“‹The Supreme Court has increased the limit of small claims cases that can be filed before the Metropolitan Trial Courts from P300,000.00 to P400,000.00, starting April 1, 2019.
This came after the SC en banc approved the recommendation made by the Office of the Court Administrator and Associate Justice Diosdado M. Peralta, chairman of the Special Committee on Small Claims Cases, to streamline and harmonize the rules of procedure for money claims filed before all first level courts.
In 2010, the SC authorized the implementation of the Rule of Procedure for Small Claims Cases to all first level courts in the country for money claims amounting to not more than P100,000.
The limit was raised to P200,000 in 2015 and to P300,000 last year.
“The reform also decreases cost on the part of the claimant by approximately 20 percent, since attorney’s fees are no longer necessary given that lawyers are not allowed to represent a party in small claims cases,” the SC said, in a statement.
The new move by the SC would “result in the speedier and more efficient resolution of money claims cases, as well as help increase the country’s score in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report,” Associate Justice Peralta said.
According to the SC Public Information Office, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez hoped the move “will benefit small entrepreneurs using the court system” and lead to a higher ranking for the Philippines in the World Bank Doing Business Survey.
Under the Revised Rules of Procedure for Small Claims Cases, courts are mandated to resolve a case within 30 days from the day the statement of claim was filed.
Peralta said he “believes that applying the Revised Rules of Procedure for Small Claims Cases in all money claims filed before the Metropolitan Trial Courts will increase the country’s score in next year’s report.”
He added that “the increase is in accord with the four-point agenda of Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin for the Judiciary, to make our rules more efficient, effective and responsive to the needs of the court users.”
In his message to the SC, the DTI secretary said: “The SC’s swift action to increase the threshold for small claims in the Metropolitan Trial Courts in Metro Manila will significantly reduce the number of days for trial and judgment under the DB Enforcing Contracts indicator.”
“This reform is one of the initiatives of the government to promote Ease of Doing Business. The DTI is optimistic that the strong partnership between the Executive and the Judicial branches of government will bring positive results. We look forward to working with the Supreme Court to improve the quality of judicial processes index, particularly in the area of court automation and case management,” Lopez stressed.
