Click here for a copy of the Plaintiff’s
form in PDF format. You can print this form and use it for filing.
Preparation of documents
Note that you are not allowed to be represented by a lawyer in the Small
Claims proceedings but you may consult one BEFORE filing and attending your
hearing. If you are representing a company or corporation in a hearing, you
will also have to bring written authority to appear at the hearing, enter into an
amicable settlement, to submit to alternative modes of dispute resolution and
to enter into stipulations or admissions of facts and of documents.