Short answer. You file a verified petition for review with the Court of Appeals within fifteen days from notice of the RTC decision or of the denial of a timely motion for new trial or reconsideration, paying the docket fees and a P500.00 deposit for costs, and serving copies on the RTC and the other party.
What the law says
may file a verified petition for review with the Court of Appeals, paying at the same time to the clerk of said court the corresponding docket and other lawful fees, depositing the amount of P500.00 for costs, and furnishing the Regional Trial Court and the adverse party with a copy of the petition
Rule 42, Section 1 — How appeal taken; time for filing. Read the full provision →
What the law says
No further extension shall be granted except for the most compelling reason and in no case to exceed fifteen days.
Rule 42, Section 1 — How appeal taken; time for filing. Read the full provision →
When this is your route
Rule 42 governs one specific situation: the Regional Trial Court decided your case in the exercise of its appellate jurisdiction — that is, the case began in a first-level court, you appealed to the RTC, and the RTC has now ruled. This is your second loss, and the way up is not another ordinary appeal but a verified petition for review filed directly with the Court of Appeals. A decision the RTC rendered as the court of origin travels by a different mode entirely, so the first thing to confirm is which capacity the RTC was acting in.
The fifteen-day window
The petition must be filed and served within fifteen days from notice of the decision sought to be reviewed, or of the denial of a motion for new trial or reconsideration that was itself filed on time. One extension is available, but it must be earned before the original period runs out: upon proper motion, with the full docket fees paid and the deposit for costs made before the period expires, the Court of Appeals may grant an additional fifteen days. Beyond that, the rule closes hard: no further extension shall be granted except for the most compelling reason and in no case to exceed fifteen days.
Fees, deposit and copies
Filing is not just lodging a document. At the same time you file, you pay the clerk of the Court of Appeals the docket and other lawful fees and deposit P500.00 for costs — and you furnish both the Regional Trial Court and the adverse party with a copy of the petition. Each element sits in the rule itself, and treating any of them as an afterthought puts the petition at risk. The petition must also be verified, meaning it is sworn to, not merely signed.
Why the mode of appeal matters so much
Choosing the wrong vehicle is one of the costliest mistakes in Philippine appellate practice: an appeal brought to the Court of Appeals by the wrong mode is dismissed, not converted, and by the time the dismissal arrives the period for doing it correctly has usually lapsed. So before drafting anything, settle the two threshold questions — was the RTC acting in its appellate jurisdiction, and when did notice of the decision or of the denial of reconsideration actually arrive. Those two answers fix the mode and the deadline, and everything else follows from them.