Section 1. Subpoena and subpoena duces tecum. — Subpoena is a process directed to a person requiring him or her to attend and to testify at the hearing or the trial of an action, or at any investigation conducted by competent authority, or for the taking of his or her deposition. It may also require him or her to bring with him or her any books, documents, or other things under his or her control, in which case it is called a subpoena duces tecum. (1a)
Section 2. By whom issued. — The subpoena may be issued by –
(a) The court before whom the witness is required to attend;
(b) The court of the place where the deposition is to be taken;
(c) The officer or body authorized by law to do so in connection with investigations conducted by said officer or body; or
(d) Any Justice of the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals in any case or
When an application for a subpoena to a prisoner is made, the judge or officer shall examine and study carefully such application to determine whether the same is made for a valid purpose.
No prisoner sentenced to death, reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment and who is confined in any penal institution shall be brought outside the penal institution for appearance or attendance in any court unless authorized by the Supreme Court. (2a)
Section 3. Form and contents. — A subpoena shall state the name of the court and the title of the action or investigation, shall be directed to the person whose attendance is required, and in the case of a subpoena duces tecum, it shall also contain a reasonable description of the books, documents or things demanded which must appear to the court prima facie relevant. (3)
Section 4. Quashing a subpoena. — The court may quash a subpoena duces tecum upon motion promptly made and, in any event, at or before the time specified therein if it is unreasonable and oppressive, or the relevancy of the books, documents or things does not appear, or if the person in whose behalf the subpoena is issued fails to advance the reasonable cost of the production thereof.
The court may quash a subpoena ad testificandum on the ground that the witness is not bound thereby. In either case, the subpoena may be quashed on the ground that the witness fees and kilometrage allowed by these Rules were not tendered when the subpoena was served. (4)
Section 6. Service. — Service of a subpoena shall be made in the same manner as personal or substituted service of summons. The original shall be exhibited and a copy thereof delivered to the person on whom it is served. The service must be made so as to allow the witness a reasonable time for preparation and travel to the place of attendance.
Costs for court attendance and the production of documents and other materials subject of the subpoena shall be tendered or charged accordingly. (6a)
Section 7. Personal appearance in court. — A person present in court before a judicial officer may be required to testify as if he or she were in attendance upon a subpoena issued by such court or officer. (7a)
Section 8. Compelling attendance. — In case of failure of a witness to attend, the court or judge issuing the subpoena, upon proof of the service thereof and of the failure of the witness, may issue a warrant to the sheriff of the province, or his or her deputy, to arrest the witness and bring him or her before the court or officer where his or her attendance is required, and the cost of such warrant and seizure of such witness shall be paid by the witness if the court issuing it shall determine that his or her failure to answer the subpoena was willful and without just excuse. (8a)
Section 9. Contempt. — Failure by any person without adequate cause to obey a subpoena served upon him or her shall be deemed a contempt of the court from which the subpoena is issued. If the subpoena was not issued by a court, the disobedience thereto shall be punished in accordance with the applicable law or Rule. (9a)
Section 5. Subpoena for depositions. — Proof of service of a notice to take a deposition, as provided in Sections 15 and 25 of Rule 23, shall constitute sufficient authorization for the issuance of subpoenas for the persons named in said notice by the clerk of the court of the place in which the deposition is to be taken. The clerk shall not, however, issue a subpoena duces tecum to any such person without an order of the court. (5) Section 10. Exceptions. — The provisions of Sections 8 and 9 of this Rule shall not apply to a witness who resides more than one hundred (100) kilometers from his or her residence to the place where he or she is to testify by the ordinary course of travel, or to a detention prisoner if no permission of the court in which his or her case is pending was obtained. (10a)
