In view of transitioning to electronic court processes, helping reduce the use of paper, and facilitating the timely and fair delivery of justice,[1] the Supreme Court promulgated the new Guidelines on Submission of Electronic Copies of Pleadings and Other Court Submissions Being Filed Before the Lower Courts Pursuant to the Efficient Use of Paper Rule (“Guidelines”) through Administrative Matter (A.M.) Nos. 10-3-7-SC and 11-9-4-SC.
The Guidelines, which will be mandatorily applicable by 05 April 2024,[2] covers the electronic transmittal of copies in the Portable Document Format (PDF) of pleadings and other court submissions for filing in all civil cases governed by the 2019 Amendments to the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure (“2019 Amendments”) before all lower courts (i.e., Court of Appeals, Sandiganbayan, Court of Tax Appeals, and first- and second-level courts).[3]
New mode of filing
Under the Guidelines, PDF copies must be transmitted by litigants and court users to the official e-mail address of the court where the case is pending. On the other hand, when the primary manner of filing is through personal filing, by registered mail, or by accredited courier, the PDF counterpart must be emailed within twenty-four (24) hours from the filing of the paper copy.[4]
As to the date and time of filing, the Guidelines distinguish the official reckoning point depending on the primary mode used.
When the primary filing is by personal filing, registered mail or accredited courier, the pleading or court submission shall be deemed to have been filed on the date and time of filing of the paper copy, and not the date and time of the transmittal of the electronic copy.[5]
In contrast, when the primary filing is through electronic transmittal pursuant to Rule 13, Section 3(d) of the 2019 Amendments, the subsequent submission of a paper copy shall be dispensed with. The time and date of the electronic transmittal shall be considered as the time and date of filing. However, express permission must be granted by the court for the primary filing through electronic transmittal of the following:
(i) Initiatory pleadings and initial responsive pleadings, such as an answer to the complaint or a comment to a petition;
(ii) Annexes, appendices, exhibits or other accompanying documents to pleadings or other court submissions not readily amenable to digitization to PDF; and
(iii) Sealed and confidential documents or records.
Absent such express permission, paper copies shall be required and the date of filing shall be the date when the paper copy was filed in person, sent by registered mail, or sent by accredited courier.[6]
Electronic file format
The Guidelines prescribe that the PDF copy of the primary pleading or court submission must be separated from the electronic copies in PDF of any additional documents, each of which must be contained in their own PDF files.[7]
The PDF copy may be electronically generated from a word-processing or PDF creation program, or be scanned images of the document compiled in a PDF file, or a combination of both methods, but in all cases, the contents must be completely legible. The Guidelines also mandate that the size of each PDF file must be reasonable, and even hold the filer responsible for ensuring that the receiving court’s official email address service will not reject or block a transmittal e-mail due to the file size of an attachment.[8]
Worth noting is the Guidelines’ emphasis on the form and substance of the submission in the event that it is filed both electronically and through conventional means. If the primary manner of filing is through electronic transmission, the form and substance of the contents of the PDF copy, as first filed, shall be controlling. If the pleading, court submission, or any accompanying document has already been filed personally, by registered mail, or by accredited courier, the PDF copy to be transmitted should be the exact copy of the filed paper copy. If the court determines, on motion or motu proprio and after notice and hearing, that there are material discrepancies between the paper copy and the electronic copy, it may impose an appropriate sanction or refer such finding to the proper office for disciplinary action on the lawyer, law firm, or party responsible for the filing.[9]
Filename and designation
Furthermore, the Guidelines provide that the PDF file of the primary pleading or court submission shall have the same filename as its designation, in accordance with Rule 7, Section 2 of the 2019 Amendments. At the option of the filer, the designation of the pleading or court submission may be shortened for the filename, but must still contain sufficient information to ascertain the nature of the relief sought.[10]
The PDF file of each accompanying additional document, if any, shall have the same filename as the document’s title, and must further be appended with the designation of the primary pleading or court submission to which they are attached or annexed. All filenames must be finally be appended with the docket number/s of the cases for which they are being filed.[11]
Improper format and sanctions
Significantly, the Guidelines cautioned that the following electronic copies of pleadings and other court submissions shall be deemed as not filed:
1. Those transmitted to the court not in PDF;
2. PDF files with password protection or other encryption;
3. PDF files with embedded executable code or scripts; and
4. PDF files as corrupted files.[12]
In the same vein, electronic copies of additional accompanying documents that are of the similar foregoing character shall be excluded from the case record for which they have been submitted, even if the electronic copy in PDF of the primary pleading or court submission has been correctly filed.[13]
The filing of PDF copies not in accordance with the format and manner stated in the Guidelines shall subject the filing lawyer, law firm, or party to disciplinary action or any appropriate sanction to be imposed by the court.[14]
Valid e-mail address
In addition to other information required to be included in the signature and address of the party or counsel signing the pleading or other court submission under existing issuances of the Supreme Court, the signing counsel or party must indicate their valid e-mail address, which shall serve their e-mail address of record.[15]
Under the Guidelines, an e-mail address is deemed valid when it is the [local-part]@domain syntax and is capable of receiving emails from other senders, especially those outside the address’s own domain. The counsels on record are required to use their professional e-mail accounts as their e-mail addresses of record. To preserve the confidentiality, privacy, and security of communications, the use by lawyers of personal, non-professional email accounts as their e-mail addresses of record is highly discouraged.[16]
The Guidelines further provide that all filings by electronic transmittal must be made with any of the email addresses of record of the counsels of record or the e-mail address of record of the filing party. If an electronic transmittal is made with an e-mail address not of record, the entire transmittal shall be deemed as not filed.[17]
Additionally, the Guidelines impose on the parties and their counsel the obligation to monitor the inboxes of their e-mail address of record with the courts regularly and diligently. No court shall accept as an excuse for any purpose that counsel or parties have not checked the inboxes of their e-mail addresses of record.[18]
What is more, any lawyer who neglects to check said inbox regularly and diligently or fails to comply with Rule 13, Section 11 of the 2019 Amendments should there be changes to their email address of record, to the detriment of the cause of their client, shall be subjected to disciplinary action.[19]
Proof of filing
The Guidelines provide for the following proofs of filing, viz:
a. For pleadings or other court submissions filed personally, the electronic copy shall reflect the written or stamped acknowledgment of the clerk of court in Rule 13, Section 16(a) of the 2019 Amendments, clearly showing the date and time of filing and the signature of the receiving court personnel.
b. For pleadings or other court submissions filed by registered mail or by accredited courier, the PDF copy shall include the following: (i) a PDF copy of the proof of mailing stated in Rule 13, Section 16 of the 2019 Amendments, clearly showing the date and time of mailing or delivery to the post office or accredited courier; and (ii) a PDF copy of the proof of payment of fees, when applicable.
c. For pleadings or other court submissions electronically transmitted pursuant to Rule 13, Section 3(d), the electronic transmittal shall include a PDF copy of the affidavit of electronic filing of electronic copies before the lower courts and its additional accompanying documents, with an undertaking that, for other court submissions for which the permission for electronic transmittal was not secured from the court, the filer will submit their paper copies to the court personally, by registered mail, or accredited courier within 24 hours from the date of electronic transmittal.
The filing of the paper copies of other submissions for which permission for electronic transmittal was not secured from the court must include a paper copy of the transmittal email header as evidence of the filing and receipt of the electronically-transmitted portions of the same filing.[20]
Transmittal e-mail format
The Guidelines likewise provide the format of the transmittal e-mail, particularly the subject, body, and the attachments thereto.
The subject of the transmittal email shall contain the docket number/s, case title/s and designation of the primary pleading or court submission being transmitted, which shall indicate its nature.[21]
The body of the email shall follow the prescribed format and must contain sufficient information to enable the court to ascertain (1) the party or parties filing the pleading or other court submission; (2) the nature of the pleading or court submission; (3) the party or parties against whom relief, if any, is sought; and (4) the nature of the relief sought:
i. Primary manner of filing;
ii. Filing date (based on the primary manner of filing);
iii. Case data, namely:
1. Docket number/s;
2. Case title/s;
3. Name of the filing party;
4. Contact number/s of the filer;
5. Other e-mail address of the filer, if any, and
6. A list of the document titles of the attachments to the transmittal e-mail.[22]
As to the attachments, a transmittal email shall contain only PDF copies pertaining to one case. For the purposes filing, consolidated cases with more than one docket number shall be considered as one case. All files must be enclosed as individual attachments to the transmittal e-mail.[23]
In case the total file size of the documents exceeds the maximum size allowed for attachments by the e-mail service provider being used by the filer, the filer shall transmit the electronic documents in several batches, but each e-mail must be clearly marked by indicating in the subject the batch number of the e-mail and the total batches of e-mails sent, following the prescribed format in the guidelines. It is the responsibility of the filer to ensure that the receiving court’s official e-mail address service will not reject or block a transmittal e-mail due to its size.[24]
Also, in instances when the primary manner of filing is through personal filing, by registered mail, or by accredited courier, and the electronic transmittal is pursuant to Section 2(2) of the Guidelines, the filer shall execute a verified declaration that the pleading or court submission and its accompanying documents, if any, submitted electronically are complete and true copies of the paper copies filed before the court.[25]
The paper copy of the verified declaration must be filed in the same manner and in the same filing as the pleading or other court submission, while a PDF copy of the verified declaration must be attached to the transmittal e-mail of the subsequent electronic submission.[26]
We write this article to provide an overview of the guidelines on electronic filing of pleadings and other submissions before the courts. Should you need legal assistance in filing cases through electronic means, please send an email to ryan@romanolaw.ph.
[1] A.M. Nos. 10-3-7-SC and 11-9-4-SC, 11 April 2023. [2] Id, Section 10. [3] Id, Section 1. [4] Id, Section 2. [5] Id, Section 3(a). [6] Id, Section 3(b). [7] Id, Section 5. [8] Id. [9] Id. [10] Id. [11] Id. [12] Id. [13] Id. [14] Id. [15] Id, Section 6 [16] Id. [17] Id. [18] Id. [19] Id. [20] Id, Section 4 [21] Id, Section 8(a) [22] Id, Section 8(b) [23] Id, Section 8(c) [24] Id. [25] Id, Section 9 [26] Id.