Short answer. Yes. The rule requires the affiant's authority to act for the party — whether a secretary's certificate or a special power of attorney — to be attached to the pleading. It is not enough that the officer in fact had authority; the proof of it must accompany the filing.
What the law says
The authorization of the affiant to act on behalf of a party, whether in the form of a secretary's certificate or a special power of attorney, should be attached to the pleading.
Rule 7, Section 5 — Certification against forum shopping. Read the full provision →
The requirement, in its own words
The certification against forum shopping must be executed by the plaintiff or principal party. A corporation cannot swear to anything itself, so it acts through a person — and the rule addresses that directly: the authorization of the affiant to act on behalf of a party, whether in the form of a secretary's certificate or a special power of attorney, should be attached to the pleading. The document proving authority travels with the pleading; it is not something held in reserve.
Why the attachment matters so much
The consequence of non-compliance is severe and, unusually, cannot be patched up. Failure to comply with the certification requirements is not curable by mere amendment of the complaint or other initiatory pleading, but is cause for the dismissal of the case without prejudice, upon motion and after hearing. Without prejudice means you may refile, but a dismissal still costs you time and fees, and it can be fatal where a prescriptive period is closing in behind you.
What the signing officer is certifying
The authority document is separate from the substance of the certification. The affiant still swears that no action or claim involving the same issues has been commenced or is pending elsewhere, gives a complete statement of the status of any such pending matter, and undertakes to report any similar action learned of later. Those statements are the affiant's own, made under oath, which is precisely why the corporation's grant of authority to make them has to be on the record.
Practical points for a corporate filing
Have the board or the appropriate officer authorise the specific filing, not filings in general, and see that the secretary's certificate names the case and the signatory. Attach it to the initiatory pleading itself. If a special power of attorney is used instead, the same logic applies. A false certification or non-compliance with the undertakings in it constitutes indirect contempt of court, so this is not a formality to delegate and forget.
What the requirement does not reach
The attachment requirement concerns the affiant's authority, not the merits of the case, and supplying it proves nothing about whether forum shopping occurred. Equally, a properly attached secretary's certificate does not immunise a false certification: the rule treats a false certification, or non-compliance with the undertakings in it, as indirect contempt of court, without prejudice to the corresponding administrative and criminal actions. The document establishes that the corporation authorised the person to swear; the truthfulness of what is sworn remains the affiant's own responsibility.