A collection suit is considered as an ordinary civil action which shall be prosecuted under the Revised

Rules of Civil Procedure, where the value of the claim exceeds Three hundred thousand pesos (P300,
000.00) but does not exceed Four hundred thousand pesos (P400, 000.00).

On the other hand, Small claims cases are civil claims which are exclusively for the payment or
reimbursement of a sum of money where the value of the claim does not exceed Four Hundred
Thousand Pesos (P400,000.00) exclusive of interest and costs, for Metropolitan Trial Courts (MeTCs)
Three Hundred Thousan Pesos (P300,000.00), exclusive of interest and costs, for Municipal Trial Courts
(MTCs), Municipal Trial Courts in Cities (MTCCs), and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts (MCTCs):

(a) For money owned under any of the following:

b. Contract of Loan;

In the recent cases of Philippine Airlines, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals and Roman Catholic Bishop of
Malolos, Inc. vs. Intermediate Appellate Court, the Court held that: "A check, whether a manager's check
or ordinary check, is not legal tender, and an offer of a check in payment of a debt is not a valid tender
of payment and may be refused receipt by the obligee or creditor." In the given case, B is still in debt to
A as there was no encashment of check happened; and because of this, a simple loan or mutuum arises.
Under Article 1953 of the NCC, a person who receives a loan of money or any other fungible thing
acquires the ownership thereof, and is bound to pay the creditor an equal amount of the same kind and
quality.

Therefore, A may file either collection of money or small claims case against B, depending on the
amount of payment to be collected by the former.