What pleadings should be verified?


● Except when otherwise specifically required by law or rule, pleadings need not be under oath, verified or accompanied by affidavit. Sec. 4, Rule 7, Rules of Court

● As a general rule, a pleading need not be verified, unless there is a law or rule specifically requiring the same. Examples of pleadings that require verification are: 

  1. all pleadings filed in civil cases under the 1991 Revised Rules on Summary Procedure; 
  2. petition for review from the Regional Trial Court to the Supreme Court raising only questions of law under Rule 41, Section 2; 
  3. petition for review of the decision of the Regional Trial Court to the Court of Appeals under Rule 42, Section 1; 
  4. petition for review from quasi-judicial bodies to the Court of Appeals under Rule 43, Section 5;
  5. petition for review before the Supreme Court under Rule 45, Section 1; 
  6. petition for annulment of judgments or final orders and resolutions under Rule 47, Section 4; 
  7. complaint for injunction under Rule 58, Section 4;
  8. application for preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order under Rule 58, Section 4; 
  9. application for appointment of a receiver under Rule 59, Section 1; 
  10. application for support pendente lite under Rule 61, Section 1; 
  11. petition for certiorari against the judgments, final orders or resolutions of constitutional commissions under Rule 64, Section 2; 
  12. petition for certiorari, prohibition, and mandamus under Rule 65, Sections 1 to 3;
  13. petition for quo warranto under Rule 66, Section 1; 
  14. complaint for expropriation under Rule 67, Section 1; 
  15. petition for indirect contempt under Rule 71, Section 4, all from the 1997 Rules of Court; 
  16. all complaints or petitions involving intra-corporate controversies under the Interim Rules of Procedure on Intra-Corporate Controversies; 
  17. complaint or petition for rehabilitation and suspension of payment under the Interim Rules on Corporate Rehabilitation; and 
  18. petition for declaration of absolute nullity of void marriages and annulment of voidable marriages as well as petition for summary proceedings under the Family Code. Vallacar Transit, Inc. vs Catubig, G.R. No. 175512, May 30, 2011

How is a pleading verified?


● A pleading is verified by an affidavit that the affiant has read the pleadings and that the allegations therein are true and correct of his personal knowledge or based on authentic records. Sec. 4, Rule 7, Rules of Court

● Verifications based on "information and belief," or upon "knowledge, information and belief," shall be deemed insufficient. Sec. 6, Rule 7, Rules of Court


Who should verify a pleading?


● The party does not need to sign the verification. A party’s representative, lawyer, or any person who personally knows the truth of the facts alleged in the pleading may sign the verification. Cebu Metro Pharmacy, Inc. vs. Euro-Med Laboratories, G.R. No. 164757, October 18, 2010

● Verification is deemed substantially complied with when one who has ample knowledge to swear to the truth of the allegations in the complaint or petition signs the verification, and when matters alleged in the petition have been made in good faith or are true and correct.  Fernandez vs. Villegas, G.R. No. 200191, August 20, 2014 


What is the effect of non-compliance with the requirements on or submission of a defective verification?


● As amended, said Section 4 now states:
SEC. 4. Verification. Except when otherwise specifically required by law or rule, pleadings need not be under oath, verified or accompanied by affidavit.
A pleading is verified by an affidavit that the affiant has read the pleading and that the allegations therein are true and correct of his personal knowledge or based on authentic records.
Clearly, the amendment was introduced in order to make the verification requirement stricter, such that the party cannot now merely state under oath that he believes the statements made in the pleading. He cannot even merely state under oath that he has knowledge that such statements are true and correct. His knowledge must be specifically alleged under oath to be either personal knowledge or at least based on authentic records.

Unlike, however, the requirement for a Certification against Forum Shopping in Section 5, wherein failure to comply with the requirements is not curable by amendment of the complaint or other initiatory pleading, Section 4 of Rule 7, as amended, states that the effect of the failure to properly verify a pleading is that the pleading shall be treated as unsigned:
A pleading required to be verified which contains a verification based on information and belief, or upon knowledge, information and belief, or lacks a proper verification, shall be treated as an unsigned pleading.
Unsigned pleadings are discussed in the immediately preceding section of Rule 7:
SEC. 3. Signature and address. x x x.
x x x x
An unsigned pleading produces no legal effect. However, the court may, in its discretion, allow such deficiency to be remedied if it shall appear that the same was due to mere inadvertence and not intended for delay. Counsel who deliberately files an unsigned pleading, or signs a pleading in violation of this Rule, or alleges scandalous or indecent matter therein, or fails to promptly report to the court a change of his address, shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action. 
A pleading, therefore, wherein the Verification is merely based on the party's knowledge and belief produces no legal effect, subject to the discretion of the court to allow the deficiency to be remedied. Negros Oriental Planters Association vs. Presiding Judge, G.R. No. 179878, December 24, 2008

● Non-compliance therewith or a defect therein does not necessarily render the pleading fatally defective. The court may order its submission or correction or act on the pleading if the attending circumstances are such that strict compliance with the Rule may be dispensed with in order that the ends of justice may be served thereby. Fernandez vs. Villegas, G.R. No. 200191, August 20, 2014

● Verification of a pleading is only a formal, not a jurisdictional requirement intended to secure the assurance that the matters alleged in a pleading are true and correct. Therefore, the courts may simply order the correction of the pleadings or act on them and waive strict compliance with the rules. Fernandez vs. Villegas, ibid.