Trial Report Final

TRIAL
RULE 119. REVISED RULES OF COURT

CHAPTER X - CRIMINAL PROCEDURE BY WILLARD B. RIANO
AEJAY V. BARIAS
PHILIPPINE CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
DEFINITION
Trial is the examination before a competent

tribunal according to the laws of the land, of
facts put in issue in a case for the purpose of
determining such issue.
WHEN SHALL TRIAL SHALL COMMENCE
Pursuant to the Guidelines for decongesting

Holding Jails by Enforcing the Rights of the
Accused Persons to bail and to Speedy Trial,
the trial shall be set not later than thirty (30)
days from the termination of pre-trial
conference.
After a plea of not guilty is
entered, the accused shall have
at least 15 days to prepare for
trial (Sec. 1, Rule 119, RC).
EFFECTS OF NOT BRINGING THE ACCUSED TO TRIAL WITHIN
THE PRESCRIBED PERIOD
If the accused is not brought to trial in

accordance within the time limit set by Sec. 6,
Rule 119, the information maybe dismissed
upon the motion of the accused. The ground
for dismissal is the denial of his right to speedy
trial.
DELAYS TO BE EXCLUDED IN COMPUTING THE PERIOD FOR
COMMENCEMENT OF TRIAL
SUCH DELAYS MAY INCLUDE BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

 Delay resulting from an examination of physical and mental condition of the accused;
 Delay resulting from proceedings with respect to other criminal charges against the accused;
 Delay resulting from extraordinary remedies against interlocutory orders;
 Delay resulting from pre-trial proceedings; provided that the delay does not exceed 30 days;
 Delay resulting from inhibition or proceedings relating to change of venue of cases or transfer from other courts;
 Delay resulting from a finding of the existence of prejudicial question;
 Delay reasonably attributable to any period, not to exceed 30 days, during which any proceeding concerning the
accused is actually under advisement;
 Delay resulting from the absence or unavailability of an essential witness;
 Delay resulting from the mental incompetence or physical inability of the accused to stand trial
 Delay resulting from continuance granted by any court motu propio, or on motion of either the
accused or his counsel, or the prosecution, if the court granted the continuance on the basis of
its findings set forth in the order that the ends of justice served by taking such
action outweigh the best interest of the public and the accused in a speedy trial.
CONTINUOUS TRIAL
As a rule, once commenced, the trial shall continue
from day to day as far as practicable until terminated
but it may be postponed for a reasonable period of
time for good cause. To ensure speedy trial, the court
shall set the case for continuous trial on a weekly or
other short-term trial calendar at the earliest possible
time. The court may do so after consultation
with the prosecutor and defense counsel.
TRIAL PERIOD
In no case shall the entire trial period exceeds 180

days from the first day of trial, except as otherwise
authorized by the Supreme Court (Sec. 2, Rule 119,
RC)
POSTPONEMENT OR CONTINUANCE
The continuance may, among others, be granted if

continuing the proceeding is impossible or would
result in the miscarriage of justice ( Sec. 4a, Rule
119, RC )
FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR GRANTING
CONTINUANCE OR POSTPONEMENTS
Postponements are subject to judicial discretion. There are certain
factors which the court shall consider in determining whether or not to
grant a continuance. These are:
 Whether or not the failure to grant a continuance would likely make a
continuation of such proceeding impossible or result in a miscarriage
of justice; or
 Whether or not the case, taken as a whole, is so novel, unusual and
complex, due to the number of accused or the nature of the
prosecution, or that it is unreasonable to expect adequate preparation
within the periods of time established therein.
PROHIBITED GROUNDS FOR A CONTINUANCE
 Congestion of the court’s calendar, or

 Lack of diligent preparation, or
 Failure to obtain available witnesses on the part of prosecutor
HOW TO SECURE APPEARANCE OF A MATERIAL WITNESS
(BAR 1994 & 1999)
 Either party may, upon motion, secure an order from the court for a
material witness to post bail for such sum as may be deemed
proper, if the court is satisfied upon either (a) proof, or (b) oath that
a material witness will not testify when required
 If the witness refuses to post bail, the court shall commit him to
prion until he complies or is legally discharged after his testimony
has been taken (Sec.14, Rule 119, RC)
DISCHARGE OF ACCUSED TO BE A STATE WITNESS;
REQUISITES
(BAR 1988,1990,1994,2006,2013)
1. When two or more accused are jointly charged for an offense, they shall be tried jointly,
unless the court, in its discretion, and upon motion of the prosecutor orders a separate
trial for one or more of the accused ( Sec. 16, Rule 119, RC)
2. One or more of the accused tried jointly with the other may, however, be discharged with
their consent so that they may be witnesses for the state. For this purpose, the prosecutor
shall comply with the following: (a) file a motion for the discharge of the accused; and (b)
file the motion before the prosecution rests its case ( Sec. 17, Rule 119, RC)
3. The Court, upon receipt of the motion, shall require the prosecution to present evidence
and the sworn statement of each proposed state witness. The court
shall conduct a hearing in support of the
discharge ( Sec. 17. Rule 119, RC)
4. In the discharge of an accused in order that he may be a state witness, the following
conditions must be present, namely: (Bar 2013)
 Two or more accused are jointly charged with the commission of an offense;
 The motion for discharge is filed by the prosecutor before it rest its case;
 The prosecution is required to present evidence and the sworn statement of each proposed state
witness at a hearing in support of the discharge;
 The accused gives his consent to be a state witness; and
 The trial court is satisfies that:
 There is absolute necessity for the testimony of the accused whose discharge is requested;
 There is no other direct evidence available for the proper prosecution of the offense committed, except the
testimony of the said accused;
 The testimony of said accused can be substantially corroborated in its material points;
 Said accused does not appear to be the most guilty; and
 The said accused has not at any time been convicted of any offense involving moral turpitude.
5. The decision to employ the accused as a state witness must necessarily originate from
the public prosecutors whose mission is to obtain a successful prosecution of the several
accused before the court which do not, as a rule, have a vision of the true strength of the
prosecution’s evidence until after the trial is over.
EFFECTS OF DISCHARGE
 Evidence adduced in support of the discharge shall automatically form part of the trial;
 If the court denies the motion to discharge the accused as state witness, his sworn statement shall
be inadmissible in evidence;
 Discharge of accused operates as an acquittal and bar to further prosecution for the same offense.
EXCEPTIONS:
 If the accused fails or refuses to testify against his co-accused in accordance with his sworn
statement constituting the basis of the discharge
 Failure to testify refers exclusively to defendant’s will or fault
 Where an accused who turns state’s evidence on a promise of immunity but later
retracts and
 fails to keep his part of the agreement, his confession of his participation in the
commission of the crime is admissible as evidence against him.
WHEN MISTAKE HAS BEEN MADE IN CHARGING THE PROPER
OFFENSE
When the offense proved is neither included in, nor does it include,
the offense charged and is different therefrom, the court should
dismiss the action and order the filing of a new information charging
the proper offense.
This rule is predicated on the fact that an accused person has the
right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against
him, and to convict him of an offense different from that charged in
the complaint or information would be an
unauthorized denial of that right. (U.S. vs. Campo, 23 Phil. 369)
ORDER OF TRIAL
The prosecution shall present its evidence first (a) to prove the charge, and (b) to
prove the civil liability in the proper case.
The accused may then present his evidence to prove his defense and the
damages he sustained, if any, arising from the issuance of a provisional remedy in
the case;
The prosecution may present its rebuttal evidence, unless the court allows it to
present additional evidence bearing on the main issue;
The accused may present sur-rebuttal evidence, unless the court allows it to
present additional evidence bearing on the main issue;
Upon submission of the evidence of the parties, the case shall be deemed submitted
for decision, unless the court directs them to argue orally or to submit written
memoranda ( Sec. 11, Rule 119, RC)
MODIFICATION OF THE ORDER OF TRIAL; REVERSE
TRIAL (BAR 2007)
The order of trial may be modified when the

accused admits the act or omission charge in
the complaint or information but interposes a
lawful defense.
REOPENING OF THE PROCEEDINGS
At any time BEFORE finality of the judgment of conviction, the

judge may, motu propio or upon motion, with hearing in either case,
reopen the proceedings to avoid miscarriage of justice. The
proceedings shall be terminated within 30 days from the order
granting it.
TRIAL IN ABSENTIA (BAR 1998)
 An accused need not always present in every hearing although it is right to be present, if
he so desires, from arraignment to the rendition of judgment. This right to be present is
subsumed under his constitutional right to meet the witnesses against him face-to-face
and other rights of the accused guaranteed in Sec 14(2) of the Bill of Rights.
 While the right to be present may be waived like any other right, the rule should not be
taken to mean that the accused may, as a rule, be tried in his absence.
He can only be tried in absentia when the following requisites concur:

 The accused has already been arraigned;
 The accused has been duly notified of the trial; and
 The absence of the accused or his failure to appear is unjustified.
INSTANCES WHEN PRESENCE OF THE ACCUSED
REQUIRED
The only instances when the presence of the accused is required:

 Upon arraignment and in entering plea;
 During trial when his presence is necessary for the purpose of
identification;
 Upon promulgation of judgment except for light offenses
 When the court with due notice requires so.
LACK OF FORMAL OFFER OF EVIDENCE DURING TRIAL
The court shall consider no evidence which has not been formally
offered. Documents which may have been identified and marked as
exhibits during pre-trial or trial but which are not formally offered in
evidence cannot, in any manner, be treated as evidence. Neither can
such unrecognized proof be assigned any evidentiary weight and
value pursuant to the express mandate that “the court shall consider
no evidence which has not been formally offered.”
consequently, any evidence that has not been
offered shall be excluded and rejected.
WHEN FORMAL OFFER OF EVIDENCE IS NOT NECESSARY
 The evidence was duly identified by testimony duly recorded;

 The evidence was incorporated in the records of the case.
 The rule has no application where the court takes judicial notice of
adjudicative facts pursuant to sec. 2, rule 129 of the rules of court.
 The trial court in judging the demeanor of witnesses, determines
their credibility even without the offer of the demeanor as evidence.
END OF REPORT
THANK YOU

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TRIAL

RULE 119. REVISED RULES OF COURT

Trial is the examination before a competent

Pursuant to the Guidelines for decongesting

If the accused is not brought to trial in

SUCH DELAYS MAY INCLUDE BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

In no case shall the entire trial period exceeds 180

The continuance may, among others, be granted if

 Congestion of the court’s calendar, or

The order of trial may be modified when the

At any time BEFORE finality of the judgment of conviction, the

He can only be tried in absentia when the following requisites concur:

The only instances when the presence of the accused is required:

 The evidence was duly identified by testimony duly recorded;

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