\

OUTLINE OF TRIAL PROCEDURES IN CRIMINAL CASES

(From Arraignment

to Promulgation

of Judgment~

SESSION OF THE TRIAL COURT

1.

As soon ~s the Presiding Judge enters

one of the court personnel will announce:
"Ever'ybody rise, the
Honorable
.--is enjoined."

the courtroom,

court is now" in session,

, presiding judge, silence

Everybody shall remain standing for the prayer.

After ~
the prayer, the judge will bang his qav eL and then sit
down.
This is the cnly time when everybody will also sit
down .

Judge to the PerSonnel-in-Charge:

"Call the cases as per calendar
classified as follows:
a.
b.
c.
>

of the Court,

For arraignment
For Pre-trial
For Trial"

Note:
At any time before entering his plea,
may move
to quash
the information/
file
particulars as the case may be.

Motion
Court)

to Quash

- Grounds

(Section

3, Rule

the accused
a bill
of

117, Rules of

That the facts charged do not constitute an offense;

That the court trying the case has no jurisdiction
over the offense charged:
That the court trying the case has no jurisdiction
over the person of the accused;
That the officer who filed the information
had no
authority to do so;
That
it does
not
conform
substantially
to the
prescribed form;

That more than one offense is charged except when a

single punishment for various offenses is prescribed
by lae;
That
the criminal
action
or liability
has bee~
extinguished;
That it contains
averments which,
if true, would
constitute a legal excuse or justification; and
That the accused has been previously
convicted or
acquitted of the offense charged, or the case against
him was dismissed or otherwise terminated without his
express consent.

a. ARRAIGNMENT

"Where is the accused?"

Judge:

The accused will stand up, identify himself by raising

his right hand.
After

that, the judge will also ask:

Judge:
He will

"where i~ the complaining

also

rise,

identify

witness?"

himself

by

raising

ent8r

his

his

hand.
Judge:

"Appearances"

The
public
prosecutor
appearance as follows:

will

"For the State, your Honor"; or

"For the Government, your Honor"; or
"For the people, your Honor, ready".
The
private
prosecutor
(a lawyer
hired
by
the
complaining witness (aggrieved party) who will assist the
public prosecutor in prosecuting the case) will enter his
appearance, as follows:
"Good morning, your Honor.
Respectfully
appearing as private prosecutor under the direct
control
and
supervision
of
the
public
prosecutor.
My
name
is
wi th
office
address
at
telephone or cellphone number
ready, your Honor."

PAO Lawyer representing

his appearance by saying:
"For the accused,

the accused.

your Honor,

Ye will

errt

er

ready.

Lawyer personally hired by the accused

appearance in this manner:

will enter his

"Good morning, your Honor.

Respectfully
appearing as counsel for the accused.
My names
is
with
office
address
at
and
telephone
or
cellphone
number
, ready your Honor."
------------------------The JUDGE shall direct the accused and his counsel to
stand in front of him at a distance of about 4 to 5 m8ters.
Then he will direct his personnel to arraign the accused
by reading the information containing the charge/chargEs
against
him.
If the accused
cannot
understand
the
information, he will direct that it be translatEd in the
dialect known to the accused.
After the translation, the
judge will ask the accused of his plea.

PLEA
When the accused refuses to plead or sets up a lawful
justification
(self-defense),
or sets up a condj.tional
plea, the judge will enter into the record a "Plea of not
guilty" for the accused.
When the accused enters a plea of guilty to a lesser
offense necessarily included in the offense charged against
him, to be valid, it requires both the con sen t cf the
prosecutor and the offended party.
When the accused enters a plea of guilty, the court,
after explaining to him the meaning and consequences of his
plea of guilty, shall render its decision
finding the
accused guilty beyond reasonable
doubt of the offense
charge and imposes the corresponding penalty provided under
the law plus civil liability, if any.
When the plea is "Not Guilty",
the court,
shall
schedule the next hearing for the pre-trial of the case.

b. PRE-TRIAL

The court will be called to session, since this i.s

another
date
of hearing,
when
the
judge
enler~
the
st
courtroom, and the procedures during the 1
session sha~l
be repeated up to appearances of counsels.
However, if the counsels appearing during the pretrial and all subsequent hearings are the same counsels tor
the People and the Accused, the modification
of their
appearances will be as follows:
Public

Prosecutor:

(No changes)

"For the State, your Honor"; or

"For the Government, your Honor"; or
"For the people, your Honor, ieady".
PAO Lawyer:

(No changes)

"For the accused,

Private Prosecutor:
enter his appearance:

your Honor,

After greeting

ready.
the judge, he will

as
private
"Same
appearance
prosecutor
under the direct control and
prosecutor,
supervision
of
the public
ready your Honor."
Private Counsel of the Accused.
judge, he will state:
"Same
accused,

appearance

After

as counsel

greeting

for

the

the

your Honor, ready."

For new counsels appearing for the pt time at any

stage
of
the
proceedings
they
should
enter
their
appearances immediately as outlined before the accused was
arraigned.
After the counsels of both parties have entered their
appearances, the judge will start the pre-trial conference
by directing the prosecutor and the defense to start the
matters to be considered during the pre-trial.

Judge:

"Is there any plea-bargaining?"

The accused through his counsel will manifest to the

court that the accused is entering a p Lea+b arqa i n i nq , in
that, he is willing to enter a plea of "Guilty" to a lesser
offense than that charged in the information.
For exareple:
from murder to homicide.
The prosecutor and the offended
party shall give their consent.to the plea of the nccused
to a lesser offense of homicide in order to be valid. Thus,
the court shall render its decision convicting accused of
homicide and sentencing him to reclusion temporal.
But if
the consent of both the prosecutor and the offended party
is not secured/given,
then the accused will be tried for
murder.
Thereafter, the pre-trial will commence and start
as follows:
Prosecution:
"May we know from the accused if
he is willing to stipulate or admit that he is
the same person as charged in the information?"
Defense:
The counsel of the accused may either
admit this stipulation of fact or deny it.
If
he admitted, then, during the trial this fact
and other facts admitted will not be proven
anymore during the trial.
However,
if not
admitted but denied, then the prosecutions will
prove this fact and other facts not admitted or
denied during the trial.
Prosecution:
"
same request for
admission
or stipulation
of other facts re:
waiver
of
,objection
to
admissibility
of
evidence (documentary and object evidence); and
such other matters that may expedite the trial.
After
the
prosecution
has
finished
its
stipulation of facts, the d~fense will be the
one to make such stipulations of facts
thus
I

/I

Defense:
"May we know from the prosecution if
they are willing to stipulate or admit the fact
that

Prosecution:
It may either deny or admit the
same.
Those proffered facts, which are denied
will be taken up or proven during the trial

while those admitted or stipulated

proven during the trial.

will not be

Judge:
"Now
we will
go to marking
for
identification of evidence of the parties."
Prosecution:
"Your Honor, we request that
the following documents and object evidence be
marked for identification p~rposes:
State the purpose
a) Exhibit A - describe it.
of said exhibit.
Example:
Exhibit "A" - affidavit of x dated
The purpose of offering this
exhibit is to prove that the eyewitness to
the
committed
by
the
accused
on
at
has
----------------------actually executed a sworn statement narrating
how X shot the victim in this case on said
date, time and place; that he will identify
his sworn statement given in connection with
this case.
b) Exhibit B - describe it; State the purpose of
said exhibit.
c) Exhibit C - describe it; State the purpose of
said exhibit.
d) Etc - describe it; state the purpose of said
exhibit
Your Honor, we reserve the right to prese~t and
mark other evidence in the course of the trial.
That would be all, your Honor."
Judge:
"Granted,
evidence."

defense

mark

your

Defense:
"The defense
respectfully
requests
for
the
marking
of
defense
evidence
for
identification purposes, as follows:
Exhibit 1 - describe
said exhibit.
Exhibit 2 - describe
said exhibit.
Exhibit 3 - describe
said exhibit.
Exhibit 4 - describe
said exhibit.

it; State

the purpose

of

it; state

the purpose

of

it; state

the purpose

of

it; state

the purpose

of

Your Honor, we reserve our right to present and

mark other evidence in the course of the trial."
,Judge:
"Granted.
Prosecution,
how
many
witnesses you are going to present and how much
time you need to complete their testimony."
Prosecution:
"Three (3) witnesses, your Honor
and we request for four .(
4) setting dates to
complete their testimony.
Our witnesses are:
a. X, eyewitness to the offense committed.
The purpose of presenting his testimony
is to prove the material allegations in
the information;
that he was at the
scene of the crime during the shooting
in questions before this court and he
can identify the accused; ard that he
can demonstrate
how the shooting
was
perpetrated by the accused resulting to
the instantaneous death of the victim.
b. Next witness
is Y, the medico-legal
officer
who
conducted
the
autopsy
examination
of
the
cadaver
of
the
victim.
He will testify
as to his
findings that the victim died due to the
gunshot in his head and that he will
identify
in court
his medico
legal
report to include the slug he recovered
from the head of the victim, and also
the death certificate of the victi~ that
he issued.
c. Last witness is Z, the ballistician who
conducted the ballistic examination of
the firearm (FA) recovered at the scene

of

the

crime,

the

empty

shells

of

bullet found at the scene and the slug

recovered from the head of the victim.
He will testify also on his findings, in
that, the empty shells were fired from
said FA based on the live bullet still
at the chamber of the gun.
He will
further testify that the FA was recently
fired; that the empty shells and the

slug found embedded in the head

victim were fired from said FA.

of the

That would be all, your Honor, but we

reserve
the right
to present
other
witnesses during the trial."
Judge:
"Reservation granted.
Defense, how
many witnesses you are going to present and how
much
time
do
you need
to complete
their
testimony."
Defense:
"Three (3) witnesses also, your Honor
and we need four (4) trial dates to conclude
their testimony.
1st

witness:
name, purpose
2nd witness:
name, purpose
3rd
witness:
name, purpose

of testimony
of testimony
of testimony

State
the
of said witness.
the
State
witness.
of said
the
State
of said witness.

That is all for the moment, your Honor, and we

reserve our right to present other witness~s in
the course of the proceedings of this case."
Judge:
"Reservation granted.
Judge:
"Prosecution and defense consult your
diary and let's set four (4) hearing dates for
each of you to complete the testimonies of your
respective witnesses with a stern warning thnt
these scheduled
dates are intransfe~able."
Prosecution:
for
each

"Will
month,

provide one
to
wit:

hearing

date
&

Defense:
"Will do the same, your Honor,
are
available
on

----------------

and

we

&

Prosecution:
"Your
Honor,
for
lack
of
material time, we move for continuance for the
trial of the case."
Defense:

"No objection,

your Honor."

Judge:
"Motion granted but the parties are
hereby notified in open court for the initial
hearing of the case on its merits.
Prosecution
be ready with your witnesses. /I
(Before the
judge
will
bang
his
gavel
to leave the
courtroom, the personnel of the court in charge
will announce:)
"Everybody rise and s'h
a Ll, remain standing
until the judge has left the courtroom./I
NOTE:
Before the tri'al, the judge shall issue.a pre . ;..trial
order after the prej:trial conference reciting -the aC"tions
taken, facts stipulated .and iev Ldence marked ahd th~Ji.S'ame
to be used as evidence against the accused, the same\"#fuust.
be signed by t he raccu'sed'and counsel to be binding .<:~=~J}
..

c. TRIAL

r:~:

.:.'

(Pres~~fation

.~.,

.".::,:~."

~f ProseCJution Witnesses)"'.

Since this is another scheduled date of the hearing,

the court will be called again to sess~on, observing.the
same procedures during the arraignment.
After calling the
appearances of counsel who manifested that they are ready
for trial, the Judge will direct the prosecutions to call
on its first witness to the witness stand.
Prosecution:
The
private
prosecutor
witness by saying:

public
prosecutor
or the
will
calIon
his first

"Your Honor, we are calling X as our first

witness./I
X will proceed immediately to the witness stand
and remain standing for his oath as a witness
to be administered by a court personnel in this
manner:
(Witness already
tell him:)

raising

his

right

hand, will

"Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing

the truth in these proceedings?/I
Witness:

but

"Yes sir/ma'am./I

Court Personnel:
"Please
state
your
age and other personal circumstances./I

name,

am
Witness:
"I
years
old,
residing
employee, etc."

23
an

at

"Your witness,

Court Personnel:

counsel."

"Your Honor, we are offering

Prosecution:
or
to prove,
of the witness
testimony
of
the 'testimony
of offering
purposes
that:
is
witness

the
the
the

(Briefly only and base it on the purpose/s

stated during the pre-trial conference)

you

"

Judge:
"Defense,
any comment/objection
to
the offe~ of testimony of X, the first witness
of the prosecution."

Defense:
following:

It

may

either

t a l;e

any

of

the

a. "Your Honor, no comment for the moment but

subj ect to cross examination."
ThE:n the
direct examination shall proceed, or
b. It may obj ect stating a valid ground for
its
objections
like
for
example. his
testimony is hearsay as he does not have
personal
knowledge
of
the
shooting
incident in questions based on his sworn
statement.
If this is the objection, then
the ruling of the Judge would be~
Judge:
"Since the proposed testimony of X is
hearsay and therefore it has no probative value,
the same is hereby excluded."
Prosecution:
"Your Honor, we move to make a
tender proof of the proposed
t.est i.rnoriy of X
pursuant to Section 40, Rule 132 of the Rules
of Court."
Again, state the name age and other
personal circumstances of X, and the substance
of his proposed testimony.
Prosecution:
If the manifestation
of the
defense as regards the purpose of the offer of
the testimony of the witness is that:
"It has

10

no objection for the moment but subject to cross

examination, then the prosecution will start the
direct examination questions, as tollows:
Prosecution:
"With
the
permission
of
the
Honorable
Court;
or
with
your
Honor's
permission, or it may please the court."
Judge:

"Proceed,

counsel."

Defense:
"May we know
if there
are
witnesses who are inside the courtroom,
can move for their exclusion?"

other
so we

Prosecution:
"Already excluded, your Honor";
or "May we ask Y and Z to please step out from
the courtroom".
Judge:

"Make that on record."

Prosecution:
He will now start the direct
examination
by propounding
questions
to X to
prove
the
material
allegation
of
the
information; to prove facts not admitted during
the pre-trial in support of the charges against
the accused, all designed to build up an airtight
case
against
the
accused.
Direct
examination
is
likened
to
constructing
a
building.
The more solid the foundation, the
stronger the case will be and it would be more
difficult to destroy it .. To build up the case
is the concern of direct examination.
Thus, be
brief in framing your questions, arrange your
questions logically and emphasized those that
need to be emphasized
such as, the witness
background to strengthen his credibility, must
be able to describe the scene clearly and he
must be self-composure
and not be boring.
If
in the course of his testimony, documentary or
obj eet evidence were presented and identified
by said witness, the same must be marked as
additional exhibit, either for the prosecution
or the defense, if not yet marked during the
pre-trial.
So the marking will be next to the
marking of the exhibit during the pre-trial.
But if already marked during the pre-trial, just
simply manifest that said document cr obj ect
evidence
was already marked during the pre-

11

trial, your Honor.

(See page 26, the possible
grounds in objecting
to the questions
propounded
during the direct
exams) .
If you are presenting an expert witness, he must possess a
special
knowledge,
skills,
training
and
expe r Lerice
regarding the subject matter under inquiry and be able to
guide and assist the court in arriving at the correct
conclusion.
Before starting to propound direct examination
to an expert witness, you have to qualify him as such
expert.
Thus, you have to prove first by asking questions
as to his educational qualification; ask question as to his
training, skill and specialized knowledge on the field you
are requesting him to testify; lastly as to his experience,
for example, your expert witness is a medico leg31 offic~r,
ask him how many autopsy examination so far conducted by
him from
to
how :nany
times he appeared in court as to the result of his autopsy
examination; and how many of said examination resulted to
convictions
of the accused ask him about his training,
locally or in foreign countries; seminars attended by him
and the subject matter
in said seminar,
etc.
After
establishing his expertise,the
counsel will conduct direct
exam.
During
the direct
examination
of a witness,
leading
questions are not allowed with certain exceptions.
SOT1le
of the grounds for objections during trial:
The question
(Q)
is immaterial, irrelevant and incompetent;
the Q is
kilometric or compound Q; the Q violates: the best evidence
rule; the privilege communication rule; the parol evidence
rule; the dead man's statute rule; the Q is witnout basis
as the witness has not yet testified on that; the Q calls
for the opinion or tonclusion of the witness; the Q cal13
for a narration; the Q seeks to elicit matte~s not pleaded
as an issue; the Q violates
the right against
selfincrimination;
the Q tends to embarrass
or degrade the
character of the witness; the Q is already answered.
Note

also

that

leading

as

are not

allowed

during

redirect

examination.
Suppose the counsel presenting the witness would like the
witness
to identify
a documentary
or object
evid~nc2
mentioned by the witness in his direct examinations
or
cross exam, or re-direct or re-cross exams, how will the
counsel confront said witness of said documentary or object
evidence?

12

Counsel
manner:

will

premise

his question

(Q) in this

Q:

A while back or duriDg your testimony, you

mentioned
or stated that in connection
with this case on hearing
before
this
court, you were invited to shed light in
this case by the police, is that correct?
Ans.:
Yes, sir.
Q:
When was this?
Ans.:
Witness will answer by giving the date,
more or less.
Q:
What did you do at the police station?
Ans.:
The policeman-investigator
asked me a
question and I answered it.
Q:
In what form was the Q and A done?
Ans.:
It was in writing.
investigation
the
was
how
For
long
Q:
conducted?
Witness will estimate the time.
Ans. :
Q:
After
the investigation,
what
did the
investigator do?
Ans.:
He required me to go over my statement.
Q:
After going over your statement, what
you do next?
Ans.:
I signed my statement voluntarily.

did

Q:

After signing your statement taken by the

police, what did the policeman do next?
Ans. :
He asked me to accompany
him and
presented me to an officer whom he called:
"sir".
Q:
Now what did the officer do?
Ans. :
He asked me whether the statement is
mine.
He also asked me if the statement
was given voluntarily by me. He also asked
me
if the
signatures
affixed
to
the
statement are signatures.
Q:

After
you answered
all
officer, what did he do?

the

Qs

of

the

13

Ans.:

He told me to stand up and raise my

right hand and asked me:
Do you swear to
the truthfulness
of all the contents of
your statement? Ans.
Yes, I do.

After
the above
preliminaries,
the counsel
profound the following Qs to the witness:

will

now

Q of Counsel:
Mr. witness,. if that statement
you gave to the police-investigator
is shown
to you, will you be able to recognize it?
Ans.:
Yes, sir.
Q:

I am showing
to you a written
statement
consisting of
pages purportedly given
by
a
certain
to
police
investigator
on
at police station, will you
-----------------please go over the same or will you please
examine the same and tell us what is the
relation of this statement with the written
statement
you
gave
to
the
policeinvestigator as testified to, by you a while
ago?
Ans.:
(Witness going over the pages of said
statement and after which he will answer.)
This is my statement, sir.

Q:

am drawing or inviting your attention to

the signature appearing on the left hand
margin of page 1 and all the signatures on
page 2, 3 thereof and the last page above
the name
whose signatures
are those?
Ans.:
They are all my signatures, sir.
Q:

There is also a signature at the last page

just below your signature, whose signature
is that?

Ans. :
This is the signature of the officer
before whom I was made to swe ar to the
truthfulness
of all the contents
of my
statement.

14

Q:

How sure are you that this is his signature

or why do you know that
this
is his
signature?
Ans. :
I was present when he siyned it or
being my co-employee
at
for
several years or my classmates in college,
I became familiar with his signature, having
seen him signing his name several times in
the past.
Counsel will now manifest that the statement was
previously marked during the pre-trial as Exhibit
"E" (example only) or if not yet marked, then
counsel will state: "Your Honor, may we request
that the statement be marked as Exhibit "F".
Judge:

"Mark it."

Prosecution:
As
to
the
signatures
of
the
witness on each page, may we request that
the signatures identified by the witness as
his signatures
be marked collectively
as
Exhibit "E-l" and that the signature of the
administering office as Exhibit "E-2".
Judge:

"Mark it."

Prosecution:

"That would be all your Honor."

Judge:
"Defense, any cross exam?"
Defense:
"Yes,
your
Honor,
and
permission."
Judge:

"Proceed,

with

your

counsel."

Defense:
It will now conduct
cross examination
question to the 1St witness of the prosecution, bearing
in mind that the object of cross examination
is to
destroy or demolish the fact proven during the direct
exam of the said witness or to weaken or disprove the
testimony of the witness.
That the defense counsel
must test the witness' credibility and recollection,
his veracity, accuracy, bias or prejudice, source of
information, motives and interest; and to exhibit the
improbabili ty of his testimony it being unnatural,
beyond the ordinary course of event or beyond human
experience
of
mankind
or
incredible
or
hardly
believable.

15

To achieve a successful cross-examination you have to

prepare thoroughly on the facts not only on your side
but also that of your adversary counsel.
Therefore,
before you conduct the cross, ask yourself of the
following questions:
a. Was the testimony of the witness
to your case?
b. Was his testimony credible?
c. What risks do you need to take?

damaging

If the answer to (a) above is merely corroborative,

the witness has done no damage to your client.
As to letter (b), if witness is hardly believable or
incredible, no damage to your case, so don't crossexamine.
As to letter (c), cross-examination
is not a fishing
proposition.
Ask the Q's that you know the witness
will answer the way you want his answer;
hence,
leading too much during cross examination is allowed.
Misleading Question is not allowed during the cross
and re~examination of witness.

THE DONT'S

OF CROSS EXAMINATION TAKEN FROM OTHER TEXT

BOOK (EVIDENCE)

a. Don't cross-examine the witness unless you are sure

of what the question you are going to ask is all
about.
b. Don't ask the question which may harm your theory.
c. Don't argue with the witness.
Be professional at
all times.
d. Don't ask him to explain his testimony.
Avoid such
questions as "why" or "how".
e. Don't be discourteous but be mild with the witness.
f. Don't "brow-beat" or "sledge hammer" the witness
but show tbe court if you can that he is lying, but
don't call him a liar.
g. Don't show-off or you gain nothing but, ill-will of
the judge.
h. Don't ask him to repeat his story but single out
the weak points only in his testimony.
i. Don't remind him that he is under oath if you cannot
illicit a favorable answer.

16

j. Don't

lose your temper or make any exhibition of

ill-feeling.
k. Never show that you have been hurt by the answer of
the witness unfavorable to your client.

After the last cross-examination

question has been
the defense will say: "That is all, your Honor."
Judge:
prosecution?"

"Any

asked,

redirect-examination,

Prosecution:
May answer yes or no depending
the result of the cross examination.

OIl

The purpose of re-direct examination of the witness

after the cross-examination
is to clarify,
explain OL'
supplement
his
answers
during
the
cross-examination,
especially when there is inconsistent statement made by the
witness during the cross exam.
Re-direct examination is focused to facts or points
brought out during cross-exam.
The party conducting re-direct is without right to introduce new matters at this
stage, unless permitted by the court in the interest of
justice.
When a witness has been impeached during the cross by
evidence of prior inconsistent statements, the witness may
be
allowed
on
re-direct
to
explain
the
appa:rent
inconsistency.
Leading questions are not allowed during
the redirect-exam.
If no more re-direct questions, the
prosecution will say: "No more question, your Honor."
Judge:

"Defense

any re-cross?"

Defense:
The answer may either be yes or no
depending
on the result
of the direct
examination.
The rule on re-cross is that the defense may re-crossexam the witness only on matters stated .i.n the re-direct
exam, except if allowed by the court to ask on new matters.
The
manner
of
conduction
cross-exam
is
essentially
applicable to re-cross exam.
When no more questions to be asked, the defense will
state: "That would be all, your Honor."
If the judge has
no clarificatory
que st i on , then the prosecution will ask

17

the court that the witness

then excuse the witness.
Prosecution:
excused."
Judge:

be excused

and the judge will

"May we ask that the witness

"Granted. Prosecution,
second witness."

be

call your

Prosecution:
Calling
its
next
witness;
present all his other witnesses until
the last witness is presented.
Each witness must be presented one after the other.
After swearing of the witness, the giving of names and
other personal circumstances,
the prosecution
will offer
the testimony of the witness by stating the purpose of said
testimony.
Each of said witnesses
presented
will be
subjected to direct examination by the proponent and before
the direct exam or during the direct exam, 'the defense will
ask for the exclusion of the other witnesses who are inside
the courtroom while one witness is on the witness stand.
Said witnesses
will identify the exhibits pe rt Lrien t to
their testimonies
marked during the pre-trial
and also
other documents
presented
during
the trial and after
identifying
them,
they will be marked
as additional
exhibi ts.
For those already marked during the pre-trial (
the prosecution will just make a manifestation
that said
exhibi ts
document
or obj ect evidence
were already
marked during the pre-trial.
After the direct exam, the witness and other witnesses
presented
will be cross-examined
by the adverse party;
after the cross, said witness will be redirect exam by the
proponent; and after the redirect-exam,
the witness will
be re-cross examined by the adverse party.
If no more

questions to be asked, the defense counsel will

say: "No more question, your Honor"; and the Pr-osecu t or
will request that the witness be excused.
Judge:

"Granted,

witness

is excused."

Prosecution:
(Assuming that there are no more
witnesses to be presented.) "Your Honor, we have
no more witnesses to present, and we are ready
to formally offer our marked exhibits."

18

Judge:

"Proceed

counsel/prosecutor."

OFFER AND OBJECTION:

Note that the court shall consider no evidence whj.ch
has not been formally offered.
The purpose for which t~e
evidence is offered must be specified.
When to make an offer: as regard to the testimony of
a witness, the offer must be made at the time he is called
to the witness stand to testify on direct examination by
the counsel presenting him as a witness.
Document and object exhibits marked during pre-trial
and trial shall be offered after the presentation
of a
party's testimonial
evidence.
Such offer shall be done
orally unless allowed by the court to be done in writing,
as shown below:

FORMAL OFFER OF EXHIBITS

Prosecution:
"Your Honor, we formally offer the
following exhibits for admission as evidence of the
prosecution."
(Example only):
a. Exhibit A is the affidavit of X dated August
23, 2003.
The purpose of offering this exhibit
is to prove that X saw the actual killing of
the victim by the accused on August 22, 2003 at
2:00 p.m. at Sales Street, Sta. Cruz, Manila,
etc.
Based from this exhibit,
the accused
killed the victim with a firearm.
We are also
offering this exhibit as part of the testimony
of X.
b. Next is Exhibit B, the Medico Legal Report of Y
dated August 28, 2003. The purpose of offering
this exhibit is to prove that the cadaver of
the yictim was autopsied by Medico Legal Officer
Y and that his findings is that the dac eased
died due to gunshot wound on the head.
We are
also offering
this exhibit
as part of the
testimony
of Z, The companion
of Dr. Y in
conducting the autopsy of the dead body/cadaver
of the victim in this case ..
c. Next is Exhibit C, the death certificate dated
August 28, 2003.
The purpose o~ offering this

19

exhibit is to prove that the victim died due to

gunshot wound on the head; and that it is also
being offered as part of the testimony of Y.
d. Next is Exhibit 0, the ballistic report of Z
dated August 30, 2010.
The purpose of offering
this exhibit is to prove that the firearm used
in the killing
was subjected
to ballistic
examination;
that
the
findings
in
said
examination,
is that: the firearm was recently
fired.
We are also o f f erinq this exhibit as
part of the testimony of Z.
e. Next is Exhibit E-1 and E-2, the empty shell of
a bullet found at the scene of the crime and
the bullet still at the barrel of the gun,
respectively,
which
were also
subjected
to
ballistic examination.
The purpose of offering
said exhibits is to prove that the empty shell
found at the scene of the crime as per ballistic
examination was fired from the gun used in the
killing; that the bullet found in the chamber
is also offered to prove that the bullet in the
chamber of the gun is the same kind and type
with the bullet fired from the gun in question
which was recovered at the scene of the crime.
We are offering this exhibit as part of the
testimony of Z.
That will be all, your Honor.
Judge: "Defense,
any comment/objection
exhibits
formally offered for admission
prosecution?"

to
by

the
the

Defense:
"As to Exhibit A, no objection except
for the purpose for which it is being offered.
As
to Exhibit S, the defense interposes an objection
on the ground that it is hearsay because the medico
legal officer who allegedly conducted the autopsy
on the cadaver of the alleged victim was not
presented as a witness.
This is assuming that the
medico legal officer is already not available as
he
had
long
retired
from .service
and
his
whereabouts
unknown.
Hence,
the defAnse
was
deprived
of the right
to cross-examine
said
witness.

20

As to Exhibit C, the death certificate, the same

objection as state in Exhibit B for being hearsay
and for lack of cross exam.
As to Exhibit D, we object because it is immaterial
and irrelevant considering that the ballistician
had testified already on said exhibit.
We also
object to the purpose for which said exhibit is
being offered.
As to Exhibit E, E-l and E-2, we obj ect to the
purpose
for which the said exhibits
are being
offered; we also object, as the same is immaterial
and irrelevant, the witness having been presented
and testified on said exhibits.
That would be all, your Honor.
Note:
are:

The possible

valid grounds

for objection

to exhibits

It is irrelevant, it is immaterial, incomp8tent,

incriminating, hearsay;
it violates the:
o best evidence rule;
o parol evidence ru Le :
o privilege communication
hypothetical
question and the witness lS not an
expert witness;
documentary
or object
evidence
not properly
identified or authenticated.

For
more
valid
grounds
which
counsels
could
avail
themselves
during
the
direct
examination,
cross
examination,
re-direct
examination
and
re-cross
examination and also when objecting to offer of exhibits,
please see grounds for objections enumerated at ~he end of
herein trial procedure.

COURT RULING
Judge:

Exhibit A, D, E and sub-markings are

all admitted.
Exhibi t Band
C not admitted, both
being hearsay and for lack of crossexamination by the defe~se.

21

The prosecutor's remedy as to the excluded Exhibits "8" and

"C" is to tender proof of said excluded exhibits as follows:
Prosecutor:
"Your
Honor,
as
regards
our
excluded exhibits "8" a::1d"C", we respectfully
move to make a tender proof of said excluded
exhibits. Your Honor, Exhibit 8 is the medicolegal report of Dr. Y dated August 28, 2003,
which was properly and positively identified by
Dr. Z, the companion of Dr.' Y, in conducting
autopsy.
In this exhibit, the medico ~_egal.
officer narrates in his report that he conducted
an autopsy examination
on the dead body of
on
at
the
------that after the autopsy exam,
he stated in his report his findings
which
states the victim in this case died due to
gunshot that perforated
his brain; that said
medico legal report was duly approved by his
immediate
supervisor;
that
said
report
is
requested to be marked as Exhibit F.
As

to

C, the death certificate

of
dated
which
was
----------issued by Dr. Y; that in said death certificate,
Dr~ Y also stated the victim's cause of death
was due to gunshot on his head. We also request
that said death certificate be now marked as
Exhibit G.
Judge:

Exhibit

"Make that on record"

RESTING

OF PROSECUTION'S

CASE

Prosecution:
With the admission of all our exhibits
and sub-markings, Exhibit A, D, E, E-1 and E-2
and sub-markings,
together with the tender of
proof of our excluded exhibits Band
C and submarkings, the prosecution respectfully rests its
case.
Judge:
Defense,
witness?

are

you

ready

to

present

your

Defense: May either file a Demurrer to Evidence on the

ground of insufficiency of evidence.
(Must state
its grounds and shall be fiied wi thin 5 days
(also 5 days to rebut) after prosecution
rests

22

its case).
If granted, the defense is given nonextendible
period
of ten days
to file
the
demurrer itself and non-extendible period for the
prosecution to oppose.
If the demurrer is filed with leave of court, accused
may be allowed to present his evidence in his defense, if
the motion is denied by the court.
If filed without leave of court, accused shall be
deemed to have waived his right to present evidence and
based
on prosecution's
submits
the case for judgment
evidence only.
The effect of granting
the demurrer
to evidence,
whether with leave of court or without leave, is dismissal,
amounting to acquittal.
It is not appealable and it is
final and executor.
On the other hand, the accused may opt to present his
witnesses and documentary and object evidence instead of
filing a demurrer
to evidence.
All witnesses
to be
presented by the accused will be subjected to the following
procedures:
a. Swearing of said witness
b. Giving
of
their
names
and
other
personal
circumstances
c. Stating
the purpose/s
of the offer
of the
testimony
of said witnesses
subject
to the
comment/objection
of the prosecution
d. Subjected to direct exam, cross exam, re-direct
and re-cross
e. After the completion of last witness, defense
will formally offer its exhibits marked during
the pre-trial and during the trial in the same
manner
as what the prosecution
did when it
offered its exhibits for admission by the court
f. Prosecution to make an objection to the offer of
exhibits
g. Ruling of the court on said exhibits whether
admi tted or not.
For excluded exhibits,
the
defense will tender proof of said exhibi t s as
what
the prosecution
did when
offering
its
exhibits for admission by the court.
h.'Defense to rest its ca se
Judge:

Any rebuttal

witness,

prosecution?

23

--'"

Prosecution:
witness,

None,
your
your Honor.

Honor;

Or

one

rebuttal

Judge:
Present your rebuttal witness (said witness
will be subj ected to swearing, direct, cross,
etc.).
Any new document presented, identified,
and marked will have to be formally offered for
admission
as
additional
exhibit
for
the
prosecution
and same is subjected to objection
by the defense.
Court:

Ruling

on said exhibit.

Prosecution:
Rest again the case of the prosecut ion
insofar as the testimony of the rebuttal witness
and the additional exhibits are concerned.
Judge:

Defense,

any sur-rebuttal

witness?

Defense:
None,
your
Honor;
Or
one
sur-rebuttal
witness who will also be subjected to swearing,
cross, re-direct and re-cross examinations.
Any
evidence presented, identified and marked during
the presentation of the sur-rebuttal witness will
have to be formally offered for admission by the
court; subject to objection by the prosecution.
Defense:
Rest again the case of the defense insofar
as the testimony of the sur-rebuttal witness and
the additional exhibits are concerned.
JUDGMENT

The form of judgment must be in writing; written in

official language; personally prepared and signed by the
judge; it must contain the clear and distinct statement of
the facts and the law on which it is based.
Judgment is the official announcement of the decision of
the court.
It consists of reading the judgment or sentence
in the presence of the accused and any judga of the cou~t
rendering the judgment.
The presence of the counsel during
the
promulgation
of the
judgment
is not
necessary.
However,
promulgation
of judgment
in absentia
mav be
allowed when the decision is for a light offense ana the
representative or counsel may stand for him. Also in case
where despite notice to the accused or his bondsman or

24

,
(

counsel, the accused failed to appear at the promGlgatlon

of the decision, the decision will be promulgated
not in
open court but the same will be recorded/registered
in the
criminal case docket and serving a copy to the accused at
his last known address or thru his counsel.
When the judgment is conviction, t~e judgment sh011
state:
> The legal qualification of the offense ccmmitted by
the accused;
> The participation of the accused whether as principal,
accomplice or accessory;
> The aggravating and mitigating circumstances, if any;
> The penalty imposed upon the accused;
> And the civil liability or damages caused by the
wrongful act, unless civil actions has been reserved
or waived.
The judgment of conviction
shall become final when the
period for perfecting an appeal has lapsed; that is, 15
days from promulgation
of judgment
of conviction;
or
without waiting for the IS-day period to lapse, the accused
commences to serve sentence; waives in writing his right
to appeal; applies for probation.
Once the judgment of
conviction is final, it shall be carried into effect by a
process called "mittimusH which is a process issued by the
court after conviction to carry out the final j udqment ,
such as commanding a prison ward to hold the accused in
accordance with the terms of the judgment.
When it is a judgment of acquittal
(which may eithEr
be that evidence of the prosecution absolutely failed to
prove the guilt of the accused; or failed to prove the
guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt; that the act
or omission from which the civil liability might arise did
not exist or exists) the acquittal
shall become final
immediately after promulgation of the judgment of acquittal
and cannot be recalled for correction or amendment.
-END-

Note:
See the grounds
of objections
to any question
propounded during trial and/or when called by the Judge to
comment or any objections to the exhibits formally offered
by either the prosecution or the defense. Memorize them.
They are all found in the next pages hereof.

25

GROUNDS FOR OBJECTION

Obj ection, your
the issue.

Honor,

it is immaterial

Objection, your Honor, the question

answer; or incompetent answer.

or irrelevant

calls

to

for an improper

Objection, your Honor, the evidence is incompetent

it is excluded by the rules or by law.

because

Objection, your Honor, the question calls for the opinion

of the witness; or conclusion of facts/law.
Objection, your Honor, the question calls for incompetent
answer since the witness has not been qualified as an
expert witness.
Objection,

your Honor, the question

is leading.

Objection,

your Honor, the question

is misleading.

Obj ection, your Honor, the counsel is

question; kilometric; the question
Objection, your Honor, the question
unintelligible.
Objection,
your
conjectural

Objection,
your
witness.

asking
covers

is vague,

a compound
two fac~s.
ambiguous

or

Honor, the question is hypothetical

or
and the witness is not an expert witness.

Honor,

the

question

is

harassing

Objection, your Honor, the question tends to embarrass

degrade the character of the witness.
Objection, your Honor, the counsel is presenting
on a matter that is already admitted.

the

or

evidence

Objection, your Honor, the question is already answered;

the witness has already answer~d the question.
Objection,
your Honor,
testify on that.

the

witness

is

incompetent

to

26

~ ,
J

,..

Objection, your Honor, this person is di~qualified to be a

witness for being the spouse of the accused; or the
witness is privileged not to be a witness since he/she
is the spouse of the accused or party in this case.
Obj ection, your Honor, the question calls for an answer
involving a transaction with a dead person or insane
person.
Objection, your Honor, the witness is compelled to testify
against
his
ascendants,
parents,
or
descendants/children.
Objection, your Honor, that is a privileged
between husband and wife

communication

Objection, your Honor, that is a privileged

between attorney and client.

communication

Objection,
your Honor,
it is
between doctor and patient.

privileged

communication

Objection,
your Honor,
it is privileged
between priest and penitent.

communication

Objection, your Honor, it calls for the disclosure

secret.
Objection,
your Honor,
the
counsel's own witness.

question

tends

to

of state

impeach

-Thus(Counsel should ask permission

to impeach his own
witness because he has misled him into calling him to
the stand.
If allowed, we will show that he made
prior inconsistent statement) or
Your Honor, the witness is an unwilling
and so I can impeach him.
Your

Honor, the
purposes of
has
made
conviction;

or hostile

witness

question or evidence is for impeaching

the adverse witness to show that --- Or
prior
inconsistent
statement;
prior
prior inconsistent testimony.

27

Objection, your Honor, the question is self-incriminatirig;

hence, I request that the witness be advised of his
right against self-incrimination.
Honor, we move that the answer be stricken off the
record because it is not responsive.
Your Honor, I move that the testimony of the witness or
exhibit be stricken off the record for failure of
counsel to make the necessary correction.

Your

Objection, your Honor, it is inadmissible

for which it is bein~ offered.

for the purpose

Objection, your Honor, the question seeks to elicit matters

not alleged or pleaded as an issue.
is asking question
Objection,
your Honor, the counsel
beyond the scope of the direct exam; not covered by
during
the direct
the direct
exam;
not touched
examination.
Objection, your Honor, a witness cannot be cross-examined
about what another witness has said or testified.
Improper for cross-examination.
Objection, your Honor,
in evidence.

the question

assumes

a fact not yet

Objection, your Honor, the question has no basisExample:

Did you know i Do you know? (There
assumption of something not testified to)
Objection, your Honor, no sufficient
laid showing that ----Objection,

your Honor, the evidence

foundations

is illegally

Objection,
your
Honor,
the photograph
authenticated;
the photograph
does
represent the scene that it depicts.
Your

is an

has been

ohtained.

has
not been
not accurately

Honor, I obj ect to the use of the sketch because it

does not accurately represent the scene it purpurts
to depict.

28