Short answer. With the appellate court. Rule 70, Section 19 requires the defendant to deposit the rent due under the contract with the appellate court as determined by the Municipal Trial Court's judgment; where there is no contract, the deposit goes to the Regional Trial Court on or before the tenth day of each month.
What the law says
he deposits with the appellate court the amount of rent due from time to time under the contract, if any, as determined by the judgment of the Municipal Trial Court
Rule 70, Section 19 — Immediate execution of judgment; how to stay same. Read the full provision →
What the law says
In the absence of a contract, he shall deposit with the Regional Trial Court the reasonable value of the use and occupation of the premises for the preceding month or period at the rate determined by the judgment of the lower court on or before the tenth day of each succeeding month or period.
Rule 70, Section 19 — Immediate execution of judgment; how to stay same. Read the full provision →
Two situations, two measures
Section 19 splits the deposit obligation according to whether a contract fixed the rent. Where there is one, the defendant deposits the amount of rent due from time to time under the contract, if any, as determined by the judgment of the Municipal Trial Court. Where there is none, the measure changes to the reasonable value of the use and occupation of the premises, at the rate the lower court's judgment determined. In both cases the figure comes from the judgment, not from the defendant's own assessment of what the place is worth.
The tenth-day deadline
For the no-contract situation the section is explicit about timing: the deposit is made on or before the tenth day of each succeeding month or period, covering the preceding month or period. That is a hard date written into the rule itself. Nothing in the section makes the obligation depend on a reminder from the court or a demand from the plaintiff, so a defendant who waits to be asked is already exposed. Treat the tenth as the operative deadline and keep the official receipt for each deposit.
What happens to the money
The deposits are not paid over to the landlord as they come in. The section provides that all amounts paid to the appellate court are deposited with that court or an authorised government depositary bank and held there until the appeal is finally disposed of — unless the parties agree otherwise, or a motion to withdraw is unopposed on reasonable grounds, or the court decrees otherwise for justifiable reasons. After the Regional Trial Court decides, the money is dealt with according to that court's judgment.
Missing a deposit costs possession
The consequence is set out in the same section and it is not discretionary: on the plaintiff's motion and proof of the failure, the appellate court shall order execution of the judgment as to the restoration of possession. The appeal itself continues — the section says so expressly — but the premises are given up in the meantime. Of the three requirements for staying an ejectment judgment, this is the one that runs every month, and it is the one most often missed.