4/20/2021 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly XXX The petitioner shall also submit together with the petition a sworn certification that he has not theretofore commenced any other involving the same issues in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals or different divisions thereof, or any other tribunal or agency; if there is such other action or proceeding, he must state the status of the same; and if he should thereafter learn that a similar action or proceeding has been filed or is pending before the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or different divisions thereof, or any other tribunal or agency, he undertakes to promptly inform the aforesaid courts and other tribunal or agency thereof within five (5) days therefrom. XXX The failure of the petitioner to comply with any of the foregoing requirements shall be sufficient ground for the dismissal of the petition." In the case at bar, the petition for certiorari filed by petitioners before the Court of Appeals contains a certification against forum shopping[12]. However, the said certification was signed only by the corporate secretary of petitioner MCEI. No representative of petitioner Hanil signed the said certification. As such, the issue to be resolved is whether or not a certification signed by one but not all of the parties in a petition constitutes substantial compliance with the requirements regarding the certification of non-forum shopping. The rule quoted above requires that in all cases filed in the Court of Appeals, as with all initiatory pleadings before any tribunal, a certification of non-forum shopping signed by the petitioner must be filed together with the petition. The failure of a petitioner to comply with this requirement constitutes sufficient ground for the dismissal of his petition. Thus, the Court has previously held that a certification not attached to the complaint or petition or one belatedly filed[13] or one signed by counsel and not the party himself[14] constitutes a violation of the requirement which can result in the dismissal of the complaint or petition. However, with respect to the contents of the certification, the rule of substantial compliance may be availed of. This is because the requirement of strict compliance with the provisions regarding the certification of non-forum shopping merely underscores its mandatory nature in that the certification cannot be altogether dispensed with or its requirements completely disregarded.[15] It does not thereby interdict substantial compliance with its provisions under justifiable circumstances.[16] In the case at bar, the Court of Appeals should have taken into consideration the fact that petitioner Hanil is being sued by private respondent in its capacity as the foreign principal of petitioner MCEI. It was petitioner MCEI, as the local private employment agency, who entered into contracts with potential overseas workers on behalf of petitioner Hanil. https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/52244 3/7