Does a deposition taken within the Philippines have to be taken before a judge, or can it be done before a notary public instead?

Three types of officers authorized to take depositions

The rule identifies who exactly may preside over the taking of a deposition within the Philippines, and that group is genuinely not limited to judges alone. Depositions may be taken before any judge, notary public, or the person referred to in the specific section of this Rule that separately addresses that alternative category of authorized officers. This enumeration is exhaustive for depositions taken domestically — a deposition presided over by someone outside these three categories would not satisfy Section 10, regardless of how qualified that person might otherwise be to administer an oath.

Why a notary public is included alongside judges

Including a notary public as one of the authorized officers broadens practical access to deposition-taking quite considerably, since notaries public are far more numerous and generally far more geographically accessible throughout the country than judges typically are. A party is therefore not required to specifically arrange for a judge's own personal presence simply to have a valid deposition taken somewhere within the Philippines.

The third, separately defined category

Beyond judges and notaries public, the rule also separately permits depositions to be taken before the person referred to in a distinct section of this same Rule dealing with other persons authorized to administer oaths — an additional category the Rule defines further elsewhere, extending the overall pool of authorized officers considerably beyond just those first two familiar options. Rather than listing out every possible qualifying person directly within Section 10 itself, the provision instead cross-references that separate section, so the full scope of who may qualify under this third category has to be determined by consulting that other portion of the Rule rather than Section 10 alone.

The domestic-versus-foreign distinction

This particular provision is specifically framed around depositions taken within the Philippines itself. Depositions taken instead in foreign countries are addressed separately by a different provision of this Rule, reflecting the reality that the persons appropriately authorized to preside over a deposition genuinely differ depending on whether that deposition is being taken domestically or instead somewhere abroad. A party planning to take a deposition therefore needs to know at the outset where the deposition will actually occur, since that single fact determines which provision of the Rule — and which list of authorized officers — governs who may validly preside over it.

Related provisions

• Rule 23, Section 10 — Persons before whom depositions may be taken within the Philippines
• Rule 23, Section 9 — Rebutting deposition
• Rule 23, Section 11 — Persons before whom depositions may be taken in foreign countries