Short answer. Yes. Rule 8, Section 12 of the Rules of Court lists lack of jurisdiction over the person of the defending party as one of the specific affirmative defenses you must raise in your answer — distinct from subject-matter jurisdiction, which is not among the grounds this section names.
What the law says
That the court has no jurisdiction over the person of the defending party
Rule 8, Section 12 — Affirmative defenses. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Failure to raise the affirmative defenses at the earliest opportunity shall constitute a waiver thereof.
Rule 8, Section 12 — Affirmative defenses. Read the full provision →
What the law says
The court shall motu proprio resolve the above affirmative defenses within thirty calendar days from the filing of the answer.
Rule 8, Section 12 — Affirmative defenses. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Affirmative defenses, if denied, shall not be the subject of a motion for reconsideration or petition for certiorari, prohibition or mandamus, but may be among the matters to be raised on appeal after a judgment on the merits.
Rule 8, Section 12 — Affirmative defenses. Read the full provision →
Personal jurisdiction is a listed affirmative defense
Rule 8, Section 12(a) requires a defendant to raise affirmative defenses in the answer, and names that the court has no jurisdiction over the person of the defending party as the first of five specific grounds. This is exactly the argument you are describing — that the court never validly acquired jurisdiction over you personally — and the rule requires that it be raised as an affirmative defense in your answer, not left for later.
Raise it now, or waive it
Section 12(b) provides that failure to raise the affirmative defenses at the earliest opportunity shall constitute a waiver thereof. Because lack of jurisdiction over your person is one of the listed affirmative defenses, this waiver rule applies to it directly — if you do not raise it in your answer, at the earliest opportunity available to you, you risk losing the ability to raise it later in the case.
How the court resolves this defense
Section 12(c) requires the court to motu proprio resolve the above affirmative defenses within thirty calendar days from the filing of the answer. The five grounds this covers — including lack of jurisdiction over your person, improper venue, the plaintiff's lack of legal capacity to sue, failure to state a cause of action, and non-compliance with a condition precedent — are meant to be resolved by the court on its own initiative within that specific window.
If the defense is denied
Section 12(e) states that affirmative defenses, if denied, shall not be the subject of a motion for reconsideration or petition for certiorari, prohibition or mandamus, but may be among the matters to be raised on appeal after a judgment on the merits. So if the court denies your jurisdiction-over-the-person defense, the rule channels your recourse toward a later appeal rather than an immediate separate challenge to that specific ruling.