Short answer. Yes. Rule 24 lets a person who expects to be a party to an action but is presently unable to bring it perpetuate testimony — their own or another's — by filing a verified petition in the court of the place of the residence of any expected adverse party, asking for an order authorizing depositions.
What the law says
A person who desires to perpetuate his or her own testimony or that of another person regarding any matter that may be cognizable in any court of the Philippines, may file a verified petition in the court of the place of the residence of any expected adverse party.
Rule 24, Section 1 — Depositions before action; petition. Read the full provision →
What the law says
that the petitioner expects to be a party to an action in a court of the Philippines but is presently unable to bring it or cause it to be brought
Rule 24, Section 2 — Contents of petition. Read the full provision →
Perpetuation: evidence before there is a case
The Rules do not force you to watch crucial testimony die with the witness while your case is still unready. Rule 24 exists for A person who desires to perpetuate his or her own testimony or that of another person regarding any matter that may be cognizable in any court of the Philippines. Perpetuating means taking the testimony now, in the form of a deposition authorized by a court, so that it exists whatever happens to the witness between today and the day the expected case is actually filed.
Where the petition is filed, and what it must be
The vehicle is a verified petition in the court of the place of the residence of any expected adverse party. Verified means sworn — the petition's allegations are made under oath. And the venue rule is precise: not where you live, and not where the witness lies ill, but where an expected adverse party resides. That choice makes sense once you see the point — the future opponent is the person entitled to be heard about whether, and how, testimony that may one day be used against them gets preserved.
The five things the petition must show
Section 2 lists what the petition must show: that the petitioner expects to be a party to an action in a court of the Philippines but is presently unable to bring it or cause it to be brought; the subject matter of the expected action and his or her interest therein; the facts which he or she desires to establish by the proposed testimony and his or her reasons for desiring to perpetuate it; the names or a description of the expected adverse parties with their addresses so far as known; and the names and addresses of the persons to be examined, with the substance of the testimony which he or she expects to elicit from each. It closes by asking for an order authorizing the depositions.
Why move now
The petition is where honesty about your position pays. The Rule assumes a real, expected case you presently cannot file — perhaps a missing party, an unfinished condition, a claim not yet ripe — and a real reason to fear the testimony will be lost. If your witness is elderly or seriously ill, that is precisely the situation the mechanism exists for, and delay is the one mistake the Rule cannot cure. Gather what the petition needs — the expected claim, the opponents' identities, what each witness will say — and act while the witness can still speak.