Short answer. Only if the court authorizes it after the sheriff's failed attempt, and even then you serve together with the sheriff, not alone. If summons must be served outside the court's judicial region, the plaintiff is instead directly authorized to cause that service without needing separate court permission first.
What the law says
The summons may be served by the sheriff, his or her deputy, or other proper court officer, and in case of failure of service of summons by them, the court may authorize the plaintiff - to serve the summons - together with the sheriff. In cases where summons is to be served outside the judicial region of the court where the case is pending, the plaintiff shall be authorized to cause the service of summons.
Rule 14, Section 3 — By whom served. Read the full provision →
The default server
Ordinarily, summons is served by the sheriff, his or her deputy, or another proper court officer designated for that purpose. This is the baseline arrangement under the rule, reflecting that serving process is normally treated as an official act carried out by court personnel rather than left to the parties themselves to accomplish on their own initiative, given the obvious risk of self-interest if a party were simply free to serve summons on the opposing side.
When the plaintiff can step in after a failed attempt
If service by the sheriff or an equivalent officer fails on a first attempt, the rule allows the court to authorize the plaintiff to serve the summons together with the sheriff — not as a full substitute acting entirely alone, but jointly alongside the officer. This gives a case that has stalled on failed service a workable path forward without abandoning the official character of service altogether.
Extraterritorial-within-the-Philippines service
A separate scenario is addressed for summons that must be served outside the judicial region where the case is pending. There, the plaintiff is authorized to cause the service of summons directly, without waiting for a failed attempt first, reflecting the practical difficulty of relying on a local sheriff to reach and serve someone located in an entirely different judicial region of the country.
Safeguards against misuse of plaintiff-served summons
Because letting a plaintiff serve or cause service of summons creates an obvious risk of self-interested misrepresentation about whether service actually occurred, the same section imposes real consequences if a plaintiff falsely claims a defendant was served: the case is dismissed with prejudice, the proceedings are nullified, and the plaintiff faces appropriate sanctions. If summons instead comes back unserved on any defendant, the court orders the plaintiff to pursue other available means, and failing to comply leads to dismissal without prejudice.
Related provisions
- Rule 14, Section 3 — By whom served
- Rule 14, Section 2 — Contents
- Rule 14, Section 4 — Validity of summons and issuance of alias summons[.]