SECTION 22(21).

 Time of Receipt of Electronic Data Messages or Electronic

Documents. — Unless otherwise agreed between the originator and the addressee, the
time of receipt of an electronic data message or electronic document is as follows:

(a.) If the addressee has designated an information system for the purpose of receiving
electronic data messages or electronic documents, receipt occurs at the time when the
electronic data message or electronic document enters the designated information
system: Provided, however, That if the originator and the addressee are both
participants in the designated information system, receipt occurs at the time when the
electronic data message or electronic document is retrieved by the addressee.

(b.) If the electronic data message or electronic document is sent to an information

system of the addressee that is not the designated information system, receipt occurs
at the time when the electronic data message or electronic document is retrieved by the
addressee;

(c.) If the addressee has not designated an information system, receipt occurs when the
electronic data message or electronic document enters an information system of the
addressee.

These rules apply notwithstanding that the place where the information system is
located may be different from the place where the electronic data message or
electronic document is deemed to be received.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8792: Electronic Commerce Act

SUMMARY:

General Rule: Agreement of the parties as to the time of receipt

If there is no agreement:

1. If the addressee received it through his/her designated information system: time of

entry into the designated information system

PROVIDED, if the originator and the addressee are both participants in the
designated information system: time of retrieval by the addressee

2. If the addressee received it through an information system, which is not the designated
information system: time of retrieval of the electronic data message or electronic
document
3. If the addressee has no designated information system: time of entry into an information
system of the addressee
FILING OF PLEADINGS IN COURT THROUGH E-MAIL

RULE 13
FILING AND SERVICE OF PLEADINGS, JUDGMENTS AND OTHER PAPERS

Section 3. Manner of filing. — The filing of pleadings and other court submissions shall be made by:

(a) Submitting personally the original thereof, plainly indicated as such, to the court;

(b) Sending them by registered mail;

(c) Sending them by accredited courier; or

(d) Transmitting them by electronic mail or other electronic means as may be authorized by
the Court in places where the court is electronically equipped.

In the first case, the clerk of court shall endorse on the pleading the date and hour of filing. In the
second and third cases, the date of the mailing of motions, pleadings, and other court submissions,
and payments or deposits, as shown by the post office stamp on the envelope or the registry receipt,
shall be considered as the date of their filing, payment, or deposit in court. The envelope shall be
attached to the record of the case. In the fourth case, the date of electronic transmission shall be
considered as the date of filing.

Two New Modes of Filing and Service

 
Filing is the act of submitting required documents, such as pleadings and motions, to the court;
whereas service is the act of providing a copy of such documents to the other parties. The filing
and service of court submissions are governed by Rule 13 of the Rules of Court. Previously,
there were only two ways of filing and service: personal filing/service and via registered mail
using the Philippine postal system. 
 
Among other amendments, Rule 13 was substantially revised and now generally provides for
two additional ways of filing and service. These are (1) through accredited courier, and (2)
transmitting them by electronic means such as electronic mail and (in the case of service)
facsimile transmission. These modes of filing and service may be availed of by the parties to
the action, except in the case of initiatory pleadings (such as civil complaints) and initial
responsive pleadings (such as an Answer), which must still be served personally or through
registered mail.  

Filing/Service via Electronic Mail

 
The other new mode of filing and service now authorized under the amended Rules is through
electronic means — by electronic mail (“email”) or other electronic means in the case of filing, or
through electronic mail, facsimile transmission or other electronic means as may be authorized
by the trial court in the case of service.  
 
Filing by email or other electronic means may be authorized by the trial court in places where
the court is electronically equipped. The amended Rules do not define what these other
electronic means could be; this lack of particularity may eventually accommodate without need
of further amending the Rules an electronic filing system that the judiciary may eventually adopt.
In the meantime, it is plausible that filing or service of pleadings would primarily be coursed
through email, given the dwindling reliance on facsimile transmissions as a mode of
communication. 
 
In case of filing through email, the amended Rules states that it is the date when the email or
other electronic means was transmitted which is considered to be the date of filing. The
amended rule does not require the court’s acknowledgement of receipt in determining the date
of filing. Rather, all that is required is the actual sending as evidenced merely by the date of
transmission.
 
On the other hand, service by e-mail is conditioned on the parties concerned consenting to
service by electronic means and facsimile. Service by electronic means is either by sending an
email to the party’s or counsel’s email address, or through other electronic means of
transmission as the parties may agree on, or upon direction of the court. Electronic service is
deemed complete at the time of the electronic transmission of the document, or when available,
at the time that the electronic notification of service of the document is sent. The amended
Rules also provide that electronic service is not effective or complete if the party serving the
document learns that it did not reach the addressee or person to be served. 
 
As it is somewhat routine to change one’s email address, the amended Rules outline a
notification procedure if a party changes their email address while an action is pending. The
party must promptly file within five (5) calendar days from the change of electronic mail, a notice
of the said change with the court and serve a notice on all other parties. While the language of
the rule states that it is “a party who changes” their email address who must file the notification,
the same obligation must be presumed of the party’s counsel who changes their address, since
electronic notice to such counsel, if permitted, would also bind the party. 
 
As with filing and service through accredited courier, a separate affidavit is required in order to
prove the filing or service through electronic means. The affidavit is to be executed by the filing
or serving party. In the case of service, all that need be attached to the affidavit is printed proof
of transmittal. In the case of filing, the required attachments to the affidavit are different. In case
of filing by email, the affidavit is accompanied by either a paper copy of the pleading or
document transmitted, or a written or stamped acknowledgment of its filing by the clerk of
court. If the filing was through any other authorized electronic means other than email, the
affidavit is to be accompanied by a copy of the electronic acknowledgment of its filing by the
court.  
 
The amended Rules prescribe a format for the subject of the email (case number, case title, and
the pleading/document title), and for the title of the attached electronic document (it shall
contain sufficient information to ascertain the filing/serving parties, the nature of the paper, the
party or parties against whom relief is sought, and the nature of the relief). The amended Rules
though are silent as to the format of the attached electronic document itself, leaving
unanswered questions as whether the document should bear the image of the counsel’s written
signature (as would be the case if the attached document were physically scanned from a
physically signed copy), or if a Microsoft Word or Google Document file would suffice. Given that
filing and service through electronic means under the amended Rules is hardly mandatory and
would require the authorization or consent of the trial court and the parties, it may take several
years before we see clarifying jurisprudence or further rule changes that define the contours of
electronic filing and service.