156

SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

The Fundamentals of Service in Civil Actions

ANNOTATION
THE FUNDAMENTALS OF SERVICE
IN CIVIL ACTIONS
By
SEVERIANO S. TABIOS
1. Introduction, p. 157.
2. Modes of Service, p. 158.
A. Personal Service, p. 158.
B. Service By Mail, p. 159.
C. Substituted Service, p. 161.
D. Service By Publication, p. 162.
3. Service of Summons in Special Cases, p. 165.
A. Service Upon Associations, p. 165.
B. Service Upon Minors, p. 165.
C. Service Upon Insane or Incompetent or Upon
Prisoners, p. 166.
D. Service Upon Corporations, p. 166.
4. Proof of Service, p. 168.
A. Personal Service, p. 168.
B. Service By Mail, p. 169.
C. Service By Publication, p. 170.
157

VOL. 101, NOVEMBER 17, 1980

157

The Fundamentals of Service in Civil Actions

1. Introduction
Service is the mechanism that brings litigants to court. In
this regard, the complaint merely triggers off the
mechanism1 through which summons are issued to the
defendant, for it is elementary that a court of justice can
not acquire jurisdiction over the person of the
defendant
2
without the latter being served with summons. Thus, until
notice is given to the defendant of the action or proceedings
against him and he is given thereby the opportunity to
appear and be heard, the court has no jurisdiction to
proceed to judgment against him even though the3 court
may have jurisdiction over the subject matter. It is
essential, therefore, to the exercise by the court of its
jurisdiction that process issue serving notice to him whose
rights and interests may be affected except when the
defendant voluntarily appears
or otherwise waives service
4
of said process or summons.
Service is a very important aspect of due process giving
defendant the opportunity to be heard and defend before a
competent tribunal vested with
jurisdiction over the subject
5
matter of the cause of action. Thus, when a party is served
with summons, even if a copy of the complaint is not
attached thereto, the party should appear and plead to the
jurisdiction of the court, otherwise his nonappearance6
would justify the entry of an order of default against him.
Appropriately, where a party has not been served through
its lawyer with a notice of
_______________
1

Under Rule 14, Sec. 1 of the Revised Rules of Court, upon the filing of

the complaint, the clerk of court shall forthwith issue the corresponding
summons to the defendant.
2

Fetalino vs. Sanz, 44 Phil. 691.

Echievarria vs. Parsons Hardware Co., 51 Phil. 980.

Government of the Philippines vs. La Asociacion Cooperative de

Credito Agricola, etc., et. al., 69 Phil. 130 Pacific Commercial Co., vs. Tan
Cuico, 3 Phil. 556 Reyes vs. Paz, 60 Phil. 440.
5

El Banco EspaolFilipino vs. Palanca, 37 Phil. 92.

Pagularan vs. Ballatan, et. al., 13 Phil. 135.

158

158

SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

The Fundamentals of Service in Civil Actions

a judicial proceeding, there is a denial of due process.

2. Modes of Service
A. Personal Service
According to the Revised Rules of Court, personal service of
papers consists of delivering personally a copy thereof to
the party or his attorney or leaving it in his office
with his
8
clerk or with a person having charge thereof. However, if
no person is found in the partys or attorneys office, or if
such office is not known, then personal service can be
affected by leaving the copy, between the hours of eight in
the morning and six in the evening, at the partys or
attorneys residence, if known,9 with a person with sufficient
discretion to receive the same.
According to the Supreme Court, the provisions 10on the
modes of service must be complied with strictly. It is
evident therefore that verbal notice in open court of the
11
denial of a motion is not a sufficient service of such notice
but leaving a copy of the paper to be served in the office of
the attorney with his clerk or12 with a person having charge
thereof is deemed sufficient. Moreover, if the copy of the
papers required to be served is left not at the partys or his
attorneys office but at his or his attorneys residence with a
person of sufficient discretion, the presumption is that the
recipient being a normal person possesses
sufficient
13
discretion for purposes of personal service. In this regard,
personal service is complete
_______________
7

Shell Company of the Philippines vs. Enage, et. al., L3011112 Feb.

27, 1973, 49 SCRA 416.

8

Rule 13, Sec. 4, Revised Rules of Court.

Ibid.

10

Garcia vs. Manalang, L7460, Nov. 29, 1956 Ferreria vs. Gonzales,

55 O.G. No. 8, p. 1358.

11

Melgar vs. Delgado, 53 Phil. 223.

12

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila vs. Ycasiano, 53 Phil. 766.

13

Vda. de Bacalla vs. Remolete, et. al., 46 O.G. No. 7, Feb. 12, 1965.
159

VOL. 101, NOVEMBER 17, 1980

159

The Fundamentals of Service in Civil Actions

upon actual delivery.

14

B. Service By Mail
Under the Revised Rules of Court, if service of papers
required by the rules to be served is not made personally,
service by registered mail shall be required, if registry
service exists in the locality otherwise, service may be
made by depositing the copy in the post office, in a sealed
envelope, plainly addressed to the party or his attorney at
his office, if known, otherwise at his residence, if known,
with postage fully prepaid, and with instructions to the
postmaster to return15 the mail to the sender after ten (10)
days if undelivered. In this regard, service by ordinary
mail is complete upon the expiration of five (5) days after
mailing unless the court otherwise provides while service
by registered mail is complete upon actual receipt by the
addressee, unless the addressee fails to claim his mail from
the post office within five (5) days from the date of the first
notice of the postmaster, in which case,
service shall take
16
effect at the expiration of such time.
According to the Supreme Court, a notice served
by mail
17
is presumed to have arrived at its destination. Thus, in a
case where a notice of an order was sent by registered mail
to the address of the counsel in Manila, it was presumed
that the notice of the arrival of the letter at the Manila
Post Office was delivered to the counsels office, there being
no intimation that said address was erroneous nor was
there anything in the court record to show that the postal
18
authorities did not perform their duties properly.
However, if the receipt of a court order by the counsel of a
party in a case is disputed, the court cannot justly attribute
actual knowledge of such order through the registered mail
received by said counsel, in the absence of a
_______________
14

Rule 13, Sec. 8, Revised Rules of Court.

15

Rule 13, Sec. 5, Revised Rules of Court.

16

Rule 13, Sec. 8, Revised Rules of Court.

17

Pyle vs. Johnson, 9 Phil. 251.

18

Islas vs. Platon, et. al., 47 Phil. 163.

160

160

SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

The Fundamentals of Service in Civil Actions

showing that the registry notice itself or the envelope or

the return card for that matter contained any indication or
annotation that the registered
matter was indeed and in
19
fact a copy of the said order.
The failure of a party to claim a registered notice does
not amount to an excusable
neglect which would warrant
20
the reopening of a case. For this purpose, the Supreme
Court declared that it is precisely the neglect or inaction of
the party in claiming the registered notice which the rule
seeks to avoid by expressly providing that if the addressee
fails to claim his mail from the post office within five (5)
days from the date of the first notice of the postmaster,
service by registered mail
becomes complete at the
21
expiration of such time. In this regard, between the
denial of a lawyer that he received the first notice of
registered mail and the certification of the postmaster, as
to the sending of said notice, the postmaters claim should
be believed because
it is his official duty to send notices of
22
registered mail. Moreover, where the registered letter was
sent to the wrong address, the party shall be entitled to
relief from the effects of such gross negligence or wanton
error 23committed by someone in the office of the clerk of
court.
The part of the rule which provides that if the
addressee fails to claim his mail from the post office within
five (5) days from the date of the first notice of the
postmaster, the service takes effect at the expiration of
such time assumes that the addressee has actually
received the mail on said date, but when he fails to do so
because of some
justifiable reason, the presumption of law
24
can not apply. Thus, where the
_______________
19

Sapida, et. al. vs. Court of Appeals, et. al., L27673, Nov. 24, 1972, 48

SCRA 19, 2930 Cayetano vs. Ceguerra, L18831, January 30, 1965, 13
SCRA 73.
20

Martinez vs. Martinez, L4075, January 23, 1952.

21

Pielago vs. Generosa, et. al., 73 Phil. 654.

22

Grafil vs. Feliciano, L27156, June 30, 1967, 20 SCRA 616.

23

Ortaliz vs. Court of Appeals, et. al., L36088, May 16, 1973, 51 SCRA

24

Cabuang vs. Bello, L14781, July 15, 1959.

3.

161

VOL. 101, NOVEMBER 17, 1980

161

The Fundamentals of Service in Civil Actions

postmaster in a sworn statement stated that he did not

send notice of a receipt of a registered envelope containing
the notice of judgment to the defendant, the fiveday period
within which to claim the mail from the day of first notice
of the postmaster can25not begin to run as there was no
notice of the judgment.
C. Substituted Service
It is to be noted that the Revised Rules of Court contains
two different and distinct provisions on substituted service.
One such provision which deals with the service of
pleadings limits the scope of substituted service only to the
delivery of a copy if the pleading sought to be served to the
clerk of court with proof of failure of both personal service
and service by mail in the event that the office and place
of
26
residence of the party or his attorney are unknown. In
that provision, substituted service is considered 27complete
at the time of such delivery to the clerk of court. On the
other hand, the other provision refers to substituted service
as one effected by means of leaving copies of the summons
at the defendants dwelling house or residence with some
person of suitable age and discretion then residing therein
or by leaving the copies at defendants office or regular
place of28 business with some competent person in charge
thereof. Viewing both provisions, it may not be amiss to
note that what is considered as substituted service when
the document sought to be served is a court summons is
actually personal service
when the documents sought to be
29
served are pleadings.
In so far therefore as the service of summons is

concerned, leaving a copy of the summons with a minor

who is only twelve
_______________
25

Ignacio vs. Recho, et. al., 78 Phil. 560.

26

Rule 13, Sec. 6, Revised Rules of Court.

27

Ibid.

28

Rule 14, Sec. 8, Revised Rules of Court.

29

A comparison of the provisions of Rule 13, Sec. 4 and Rule 14, Sec. 8

of the Revised Rules of Court shows a striking similarity between the two.
162

162

SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

The Fundamentals of Service in Civil Actions

(12) years of age and a fourth grade pupil is not a valid

substituted service on defendant considering that the
recipient is not of suitable age and discretion to be
entrusted 30 with an important document as a court
summons. Similarly, leaving a copy of the summons with
someone who is merely a lessee of a house belonging to
defendant and who is not authorized to receive papers on
defendants behalf is not a valid substituted service of the
summons since the service
was predicated on an erroneous
31
assumption of fact. Appropriately, where a copy of the
summons and of the complaint were served upon a person
who was not authorized by the defendant to receive for her,
the defendant may raise the legality of erroneous service
and if she was declared in default for failure to comply
therewith
she can appeal from the order declaring her in
32
default.
D. Service By Publication
This mode of service of court summons is normally resorted
to whenever the defendant is designated as an unknown
owner or whenever the address of a defendant
is unknown
33
and cannot be ascertained by diligent inquiry or when the
defendant does not reside or is not found in the Philippines
and the action affects the personal status of the plaintiff or
relates to, or the subject matter of which is, property within
the Philippines, in which the defendant has or claims a lien
or interest, actual or contingent, or in which the relief
demanded consists, wholly or in part, in excluding the

defendant from any interest therein, or the property of34the

defendant has been attached within the Philippines or
when an action is commenced against a defen
_______________
30

Sequito, et. al. vs. Leonardo, L11588, July 30, 1959, 56 O.G. No. 43,

p. 6631.
31

J. M. Tuason & Co., Inc. vs. Fernandez, L19556, Oct. 30, 1964, 12

SCRA 235, 239.

32

Fernandez vs. Caluag, L16124, December 30, 1961, 3 SCRA 857.

33

Rule 14, Sec. 16, Revised Rules of Court.

34

Rule 14, Sec. 17, Revised Rules of Court.

163

VOL. 101, NOVEMBER 17, 1980

163

The Fundamentals of Service in Civil Actions

dant who ordinarily resides

within the Philippines, but who
35
is temporarily out of it. In this mode of service the Revised
Rules of Court requires that leave of court be secured in
effecting publication in a newspaper of general circulation
36
in such place and for such time as the court may order. It
is also required that a copy of the summons and order of
the court shall be sent by registered mail to the last known
address of the defendant,
or in any other manner the court
37
may deem sufficient.
It should be noted from the foregoing that service by
publication may be effected only with leave of court. It shall
be made by motion in writing, supported by affidavit of the
plaintiff or some 38person on his behalf, setting forth the
grounds therefor. As it is a means by which jurisdiction
can be conferred, the requirement
of such service must be
39
strictly complied with.
It is also significant to note that a distinction is made
between service of summons upon a resident and a non
resident defendant. As to resident defendant, service of
summons by publication may be made even in a personal
action but as to a nonresident defendant, service of
summons by publication may be authorized
only when the
40
action is in rem or quasi in rem. Thus, in an action in
personam like an action to recover a sum upon a
promissory note, the trial court cannot acquire jurisdiction
over the person of the defendant thru service of summons

by publication, and if proceedings were continued after

41
such service, all such proceedings shall be deemed void.
Considering the requirements of the rules on service by
publication, would a defendant who used to be a resident of
the
_______________
35

Rule 14, Sec. 18, Revised Rules of Court.

36

Rule 14, Secs. 16 & 17, Revised Rules of Court.

37

Rule 14, Sec. 17, Revised Rules of Court.

38

Rule 14, Sec. 19, Revised Rules of Court.

39

Bachrach Garage and Taxi Co. vs. Hotchkiss and Co., 34 Phil. 506

Banco EspaolFilipino vs. Palanca, 37 Phil. 921.

40

Fontanilla vs. Dominguez, 73 Phil. 579.

41

Ibid.
164

164

SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

The Fundamentals of Service in Civil Actions

Philippines but who at the time of the case left the country
be served with summons at his former address or should
summons by publication be made? In this regard, the
Supreme
Court in the case of Brown, et. al. vs. Brown, et.
42
al., wherein the wife of defendant who had left for abroad
sought to be appointed administratrix of their conjugal
properties in a petition submitted to the Court of First
Instance of Manila which issued summons not to defendant
husband who had left the country but to the manager of his
business in the country, declared that it is an elementary
rule or principle in the procedure that before the rights of
an absentee or nonresident over properties existing in the
Philippines may come under the jurisdiction of Philippine
courts and become subject to their orders, summons must
be served upon said absentee or nonresident in accordance
with Sec. 17, Rule 7 (now Sec. 17, Rule 14) of the Rules of
Court. According to the Supreme Court, the court below
would seem to believe that the service of summons upon
the person to whom the properties of the nonresident was
entrusted is sufficient to confer jurisdiction to the court but
since no rule allows service of summons upon an agent,
service must therefore be made on the defendant himself
but substituted service or by registered mail, or by

publication if his properties are desired to be affected by

the proceedings. Correspondingly, for failure by the lower
court to comply with the rules, all the proceedings
conducted in that court, such as the hearings, consideration
of the motion to dismiss, order for appointment of receiver,
etc. were thereby declared null and void and of no effect,
because the court below did not acquire
jurisdiction over
43
the defendant or over his properties.
Service of summons by publication has its dangers, but
the law must take a chance when it must choose between
two evils.
_______________
42

L17953, October 31, 1961, 3 SCRA 451.

43

Brown, et. al. vs. Brown, et. al., L17953, October 31, 1961, 3 SCRA

451, 456457 citing the cases of Banco Espaol Filipino vs. Palanca, 37
Phil. 921 Idonah Slade Perkins vs. Dizon, et. al., 69 Phil. 186 Ng Si Choc
vs. Vera, 64 Phil. 1066.
165

VOL. 101, NOVEMBER 17, 1980

165

The Fundamentals of Service in Civil Actions

to give justice to him who knocks at the door of the

courts, or to refuse and to shield his antagonist but who
could not be definitely located because he could not be
found. In such e situation, the correct solution is to balance
the scales, by taking the prudent chance and to sanction
notice through publication. If the Court refuses to permit
summons by publication, the result will be a surrender of
justice. Against the fear that a defendant might be
deprived of his properties without due process if summons
is by publication, the requisities of notice through the mails
is imposed as a condition precedent, and the presumption
44
is and must be that the same has been received.
3. Service of Summons in Special Cases
A. Service Upon Associations
Under the Revised Rules of Court, when persons associated
in business are sued under a common name service may be

effected upon all the defendants by serving upon any one of

them, or upon the person in charge of the office
or place of
45
business maintained in the common name. This is so
because persons associated in business who are sued under
a common name all be named individually in the answer
filed by46 them or on their behalf with their business
address.
However, such service shall not. bind
individually any person whose connection with the
association has, upon
due notice, been severed before the
47
action was brought.
B. Service Upon Minors
The Revised Rules of Court allows
service of summons on a
48
minor of fifteen years or more. However, in order that
service
_______________
44

Bahena vs. Alacreto. et. al., CAG.R. No. 24483R, May 17, 1966, 63

O.G. No. 33, August 14, 1967.

45

Rule 14, Sec. 9, Revised Rules of Court.

46

Rule 3, Sec. 15, Revised Rules of Court.

47

Rule 14, Sec. 9, Revised Rules of Court.

48

Rule 14, Sec. 10. Revised Rules of Court.

166

166

SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

The Fundamentals of Service in Civil Actions

of summons made on a minor of fifteen (15) years or more

is sufficient, the minor must not be under any physical or
mental disability as to deprive her of sufficient
discretion
49
and judgment to receive the notice or summons. Moreover,
if the minor who is a defendant is less than fifteen (15)
years of age, service shall be made not only on him
personally but also on his guardian
or person exercising
50
parental authority over him. Furthermore, should there
be any question on the service of summons upon a minor,
such question or objection to irregularity of such service
should be raised before judgment is rendered, otherwise
failure to object thereto before and during trial or even
51
before judgment was rendered shall constitute a waiver.
C. Service Upon Insane or Incompetent or Upon Prisoners

Under the Revised Rules of Court, when the defendant is

insane or judicially declared incompetent, service shall be
effected on him personally and on his guardian
or person
52
exercising parental authority over him.
When the
defendant, on the other hand, is a prisoner confined in a
jail or institution, service of summons may be effected upon
him by serving on the53 officer having the management of
such jail or institution.
D. Service Upon Corporations
According to the Revised Rules of Court, if the defendant is
a corporation duly organized or a partnership duly
registered under the laws of the Philippines, service may
be made on the president, 54manager, secretary, cashier,
agent or any of its directors. In the case of a partnership,
the individual
_______________
49

Garcia, et. al. vs. Manalang, L7460, Nov. 29, 1956.

50

Rule 14, Sec. 10, Revised Rules of Court.

51

Jaranilla vs. Gonzales, 50 O. G. No. 10, p. 4756.

52

Rule 14, Sec. 11, Revised Rules of Court.

53

Rule 14, Sec. 12, Revised Rules of Court.

54

Rule 14, Sec. 13, Revised Rules of Court.

167

VOL. 101, NOVEMBER 17, 1980

167

The Fundamentals of Service in Civil Actions

members of the firm need not be separately served with the

process if the suit is against the
partnership and not
55
against the individual partners. However, service of
summons upon a company agent who had already ceased to
be such at56 the time of the service is invalid and
insufficient.
If on the other hand the defendant is a foreign
corporation or a nonresident joint stock company or
association, doing business in the Philippines, service may
be made on its resident agent designated in accordance
with law for that purpose, or, if there be no such agent, on
the government official designated by law to that effect,
or
57
on any of its officers or agents within the Philippines. In

this regard, in determining whether a corporation is doing

business within a state, all the combined acts of the foreign
corporation in the state must be considered, and every
circumstance is material which indicates a purpose on the
part of the corporation to engage in some part of its regular
business in the state such that one single or isolated
business transaction does not 58constitute doing business
within the meaning of the law. Appropriately, if a foreign
corporation doing business in the Philippines has
designated the person who shall receive service of
summons in judicial proceedings affecting the corporation,
service of summons
shall be without force or effect unless
59
made on him.
Moreover, if the defendant is the Republic of the
Philippines, service may be effected on the Solicitor
General if the defendant is a province, city or municipality
or like public corporations, service may be effected on its
executive head or on such
other officer or officers as the law
60
or the court may direct.
_______________
55

Vargas & Co. vs. Chan Hang Chiu, 29 Phil. 446.

56

Herald Lumber Co. vs. Ramos, L10885, May 25, 1959.

57

Rule 14, Sec. 14, Revised Rules of Court.

58

General Corporation of the Phil., et. al. vs. Union Insurance Society

of Canton, Ltd., 48 O.G. 73.

59

Poizat vs. Negros Philippine Lumber Co., et. al., 28 Phil. 597.

60

Rule 14, Sec. 15, Revised Rules of Court.

168

168

SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

The Fundamentals of Service in Civil Actions

4. Proof of Service
A. Personal Service
Proof of personal service shall consist of a written
admission of the party served, or the affidavit of the party
serving, containing a
full statement of the date, place and
61
manner of service. If the process being served is a

summons, proof of service shall consist of a written

certification by the server setting forth the manner, place
and date of service as well as specifying the papers which
have been served with the process and the name of the
person who received the same, provided that if the service
is a person other 62
the sheriff or his deputy the certification
shall be sworn to. In this regard, the certificate of service
by the sheriff is a prima facie evidence of the facts set out
therein and where said certificate shows that the service of
summons in an action against a partnership duly organized
and registered under the laws of the Philippines was made
by serving a copy thereof on a person therein named and
described as the managing agent of the company, it is
prima facie evidence of the fact that the person on whom
the summons63was served was in fact the managing agent of
the company.
It must be remembered that the requirement of the
64
rules on the proof of service of summons is mandatory.
Thus, a proof of service of summons which merely states I
have this day served a copy of the within complaint and
process upon Y in the absence of the defendant X, which
is signed by the deputy sheriff who served the summons, is
held insufficient for it65 did not comply with the
requirements of the rules.
_______________
61

Rule 13, Sec. 10, Revised Rules of Court.

62

Rule 14, Sec. 20, Revised Rules of Court.

63

Vargas & Co. vs. Chan Chiu. 29 Phil. 446.

64

Sequito vs. Letrondo. L11580, July 20, 1959.

65

Reyes vs. Paz. et. al., 60 Phil. 441.

169

VOL. 101, NOVEMBER 17, 1980

169

The Fundamentals of Service in Civil Actions

B. Service By Mail
If the service of papers is by ordinary mail, proof thereof
shall consist of an affidavit of the person mailing66of facts
showing compliance with section 5 of this rule, which
requires that copy of the papers shall be deposited in the
post office in a sealed envelope, plainly addressed to the

party or his attorney at his office, if known, otherwise at

his residence, if known, with postage prepaid, and with
instructions to the postmaster to return the
mail to the
67
sender after ten (10) days if undelivered. If service is
made by registered mail, on the other hand, proof shall be
made by such affidavit
and the registry receipt issued by
68
the mailing office. In addition thereto, the registry return
card must be filed immediately upon receipt thereof by the
sender, or in lieu thereof, the letter unclaimed together
with the certified or sworn copy
of the notice given by the
69
postmaster to the addressee. If what was served was a
court summons, service by registered mail may be proved
by a certificate of the sheriff or affidavit of the person
especially authorized by the court, showing that a copy of
the summons and papers attached thereto, enclosed in an
envelope and addressed to the defendant, with postage
prepaid, has been mailed, to which certificate or
affidavit
70
the registry receipt and return shall be attached.
In relation to the foregoing rules, a mere certification by
the postmaster that his office has received for transmission
to the respective addressees two registered letters and that
the same were received by addressees was held not
sufficient
proof of service of the decision contained in said
71
letters. Similarly, even if the decision or other papers
were actually sent by registered mail, if there was no
affidavit by the clerk of court
_______________
66

Rule 13, Sec. 10, Revised Rules of Court.

67

Rule 13, Sec. 5, Revised Rules of Court.

68

Rule 13, Sec. 10, Revised Rules of Court.

69

Ibid.

70

Rule 14, Sec. 22, Revised Rules of Court.

71

Delgado vs. Ceniza, et. al., L10463, June 18, 1957.

170

170

SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

The Fundamentals of Service in Civil Actions

showing compliance with section 10 of Rule 13 of the

Revised Rules of Court and no registry return card or a
certified or sworn copy of the notice given by the
postmaster to the defendantsaddressees, the service was

held defective and

not in compliance with the Revised
72
Rules of Court. Furthermore, where the records of the
case show that only the registry receipts allegedly issued
by the mailing office were presented by the respondent
appellant as proof of service of her brief upon the
petitionersappellees, such registry receipts cannot be
considered
as sufficient proof of service of the appellants
73
brief.
C. Service By Publication
Under the Revised Rules of Court, if service has been made
by publication, service may be proved by the affidavit of the
printer, his foreman or principal clerk, or of the editor,
business or advertising manager, to which affidavit a copy
of the publication shall be attached, and by an affidavit
showing the deposit of a copy of the summons and order for
publication in the post office, postage prepaid, directed to
the defendant
by registered mail to his last known
74
address. In this regard, the Supreme Court declared that
as the rule is unqualified and prescribes the proof of service
by publication regardless of whether the defendant is a
resident of the Philippines or not, the requirement that a
copy of the summons and order of publication be mailed to
the defendant at his last known address must be followed
75
whether the defendant be a resident or nonresident.
o0o
_______________
72

Ibid.

73

Aramburo, et. al. vs. Court of Appeals, et. al., L50711, Nov. 17, 1980.

74

Rule 14, Sec. 21, Revised Rules of Court.

75

Pantaleon vs. Asuncion, L13141, May 22, 1959, 56 O. G. No. 37, p.

5745.
171

Copyright2016CentralBookSupply,Inc.Allrightsreserved.