III.

PREPARATION OF THE COMPLAINT

A. BASIC CONCEPTS

1. What is a complaint?
2. What is an initiatory pleading?

B. FORM AND STYLE ( see Efficient Use of Paper Rule)

1. What is the size of the paper to be used in your complaint?

2. What are the required margins?
3. What is the spacing between two sentences in your
complaint? Two paragraphs?
4. What is the required font and font size?

C. PARTS OF A COMPLAINT (Rule 7)

1. Caption

a. What is the purpose of the caption?

b. What are included in the caption of a pleading?

2. Body

a. What are found in the body of the complaint?

b. Of what significance are the allegations in the complaint?
c. Aside from the ultimate facts, what must be alleged in the
Complaint as provided under the 2019 Amendments to the
1997 Rules on Civil Procedure? What is the effect if these
are not alleged in the Complaint?

3. Relief/Prayer

a. What is the significance of the Relief insofar as kinds of

actions are concerned?
b. What is subsumed in the prayer for general relief?
c. Does the inclusion of a general prayer allow the grant of
relief that was not raised nor proven? (Gonzaga vs. CA,
October 18, 2004)

4. Date

What is the significance of the date of a complaint? of any

pleading?

5. Signature of the lawyer

 a. State ALL the details that must be included in the
signature of the lawyer?
b. What does a lawyer certify when he signs a plending?
c. What are the sanctions for violations of this rule on the
signature and address of a lawyer
d. How may the violations be determined?
e. What is the effect if the lawyer did not sign a pleading?

6. Verification

a. What is a verification?
b. Who may execute a Verification?
c. Write a Verification.
d. When may a lawyer sign the verification?
e. What is required if it is not the party who signs the
verification?
f. What is the effect if the complaint did not have a
Verification?
g. What is the effect if the verification is defective?
(Cordillera Global Network et al. vs. Sec. Paje et al.
G.R. 215988 April 10, 2019)
h. What will happen if some of the plaintiffs failed to sign
the verification?

7. Certification against forum-shopping

a. What is a Certification against forum-shopping?

b. Who may execute a Certification against forum-
shopping?
c. Is a Certification against forum-shopping part of the
pleading?
d. What is forum-shopping?
e. What are the three forms of forum-shopping?
f. Write a Certification Against Forum-Shopping.
g. When may the lawyer sign the Certification Against
Forum Shopping?
h. What is the effect of the absence of, or a defect in, the
Certification against Forum-shopping?
i. Give the differences between Verification and
Certification Against Forum Shopping.
(Cordillera Global Network et al. vs. Sec. Paje et al.
G.R. 215988 April 10, 2019)

j. Will the failure of some of the plaintiffs to sign the

Certification against forum-shopping cause the dismissal
of the action?
k. What are the possible sanctions for the attachment of a
false certification?
 l. What are the possible sanctions if the plaintiff
knowingly engages in forum-shopping?

8. Documentary and Object Evidence, Witnesses and

summaries of their testimonies

Why are these required to be attached to the pleadings under

the 2019 amendments?

9. Attachments

a. What are required to be attached to the Complainant

under the amended rules.
b. Get the salient points of the Judicial Affidavit Rule

i. What is a Judicial Affidavit?

ii. What is the function of a Judicial Affidavit?
iii. When must it be submitted?
iv. What are the effects of the non-submission of
judicial affidavits?

D. MANNER OF MAKING ALLEGATIONS ( Rule 8)

applicable to all pleadings, including the Answer

1. What must be stated in the pleadings? In what form must

these be stated in the pleading?
2. What is an ultimate fact?
3. What are alternative causes of actions and defenses?
4. What are the different kinds of averments that may be made
in a pleading?
5. How do you allege:
a. Condition precedent
b. Capacity
c. Fraud, mistake, condition of the mind
d. Judgment
e. Document which is the basis of a enuse of action or
defense
f. Official document or act

6. How may a denial be made?

7. What is the effect of a general denial?
8. How may a specific denial be made?
9. What is the effect if an allegation is not specifically denied?
10.How do you deny an actionable document? (Sec. 7. Rule 8)
11.What is the effect if you do not deny an actionable document
properly?