ATTACHMENT

Attachment, as contemplated under Section 1 of Rule 57 of the Revised Rules of Court, is a provisional, auxiliary
remedy available at the commencement or during the progress of an action whereby the property, rights, credits
or effects of a defendant are taken into the custody of the court for the satisfaction of the demands of the plaintiff.
It imports the taking of property into the custody of an officer of the law by virtue of a mandatory precept issued by
the authority in the name of the State.
AUXILLIARY REMEDY
Being provisional in character, attachment depends for its existence and effectivity upon the
pendency of a principal action in court.
It does not affect the decision on the merits; the right to recover judgment on the alleged
indebtedness and the right to attach the property of the debtor are entirely separate and distinct,
and the judgment in the main action neither changes the nature nor determines the validity of the
attachment.
As an aid to a principal action, attachment secures the payment of any judgment the plaintiff may
obtain.
In effect, attachment is an involuntary dispossession of the defendant in advance of the trial,
wherein the property thus taken is conserved for eventual execution after judgment has been
rendered, unless the defendant shall have given other security to release it. It is an anticipated
execution to take and hold the property subject to a judgment in the action.
TWO FOLD NATURE OF ATTACHMENT
A. AS A SUIT
Viewed from its aspect as a suit, attachment is a proceeding usually an adjunct to the main suit, the
object of which is to hold property to abide the order of the court for the payment of a judgment in the
event the debt shall be established.
B. AS A WRIT
In its aspect as a writ, attachment as issued by the court either at the commencement of an action or
during its progress, is an order commanding the sheriff or other proper officer to take custody of the
property, rights, credits or effects of the defendant to satisfy the demands of the plaintiff.
The writ of attachment is substantially a writ of execution, except that it emanates at the beginning,
instead of the termination, of a suit. Its object is to seize and hold property subject to the claim sued on
and to satisfy them.
PURPOSE AND FUNCTION OF ATTACHMENT
It seizes upon property of an alleged debtor in advance of final judgment and holds it subject to
appropriation thus prevents the loss or dissipation of the property by fraud or otherwise.
It subjects to the payment of a creditors claim property of the debtor in those cases where personal
service cannot be obtained upon the debtor.

KINDS OF ATTACHMENT; OBJECT OR

PURPOSE OF REMEDY
Five species of attachment are recognized; this is in
so far as it relates to the taking of the property of the
defendant as a security for the satisfaction of the
judgment that the plaintiff may obtain from the court
or the satisfaction of the plaintiffs demand. They
are:

Preliminary attachment. It is a writ issued by

a court at the commencement of the action
or during its progress, commanding the
sheriff or other officer to take custody of the
property, rights, credits or effects of the
defendant to satisfy the demands of the
plaintiff.

Garnishment. It is a writ issued by the court whereby the plaintiff subjects to his claim the defendants
personal property in the hands of third person called the garnishee, as well as money owed by the third
party to the defendant. Garnishment proceedings are usually directed on personal property.

Levy on, or writ of execution. It is a writ issued

by the court after final judgment by which the
property of the defendant is taken into the
custody of the court for the satisfaction of the
judgment that the plaintiff obtains in a particular
proceeding.

Warrant of seizure. It is an order issued by the

court either at the commencement of an action
or during its progress, commanding the sheriff to
take possession of the personal property,
subject of the action, alleged to be wrongfully
detained by the defendant.

Warrant of distraint and levy. This is a writ

issued by quasi-judicial bodies like the Social
Security Commission, against a firm for its
failure to remit the premiums of its employees
covered under the Social Security System; or by
the Bureau of Internal Revenue for failure of a
property owner to pay his taxes.

PARTIES ENTITLED TO ATTACHMENT

The right to process of attachment under Section 1 of Rule 57 is made available to the plaintiff or any other party
who, ordinarily are creditors alone. As a rule, however, when proper statutory grounds exist for the issuance of an
attachment, any creditor is held entitled to the remedy, regardless of whether he is an original creditor whose
claim arises out of the transaction between himself and the debtor or has succeeded by assignment or otherwise
to the claim of a third person against the debtor.
Any other party The term plaintiff or any other plaintiff in whose favor an attachment is
granted under the rule, includes also the defendant whenever he asserts a counterclaim against
the plaintiff, whether or not such counterclaim arises out of the same transaction which is the
subject matter of plaintiffs original claim. Also contemplated in any other party is a defendant in
interpleader when he asserts a counterclaim against the plaintiff; in this case, he may attach the
funds in dispute.
METHODS TO PROCURE WRIT OF ATTACHMENT
The writ may be prayed for in the complaint itself providing that allegations warranting its issuance
are made therein.

It may be issued pursuant to a separate motion for attachment whenever the writ is not prayed for in the
original complaint

GROUNDS FOR ATTACHMENT

Under the Revised Rules of Court, attachment, being a
purely statutory remedy, is available only where one or
more of the grounds enumerated in the statute exist at the time the writ was sue out, and if the writ is issued
without statutory authority, no valid lien is created, even though the proceedings are sufficient in form and
substance and the levy properly made.
The rule is that before the extraordinary remedy is resorted to, the party obtaining it should have proof upon which
to base his action, and the court ought to be well satisfied from the testimony of the existence of the grounds
charged. Consequently, the attachment must stand or fall according to the facts existing at the date of its
issuance, and cannot be based on a subsequent event. So that events subsequent to the issuance of the writ
cannot cure the defect where the necessary grounds did not exist at the time of its issuance.
Section 1 of Rule 57 specifically enumerates the statutory grounds for the issuance of the writ of preliminary
attachment, involving the following cases:
(1)
In an action for the recovery of money or damages on a cause of action arising from
contracts, express or implied, against a party who is about to depart from the Philippines with
intention to defraud his creditors
(2)
In an action for money or property embezzled or fraudulently misapplied or converted
to his own use by a public officer, or an officer of a corporation, or an attorney, factor, broker,
agent, or clerk, in the course of his employment as such, or by any other person in a fiduciary
capacity, or for a willful violation of duty
(3)
In an action to recover possession of personal property unjustly detained, when the
property ,or any part thereof, has been concealed, removed, or disposed of to prevent its being
found or taken by the applicant or an officer
(4)
In an action against a party who has been guilty of a fraud in contracting the debt or
incurring the obligation upon which the action is brought, or in concealing or disposing of the
property for the taking, detention or conversion of which the action is brought.
(5)
In an action against a party who resides out of the Philippines, or on whom summons
may be served by publication.

Existing
Criminal/
Civil Case

Filing of Applicants Affidavit in

Court

(Grounds for
Attachment)

dismissal

Filing of Bond in Court

approval

Accept decision and refund bond

ISSUANCE OF ORDER
OF ATTACHMENT
SHERIFFS
FILING OF COPY
OF THE ORDER,
DESCRIPTION
OF PROPERTY,
AND NOTICE TO
THE REGISTER
OF DEEDS

ATTACHMENT
REGISTRATION
IN THE DAY
BOOK

REGISTER OF
DEEDS WILL
SENDS NOTICE
REQUESTING
THE
PRODUCTION
OF DUPLICATE
TITLE

compliance

Surrender certificate
& annotate

OWNER

refusal

REGISTER OF
DEEDS WILL
REPORT

ATTACHMENT - ACTION TO RECOVER MONEY OR DAMAGES

As a general rule, statutes provide that attachment
as a remedy is confined to actions for recovery of
a sum of money or damages, or for a claim
payable in property having a certain money value.
The claim for money may arise from a contract
express or implied. It is essential that a contractual
relation must exist between the plaintiff and the
defendant to entitle the latter to the writ, or else
that the contract made for his benefit. Action for
damages may arise from fraudulent transfers,
infringement of trade mark or trade name,
personal injuries, breach of contracts. In these
cases, the plaintiff is entitled to the issuance of a
writ of preliminary attachment.
ATTACHMENT AS A LIEN

SHERIFFS EXECUTION OF
ORDER OF ATTACHMENT

COURT SHALL ENTER

AN ORDER FOR THE
OWNER TO
SURRENDER HIS
CERTIFICATE AT THE
TIME AND PLACE
INDICATED THEREIN
AND MAY ENFORCE
THE ORDER BY
SUITABLE PROCESS

The creditor obtains a charge against such property, commonly called a lien by the levy of an attachment
on the property of the defendant.
Not a fixed lien on property but only a right to obtain payment out of the property attached in preference to
others, which is inchoate or contingent until the creditor has obtained final judgment in the attachment
suit.
Not an interest in property, and is not of the same binding force as a judgment lien.
It is an actual and substantial security constituting a cloud on the legal title.
Although it arise by operation of law, it is as if created by virtue of a voluntary act of the debtor and to
stand upon as high equitable grounds as a mortgage lien.

CREDITORS ACQUISITION OF A LIEN BY VIRTUE OF AN ATTACHMENT

Not only sufficient that a writ of attachment has been regularly issued by a competent authority, or even
placed in the hands of an officer.
There must be an actual and valid levy on the property of the debtor.
Until such valid levy has been made, the attachment creditor has no rights in his debtors property.
Such levy creates a lien, which nothing thereafter can destroy but its dissolution.
THE RIGHT ACQUIRED BY AN ATTACHMENT OF PROPERTY IS SUFFICIENT:
To justify the attaching creditor in filing a bill in equity to clear the property from adverse claims,
or to preserve the lien of the attachment when necessary papers have been lost and cannot be supplied,
Or in applying for an injunction against the sale of the property under an execution issued on a
subsequent judgment.
An attachment previously recorded is superior and preferred to a subsequent one.
ENTRY OF ATTACHMENT IN DAY BOOK: SUFFICIENCY.
In involuntary registration, such as an attachment, levy upon execution, lis pendens and the like, entry thereof in
the day book is sufficient motive to all persons of such adverse claim.
EXCEPTION TO BAD FAITH RULE DUE TO PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE
Where the purchaser at a public auction sale had knowledge, prior to or at the time of the levy, of a previous lien
or encumbrance object of a third party claim, he does not come under the protection of the law. In such case, his
knowledge is equivalent to registration and taints his purchase with bad faith. But if knowledge of any lien or
encumbrance upon the property is acquired after the levy, the purchaser cannot be said to have acted in bad faith
in making the purchase and, therefore, such lien or encumbrance cannot affect his title.
DISCHARGE OF ATTACHMENT
Filing of Motion to Discharge
(no cause of action)

hearing

Court Approval

Denial of Motion to Discharge

Order of discharge of Attachment

Sheriff will notify Register of Deeds
Entry of Discharge in the Day Book

Process of
attachment
will proceed

MOTION TO DISCHARGE ATTACHMENT

ORDER OF DISCHARGE