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Cynthia Logarta and Teresa Tormis were the daughters of Luis Regner in his first marriage with

Anicita Regner. Victoria Regner is the second wife of Luis.

In 1999, Victoria alleged that Cynthia and Teresa with the help of another sibling defrauded Luis,

who was then very ill and was unable to write, into placing his thumbmark into a eed of onation.

In said Deed, Luis purportedly donated a Proprietary Ownership Certificate pertaining to membership

shares in the Cebu Country Club. ictoria alleged that said Deed is !oid because the placing of

thumbmar" by Luis was done without the latter#s free will and !oluntariness considering his physical

state$ that it was done without Luis#s lawyer$ that the ratification made by Luis before he died is li"ewise

!oid because of similar circumstances.

In the same year, Victoria filed a complaint to annul said deed with the RTC of Cebu. The sheriff

could not deliver the summonses against Cynthia and Teresa because apparently, although they are

!ilipinos, they are not residing here" they are residing in California . It was only in the year %&&& that

one of the summonses was ser!ed to one of the sisters, 'eresa, when she came bac" to the Philippines.

Teresa immediately filed a motion to dismiss on the ground that Victoria failed to prosecute her

case for an unreasonable length of time . (aturally, ictoria opposed the )'D. 'eresa, in her re*oinder,

alleged that the case should be dismissed because Cynthia, who is an indispensable party, was not

issued any summons, hence, since an indispensable party is not ser!ed with summons, without her who

has such an interest in the contro!ersy or sub*ect matter there can be no proper determination of the case.'he trial court ruled in fa!or of 'eresa$ this was affirmed by the Court of +ppeals.

I-/ 0hether or not the dismissal of ictoria#s complaint is correct.

#$L% &es. The 'upreme Court agreed with the arguments presented by Teresa . 'he upreme

Court also emphasied/

There are generally two types of actions% actions in rem and actions in personam. An action in

personam is an action against a person on the basis of his personal liability, while an action in rem

is an action against the thing itself, instead of against the person.

'he certificate, sub*ect of the donation, is a personal property. The action filed by Victoria is therefore a

personal action. o in order for the court to ac2uire *urisdiction o!er the respondents, summons must be

ser!ed upon them. !urther, the certificate is indivisible, Cynthia(s and Teresa(s interests thereto can

only be determined if both are summoned in court.

In personal actions, if the respondents are residents of the Philippines, they may be ser!ed summons in

the following order/

1. Personal er!ice$

%. If 314 is not possible, ubstituted er!ice$

5. If respondent can#t be found because he is abroad but still a resident of the Philippines, by

publication with lea!e of court.

In personal actions still, if the respondents are non6residents, they may be ser!ed summons in thefollowing manner/

1. Personal ser!ice through the Philippine embassy$

%. 7y publication in a newspaper of general circulation in such places and for such time as the court

may order, in which case a copy of the summons and order of the court should be sent by registered mail

to the last "nown address of the defendant$ or

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5. in any other manner which the court may deem sufficient.

'he abo!e must be with lea!e of court.

)n the case at bar, Cynthia was never served any summons in any of the manners authori*ed by the

Rules of Court. The summons served to Teresa cannot bind Cynthia. It is incumbent upon ictoria to

compel the court to authorie the e8traterritorial ser!ice of summons against Cynthia. er failure to do sofor a long period of time constitutes a failure to prosecute on her part.

What if the petition is an action in rem? What are the applicable rules?

)f the action is in rem or +uasi in rem, urisdiction over the person of the defendant is not essential

for giving the court urisdiction so long as the court ac+uires urisdiction over the res. If the

defendant is a nonresident and he is not found in the country, summons may be ser!ed e8traterritorially in

the following instances/

1. when the action affects the personal status of the plaintiff$

%. when the action relates to, or the sub*ect of which is property within the Philippines, on which thedefendant claims a lien or an interest, actual or contingent$

5. when the relief demanded in such action consists, wholly or in part, in e8cluding the defendant

from any interest in property located in the Philippines$ and

:. when the defendant non6resident#s property has been attached within the Philippines.

In the abo!e instances, summons may be effected by/

1. personal ser!ice out of the country, with lea!e of court$

%. publication, also with lea!e of court$ or

5. any other manner the court may deem sufficient.