The Revised Rules of Procedure for Small Claims Cases
The OCA Circular No. 37-2016, effective February 1, 2016, announces the implementation of revised procedures for small claims cases in the Philippines. It temporarily suspends the use of the Small Claims Cases Monitoring System (SC2MS) due to reporting inconsistencies and mandates judges and clerks to submit quarterly reports using a new template via email or physical delivery. These reports are due by the 10th of the month following each quarter, starting with cases filed or decided from January 2016. The new template requires detailed court and case information, ensuring systematic tracking of small claims cases across first-level courts. Compliance with these guidelines is required to improve case management and reporting efficiency.
January 29, 2016
OCA CIRCULAR NO. 37-2016
| TO | : | All Executive Judges, Presiding Judges, Clerks of Court, and Branch Clerks of Court of the First Level Courts Except Shari'a Circuit Courts |
| SUBJECT | : | The Revised Rules of Procedure for Small Claims Cases |
In view of the effectivity of the Revised Rules of Procedure for Small Claims Cases on 1 February 2016 pursuant to the Resolution dated 8 December 2015 of the Court en banc in A.M. No. 08-8-7-SC, and the irregular and erratic submission of reports on small claims cases, the reporting of small claims cases using the Small Claims Cases Monitoring System (SC2MS) is temporarily suspended. Pending update of the SC2MS, all concerned judges and clerks of court are directed to send soft copies of their quarterly reports on small claims cases using the attached template (downloadable from the Supreme Court website), through either:
1. electronic mail: [email protected], or
2. by post or courier (using a CD or USB) to:
RE: SC2MS — SMALL CLAIMS CASES
These quarterly reports are due on or before the tenth (10th) of the month following every quarter:
| Quarterly Periods | Due date (on or before) |
| January to March | 10th of April |
| April to June | 10th of July |
| July to September | 10th of October |
| October to December | 10th of January |
All pending and decided cases starting from January 2016 shall be included in the first quarterly report. CAIHTE
For your information and strict compliance.
(SGD.) JOSE MIDAS P. MARQUEZCourt Administrator
ATTACHMENT
Guidelines in Filling-Out the New Quarterly Docket Inventory of Small Claims Cases
Upon the effectivity of the Revised Rules of Procedure for Small Claims Cases on 01 February 2016, all first level courts (METCs, MTCCs, MTCs and MCTCs) will be using the attached new template/form (OpenOffice Spreadsheet file) of the Docket Inventory of Small Claims Cases in the quarterly submission of reports beginning in the First Quarter (January-March 2016), pending the development of the enhanced/updated version of the Small Claims Case Monitoring System (SC2MS).
The new template requires the following information:
I. Court Information
This contains information about the court user by selecting from the dropdown menus:
a. Type of Court
b. Judicial Region
c. Province
d. City/Municipality
e. Court Branch
II. Date of Report
This contains the date submitted and the contact information of the court user:
a. Reporting Year — Choose the year from the dropdown menu.
b. Date of Submission — Enter the actual date the report was submitted.
c. Prepared by — Name of the Branch Clerk of Court/Clerk-in-Charge who prepared the report.
d. Email Address — Enter the official email address of the court user.
e. Contact Numbers — Enter the court's contact number/s (cellular and/or landline).
f. Approved by — Enter the name of the Presiding/Acting Presiding Judge who handles the small claims case/s.
III. Case Information
This contains information of all the small cases filed and pending in court. The data entered is automatically sent and counted in the "Statistics" Folder for monitoring purposes:
a. Date Filed — Format of the date column is Month-Day-Year. User can input 01/01/16 or 1-1-16 for January 1, 2016. SDAaTC
b. Filing Month — The actual filing month is created automatically after the Date Filed is entered.
c. Filing Year — The actual filing year is created automatically after the Date Filed is entered.
d. Counter — Automatically counts for every case entry after the Case Number is entered. Only one (1) case per line entry is allowed (Using more than one line entry per case will be counted as another case)
e. Case Number — Enter the docket number of the case. The Counter will automatically count the case after encoded.
f. Case Title — Enter the title of the case.
g. Nature of Claim — The court user can select the nature of the case from the following dropdown menus: Enforcement of Barangay Amicable Settlement, Liquidated Damages arising from contracts, Sum of Money from Contracts of Lease, Loan, Mortgage, Sale or Services.
h. Amount of Claim — Enter amount of claim from Php1 to Php200,000.00. This column has validation, thus, court user can enter values between 1-200,000 only.
i. Classification of Plaintiff — The court user can select classification from the following dropdown menus: Individual engaged in lending, Other individuals, Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Corporation engaged in banking/lending, and Other corporation.
j. Classification of Defendant — The court user can select classification from the following dropdown menus: Individual engaged in lending, Other individuals, Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Corporation engaged in banking/lending, and Other corporation.
k. Date Raffled — The date must be on or after the Date Filed.
l. Date Summons Issued — The date must be on or after the Date Filed.
m. Date of Service of Summons — The date must be on or after the Date Filed.
n. Date of Last Hearing — Only the latest date of hearing is entered. Other dates of hearing must be entered in the Remarks. The date must be on or after the Date Filed.
o. Date of Disposition — The date must be on or after the Date Filed.
p. Date of Writ of Execution — The date must be on or after the Date of Disposition.
q. Date of Satisfaction of Judgment — The date must be on or after the Date of Disposition.
r. Manner of Disposition — Select the manner of disposition from the following dropdown menus: Amicable Settlement, Case Redocketed, Case Transferred/Judge Inhibited, Decision on the merits granting plaintiff's claim in full, Decision on the merits granting plaintiff's claim in part, Decision on the merits granting defendant's counterclaim in full, Decision on the merits granting defendant's counterclaim in part, Decision on the merits granting claim and counterclaim in full/part, Outright Dismissal with prejudice, Outright Dismissal without prejudice.
s. Remarks — This is the catch-all entry for other relevant case information, such as the previous/future hearing dates, etc.
• User has limited access to the new template. The columns and rows cannot be deleted and formatting is restricted. The user can remove/erase the entries by pressing the "Backspace Key" and NOT the Delete key.
• Installer of Open Office version 4.1.1 is available in the CD provided during the training. The template must be viewed and edited using Open Office version 4.1.1.
• Telephone inquiries shall be received at CMO — (02) 404-2731
Quarterly Docket Inventory of Small Claims Cases