"The Verification attached to the Petition lacks specific attestations
Rule 7, Section 4 of the Rules of Court, as amended, requires that the verification accompanying a pleading contain the following attestations:
(a) The allegations in the pleading are true and correct based on his personal knowledge, or based on authentic documents;
(b) The pleading is not filed to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of litigation; and
(c) The factual allegations therein have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likewise have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for discovery.61
A pleading required to be verified but supported by a verification based merely on "information and belief," or on "knowledge, information and belief," or otherwise lacking a proper verification, shall be treated as an unsigned pleading.62
In this case, the Court notes that the Verification attached to the Petition is defective for failure to include the attestations that the pleading is not filed to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of litigation, and that the factual allegations therein have evidentiary support.
Nevertheless, in Quitalig v. Quitalig,63 the Court clarified that a defective verification does not ipso facto render a pleading fatally defective. The Court may direct the submission or correction of the verification, or proceed to act on the pleading, where the attending circumstances warrant a relaxation of the Rule in the interest of substantial justice.64 A verification is deemed to be in substantial compliance when it is executed by a party with sufficient knowledge to attest to the truth of the allegations, and when such allegations are made in good faith and are true and correct.65
Here, substantial compliance with the verification requirement is evident. The Verification attached to the Petition contains most of the attestations mandated by Rule 7, Section 4 of the Rules of Court, and sufficiently affirms the truthfulness of the allegations based on the authentic records. Moreover, there is no showing that the Petition was filed to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of litigation. Neither does the record suggest that the matters alleged therein were made in bad faith. In these circumstances, strict adherence to the formal requirements of verification may be dispensed with in favor of a just and equitable resolution of the case."
G.R. No. 276986, February 03, 2026
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, PETITIONER,
vs.
MA. THERESA RAMORAN-WONG AND VINCENT L. WONG,
https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2026/feb2026/gr_276986_2026.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
