Short answer. Generally no. Section 1 of Rule 5 makes MTC procedure the same as RTC procedure, except where a particular Rules provision expressly or impliedly applies only to one court level, or in civil cases governed instead by the Rule on Summary Procedure.
What the law says
The procedure in the Municipal Trial Courts shall be the same as in the Regional Trial Courts, except (a) where a particular provision expressly or impliedly applies only to either of said courts, or (b) in civil cases governed by the Rule on Summary Procedure.
Rule 5, Section 1 — Uniform procedure. Read the full provision →
The default: uniform procedure
Section 1 establishes that the procedure in the Municipal Trial Courts 'shall be the same as in the Regional Trial Courts.' This means a litigant appearing before a first-level court is generally operating under the same Rules of Civil Procedure — pleadings, motions, evidence, and the rest — as a litigant before the RTC, rather than a wholly separate procedural code tailored to the lower courts. This default matters because it means a litigant does not need to master an entirely separate body of procedural rules simply because a case happens to be filed at the first level rather than the regional level.
Exception one: provisions that target one court level
The uniformity is not absolute. Section 1 carves out cases 'where a particular provision expressly or impliedly applies only to either of said courts.' Some Rules provisions are, by their own terms or clear implication, written for RTC-level proceedings only (or MTC-level proceedings only), and in those instances the general uniformity yields to the more specific, targeted provision. Determining whether a given provision falls into this category requires looking at its own language and context, since the general default clause does not itself list which specific provisions are meant to apply to only one court level.
Exception two: cases under Summary Procedure
The second carve-out is broader in practical effect: civil cases 'governed by the Rule on Summary Procedure' are excluded from this uniform-procedure default. Many of the small claims, minor disputes, and specified case types that fall under first-level court jurisdiction are actually handled under a distinct, streamlined procedural framework rather than the ordinary Rules — meaning a litigant needs to check which framework their particular case falls under before assuming full RTC-style procedure applies. A litigant filing or defending a case in a Municipal Trial Court should therefore check at the outset whether Summary Procedure governs, since that determination changes which set of rules — and which timelines — actually applies to the case.