INNOVATIVE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Malitbog, Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro

CRIMINOLOGY DEPARTMENT

EVIDENCE
ATTY. PRINCESS JANINE R. SY

I. OBJECTIVES
1. To define and discuss Judicial Notice and Judicial Admission.
2. To determine when a judicial notice is mandatory.
3. To determine when judicial notice is discretionary.

II. TIME FRAME

Week 3 August 21-26, 2023

III. DISCUSSION

PRESUMPTIONS
Presumptions are inferences as to the existence of a fact not actually known, arising from its usual
connection with another which is known, or a conjecture based on past experience as to what course
human affairs ordinarily take. [University of Mindanao, Inc. v. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, G.R. No.
194964- 65 (2016)]

What is the effect of Presumptions?

A party in whose favor the legal presumption exists may rely on and invoke such legal presumption to
establish a fact in issue. One need not introduce evidence to prove the fact for a presumption is prima facie
proof of the fact presumed (Diesel Construction, Inc v. UPSI Property Holdings, Inc., G.R. No. 154937,
March 24, 2008).

What is the difference between Presumption of Fact and Presumption of Law

Presumption of Fact is a deduction which reason draws from the facts proved without an express
direction from law to that effect, while Presumption of Law, is a deduction which the law expressly
directs to be made from particular facts.

Presumption of Fact are those which the experience of mankind has shown to be valid, founded on
general knowledge and information; it is essentially an inference, while Presumption of Law are those
which the law requires to be drawn from the existence of established facts in the absence of contrary
evidence; derived from the law itself rather from common logic or probability.

Illustration
1. Inference of guilt upon discovery of bloodied garment in possession of accused, is a Presumption
of Fact
2. Presumption of innocence in favor of the accused, presumption of negligence of a common carrier,
are Presumption of Law.

Kinds of Presumption of law

1. Disputable Presumption - a presumption which is irrebuttable and any evidence tending to
rebut the presumption is not admissible. This presumption is in reality a rule of substantive law
(Riano, 2016).

2. Conclusive Presumption- a presumption which is satisfactory if uncontradicted, but may be

contradicted and overcome by other evidence (Sec. 3, Rule 131).

| Sy, Princess Janine R. Page 1 of 6

 Classes of conclusive presumptions
1. Estoppel in pais (Equitable Estoppel) – Whenever a party has, by his own declaration, act or
omission, intentionally and deliberately led another to believe a particular thing to be true, and to
act upon such belief, he cannot, in any litigation arising out of such declaration, act or omission,
be permitted to falsify it [Sec. 2(a), Rule 131];

2. Estoppel by deed – A party to a property deed is precluded from asserting, as against another
party to the deed, any right or title in derogation of the deed, or from denying the truth of any
material fact asserted in the deed e.g. The tenant is not permitted to deny the title of his landlord
at the time of the commencement of the relation of landlord and tenant between them. E.g. The
tenant is not permitted to deny the title of his landlord at the time of the commencement of the
relation of landlord and tenant between them [Sec. 2(b), Rule 131].

DISPUTABLE PRESUMPTIONS UNDER SECTION 3, RULE 131

1. Lack of knowledge and of the means of knowledge of the truth as to the facts in question;
2. Unlawful act is done with an unlawful intent;
3. Person intends the ordinary consequences of his voluntary act;
4. Person takes ordinary care of his concerns;
5. Evidence willfully suppressed would be adverse if produced;
Requisites:
a. The evidence is material;
b. The party had the opportunity to produce it; and
c. The evidence is available only to the said party.

6. Money paid by one to another was due to the latter;

7. Thing delivered by one to another belonged to the latter;
8. Obligation delivered up to the debtor has been paid;
9. Prior rents or installments had been paid when a receipt for the later ones is produced;
10. A person found in possession of a thing taken in the doing of a recent wrongful act is the
taker and doer of the whole act; otherwise, that things which a person possesses or exercises
acts of ownership over, are owned by him;

In order to raise the presumption, the following must be proved:

a. That a crime was committed;
b. That it was committed recently;
c. That the stolen property was found in the possession of the defendant; and
d. That the defendant is unable to explain his possession satisfactorily (U.S. v. Espia 16, G.R.
No. L-5813, August 27, 1910).

11. That a person in possession of an order for the payment of the money, or the delivery of
anything, has paid the money or delivered the thing accordingly;
12. Person acting in public office was regularly appointed or elected to it;
13. Official duty has been regularly performed;

NOTE: All things are presumed to have been done regularly and with due formality until the
contrary is proved. This presumption extends to persons who have been appointed pursuant to a
local or special statute to act in quasi-public or quasi-official capacities and to professionals like
lawyers and surgeons.

14. A court or judge acting as such, whether in the Philippines or elsewhere, was acting in the
lawful exercise of jurisdiction; NOTE: Lawful exercise of jurisdiction is presumed unless the
record itself shows that jurisdiction has not been acquired or the record itself shows the
absence of jurisdiction.

| Sy, Princess Janine R. Page 2 of 6

 15. All the matters within an issue raised in a case were laid before the court and passed upon
by it;
16. All matters within an issue raised in a dispute submitted for arbitration were laid before
arbitrators and passed upon by them;
17. Private transactions have been fair and regular;
18. Ordinary course of business has been followed;
19. There was a sufficient consideration for a contract;
20. Negotiable instrument was given or indorsed for a sufficient consideration;
21. An endorsement of negotiable instrument was made before the instrument was overdue and
at the place where the instrument is dated; NOTE: Except where an endorsement bears date
after the maturity of the instrument, every negotiation is deemed prima facie to have been
effected before the instrument was overdue (Sec. 45, Act. No. 2031).
22. A writing is truly dated;
23. Letter duly directed and mailed was received in the regular course of the mail; NOTE: For
this presumption to arise, it must be proved that the letter was properly addressed with
postage pre-paid and that it was actually mailed.
24. Presumption of Death;
a. Absence of 7 years – It being unknown whether, the absentee still lives, he shall be
presumed dead for all purposes, except for those of succession;

b. Absence of 10 years – The absentee shall be considered dead for the purpose of opening
his succession only after an absence of 10 years; and if he disappeared after the age of 75,
absence of only 5 years is sufficient;

c. The following shall be considered dead for all purposes including the division of estate
among the heirs:
i. Person on board a vessel lost during a sea voyage, or an aircraft which is missing,
who has not been heard of for 4 years since the loss of the vessel or aircraft;
ii. Member of the armed forces who has taken part in armed hostilities, and has been
missing for 4 years;
iii. Person who has been in danger of death under other circumstances and whose
existence has not been known for 4 years;
iv. If a married person has been absent for 4 consecutive years, the spouse present may
contract a subsequent marriage if he or she has well-founded belief that the absent
spouse is already dead; 2 years in case of disappearance where there is danger of
death under the circumstances hereinabove provided. Before marrying again, the
spouse present must institute a summary proceeding as provided in the Family Code
and in the rules for declaration of presumptive death of the absentee, without
prejudice to the effect of re-appearance of the absent spouse.

25. Acquiescence resulted from a belief that the thing acquiesced in was conformable to the law
or fact;
26. Things have happened according to the ordinary course of nature and ordinary habits of
life;
27. Persons acting as co-partners have entered into a contract of co-partnership;
28. A man and woman deporting themselves as husband and wife have entered into a lawful
contract of marriage;
29. Property acquired by a man and a woman who are capacitated to marry each other and who
live exclusively with each other as husband and wife without the benefit of marriage or under
void marriage, has been obtained by their joint efforts, work or industry;
30. In cases of cohabitation by a man and a woman who are not capacitated to marry each other
and who have acquired properly through their actual joint contribution of money, property
or industry, such contributions and their corresponding shares including joint deposits of
money and evidences of credit are equal;
31. If the marriage is terminated and the mother contracted another marriage within 300 days
after such termination of the former marriage, these rules shall govern in the absence of
proof to the contrary;

| Sy, Princess Janine R. Page 3 of 6

 a. A child born before 180 days after the solemnization of the subsequent marriage is
considered to have been conceived during the former marriage, provided it be born within
300 days after the termination of former marriage;
b. A child born after 180 days following the celebration of the subsequent marriage is
considered to have been conceived during such marriage, even though it be born within the
300 days after the termination of the former marriage.

32. A thing once proved to exist continues as long as is usual with things of that nature;
33. The law has been obeyed;
34. A printed or published book, purporting to be printed or published by public authority, was
so printed or published;
35. A printed or published book, purporting to contain reports of cases adjudged in tribunals of
the country where the book is published, contains correct reports of such cases;
36. A trustee or other person whose duty it was to convey real property to a particular person
has actually conveyed it to him when such presumption is necessary to perfect the title of
such person or his successor in interest;
37. Except for purposes of succession, when 2 persons perish in the same calamity, and it is not
shown who died first, and there are no particular circumstances from which it can be
inferred, the survivorship is determined from the probabilities resulting from the strength
and age of the sexes, according to the following rules:
a. If both were under the age of 15 years, the older is deemed to have been survived;
b. If both were above the age of sixty, the younger is deemed to have survived;
c. If one is under 15 and the other above 60, the former is deemed to have survived;
d. If both be over 15 and under 60, and the sex be different, the male is deemed to have
survived; if the sex be the same, the older;
e. If one be under 15 or over 60, and the other between those ages, the latter is deemed
to have survived.
38. That if there is a doubt, as between two or more persons who are called to succeed each other,
as to which of them died first, whoever alleges the death of one prior to the other, shall prove
the same; in the absence of proof, they shall be considered to have died at the same time (Sec.
3, Rule 131).

JUDICIAL NOTICE AND JUDICIAL ADMISSIONS

What Need Not Be Proved?

The following matters need not be proved:
1. Facts which are subject of judicial notice(RROE Rule 129 Sec 1-3)
2. Facts which are admitted (Rule 129 Sec.4)
3. Matters not specifically denied in the answer(Rule 8 Sec. 10)
4. Facts which are legally presumed (Rule 8 Sec. 10)
5. Those which are the subject of an Agreed statement of facts between the parties (Rule 30 Sec. 6).

What is Judicial Notice?

Judicial Notice is the cognizance of certain facts which judges may properly take and act on without proof
because they already know them. It can either be mandatory or discretionary.

When is Judicial Notice Mandatory? (POTANG-PEN)

A court can take judicial notice without the introduction of evidence of the following matters:
1. Existence and territorial extent of states;
2. Political history, forms of government and symbols of nationality;
3. Law of Nations;
4. Admiralty and maritime courts of the world and their seals;
5. Political constitution and history of the Philippines;
6. Official acts of legislative, executive and judicial of the National Government of the
Philippines;
7. Laws of Nature;

| Sy, Princess Janine R. Page 4 of 6

 8. Measure of Time; and
9. Geographical divisions (Sec. 1, Rule 129)

When is judicial notice discretionary?

Judicial notice is discretionary on the following matters:
1. Matters which are or public knowledge:
2. Matters capable of unquestionable demonstration; or
3. Matters ought to be known by judges because of their judicial function(ROC Rule 129, sec.2)

How can the court take judicial notice of any matter?

The court, motu proprio or upon motion, shall hear the parties on the propriety of taking judicial notice
(RROE, Rule 129, Sec. 3).

When can the court take judicial notice of any matter?

The following are the stages when the court can take judicial
1. During pre-trial;
2. During trial;
3. Before judgment; and During appeal (RROE, Rule 129, Sec. 3).

Note: Before judgment or on appeal, the court may take judicial notice of any matter if decisive of
a material issue in the case (RROE, Rule 129, Sec. 3).

What is the effect of judicial notice on the burden of proving a fact?

The taking of judicial notice means that the court will dispense with the traditional form of presentation
of evidence In so doing, the court assumes that the matter is so notorious that it would not be disputed
(Republic v. Sandiganbayan, G.R. No. 152375. December 16, 2011).

What is the effect if a foreign law is not pleaded and not proved?
A party invoking the application of a foreign law has the burden of proving the law, under the doctrine of
processual presumption (ATCI Overseas Corporation v. Echin, GR No. 178551, October 11, 2010).

Where a foreign law is not pleaded or, even if pleaded, is not proved, the presumption is that the foreign
law is the same as ours (EDI-Staffbulders international, Inc. v. NLRC, GR No. 145587, October 26,
2007)

What is a judicial admission?

A judicial admission is an admission, oral or written, made by the party in the course of the proceedings
in a same case. It does not require proof. The admission may be contradicted only by showing that it was
made through palpable mistake or that the imputed admission was not, in fact, made (ROC, Rule 129, Sec.
4).

What are the requisites of a judicial admission?

The requisites of a judicial admission are the following:
1. It must be made by a party to the case; and
2. The admission, oral or written, must be made in the course of proceedings in the same case
(ROC, Rule 129, Sec. 4).
Note: In criminal cases, all agreements or admissions made or entered during the pre trial
conference shall be reduced in writing and signed by the accused and counsel, otherwise, they
cannot be used against the accused (ROC, Rule 118, Sec 2).

What is the effect of a judicial admission?

A judicial admission is conclusive upon the party making it and does not require proof (ROC. Rule 129,
Sec. 4; People v. Genosa, G.R. No. 135981, January 15, 2004).

What are the grounds to controvert a judicial admission?

A judicial admission may be contradicted only by showing that it was made through palpable mistake or
that the imputed admission was not, in fact, made (ROC Rule 129, Sec. 4).

| Sy, Princess Janine R. Page 5 of 6

 IV. Comprehensive check – up

1. What is the effect of presumptions?

2. What is Judicial Notice?
3. Can the court take judicial notice of an ordinance passed by a barangay?
4. Can the court take judicial notice of the fact that Mindoro is in Region IV-B?

Checked by:

Mrs. Melody Comia- Dimapilis

Department Head

| Sy, Princess Janine R. Page 6 of 6