Guidelines in Taking of Depositions Before Philippine Consular Officers
1. The requesting counsel shall transmit the following documents to the Office of Treaties and Legal Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs (3/F, DFA Building, 2330 Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City), namely:
a. Letter addressed to the Assistant Secretary, Office of Treaties and Legal Affairs, requesting the Department’s assistance in taking the deposition and indicating:
- the proposed date and time for the taking of the deposition which should not be less than three (3) weeks from receipt by the Office of Treaties and Legal Affairs of the letter;
- the name and contact details of the deponent;
- the relevant contact details of the requesting counsel;
b. Order issued by the relevant trial court requesting the Department of Foreign Affairs to assist the requesting counsel in taking the deposition abroad;
c. Written interrogatories to be propounded to the deponent by the consular officer, if the deposition is to be conducted through written interrogatories. Annexes/exhibits, if any, must be attached, to be identified by the deponent.
N.B.: All of the above-listed documents should be submitted to the Office of Treaties and Legal Affairs before the Department could issue the appropriate request to the concerned Foreign Service Post.
2. The Office of Treaties and Legal Affairs shall transmit the written interrogatories to the Philippine foreign service post nearest the place of residence of the deponent and inform that Post of the proposed schedule for the deposition.
3. The Post shall comment on the acceptability of the proposed schedule of the deposition and indicate the name of the consular officer before whom the deposition will take place. This information shall be conveyed by the Office of Legal Affairs to the requesting counsel.
4. The requesting counsel shall coordinate directly with the deponent to ensure the latter’s attendance at the scheduled deposition. It shall be the sole responsibility of the requesting counsel to contact the deponent and arrange for his presence during the deposition.
5. After the deposition has been concluded and once the consular fees mandated by Department regulations are paid, the consular officer before whom the deposition is conducted will transmit the transcript of the deposition to the Office of Treaties and Legal Affairs.
6. Upon receipt of the transcript of the deposition, the Office of Treaties and Legal Affairs shall transmit the same directly to the relevant trial court.
7. For any queries on this matter, the requesting counsel may contact the Service of Processes and Litigation Division, Office of Treaties and Legal Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs at telephone numbers (632) 8343235 / 8343223 or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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