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Revised Rules On Evidence Codal
Revised Rules On Evidence Codal
(c) The mental sanity of a person with Section 1. Burden of proof. Burden
whom he is sufficiently acquainted. of proof is the duty of a party to present
evidence on the facts in issue necessary
The witness may also testify on his to establish his claim or defense by the
impressions of the emotion, behavior, amount of evidence required by law.
condition or appearance of a person. (1a, 2a)
(44a)
Section 2. Conclusive presumptions.
8. Character Evidence The following are instances of
conclusive presumptions:
Section 51. Character evidence not
generally admissible; exceptions: (a) Whenever a party has, by his own
declaration, act, or omission,
(a) In Criminal Cases: intentionally and deliberately led to
another to believe a particular thing true,
(1) The accused may prove his good and to act upon such belief, he cannot,
moral character which is pertinent to the in any litigation arising out of such
moral trait involved in the offense declaration, act or omission, be
charged. permitted to falsify it:
(2) Unless in rebuttal, the prosecution (b) The tenant is not permitted to deny
may not prove his bad moral character the title of his landlord at the time of
which is pertinent to the moral trait commencement of the relation of
involved in the offense charged. landlord and tenant between them. (3a)
(f) That money paid by one to another (p) That private transactions have been
was due to the latter; fair and regular;
(g) That a thing delivered by one to (q) That the ordinary course of business
another belonged to the latter; has been followed;
(h) That an obligation delivered up to the (r) That there was a sufficient
debtor has been paid; consideration for a contract;
(i) That prior rents or installments had (s) That a negotiable instrument was
been paid when a receipt for the later given or indorsed for a sufficient
one is produced; consideration;
(m) That official duty has been regularly The absentee shall not be considered
performed; dead for the purpose of opening his
succession till after an absence of ten
(n) That a court, or judge acting as such, years. If he disappeared after the age of
whether in the Philippines or elsewhere, seventy-five years, an absence of five
was acting in the lawful exercise of years shall be sufficient in order that his
jurisdiction; succession may be opened.
(1) A person on board a vessel lost (aa) That a man and woman deporting
during a sea voyage, or an aircraft with themselves as husband and wife have
is missing, who has not been heard of entered into a lawful contract of
for four years since the loss of the marriage;
vessel or aircraft;
(bb) That property acquired by a man
(2) A member of the armed forces who and a woman who are capacitated to
has taken part in armed hostilities, and marry each other and who live
has been missing for four years; exclusively with each other as husband
and wife without the benefit of marriage
(3) A person who has been in danger of or under void marriage, has been
death under other circumstances and obtained by their joint efforts, work or
whose existence has not been known industry.
for four years;
(cc) That in cases of cohabitation by a
(4) If a married person has been absent man and a woman who are not
for four consecutive years, the spouse capacitated to marry each other and
present may contract a subsequent who have acquire properly through their
marriage if he or she has well-founded actual joint contribution of money,
belief that the absent spouse is already property or industry, such contributions
death. In case of disappearance, where and their corresponding shares
there is a danger of death the including joint deposits of money and
circumstances hereinabove provided, an evidences of credit are equal.
absence of only two years shall be
sufficient for the purpose of contracting (dd) That if the marriage is terminated
a subsequent marriage. However, in any and the mother contracted another
case, before marrying again, the spouse marriage within three hundred days after
present must institute a summary such termination of the former marriage,
proceedings as provided in the Family these rules shall govern in the absence
Code and in the rules for declaration of of proof to the contrary:
presumptive death of the absentee,
without prejudice to the effect of (1) A child born before one hundred
reappearance of the absent spouse. eighty days after the solemnization of
the subsequent marriage is considered
(x) That acquiescence resulted from a to have been conceived during such
belief that the thing acquiesced in was marriage, even though it be born within
conformable to the law or fact; the three hundred days after the
termination of the former marriage.
(y) That things have happened
according to the ordinary course of (2) A child born after one hundred eighty
nature and ordinary nature habits of life; days following the celebration of the
subsequent marriage is considered to
have been conceived during such 2. If both were above the age sixty, the
marriage, even though it be born within younger is deemed to have survived;
the three hundred days after the
termination of the former marriage. 3. If one is under fifteen and the other
above sixty, the former is deemed to
(ee) That a thing once proved to exist have survived;
continues as long as is usual with things
of the nature; 4. If both be over fifteen and under sixty,
and the sex be different, the male is
(ff) That the law has been obeyed; deemed to have survived, if the sex be
the same, the older;
(gg) That a printed or published book,
purporting to be printed or published by 5. If one be under fifteen or over sixty,
public authority, was so printed or and the other between those ages, the
published; latter is deemed to have survived.
(hh) That a printed or published book, (kk) That if there is a doubt, as between
purporting contain reports of cases two or more persons who are called to
adjudged in tribunals of the country succeed each other, as to which of them
where the book is published, contains died first, whoever alleges the death of
correct reports of such cases; one prior to the other, shall prove the
same; in the absence of proof, they shall
(ii) That a trustee or other person whose be considered to have died at the same
duty it was to convey real property to a time. (5a)
particular person has actually conveyed
it to him when such presumption is Section 4. No presumption of legitimacy
necessary to perfect the title of such or illegitimacy. There is no
person or his successor in interest; presumption of legitimacy of a child born
after three hundred days following the
(jj) That except for purposes of dissolution of the marriage or the
succession, when two persons perish in separation of the spouses. Whoever
the same calamity, such as wreck, alleges the legitimacy or illegitimacy of
battle, or conflagration, and it is not such child must prove his allegation. (6)
shown who died first, and there are no
particular circumstances from which it
can be inferred, the survivorship is
determined from the probabilities RULE 132
resulting from the strength and the age
of the sexes, according to the following Presentation of Evidence
rules:
A. EXAMINATION OF WITNESSES
1. If both were under the age of fifteen
years, the older is deemed to have Section 1. Examination to be done in
survived; open court. The examination of
witnesses presented in a trial or hearing
shall be done in open court, and under
oath or affirmation. Unless the witness is (5) Not to give an answer which will tend
incapacitated to speak, or the questions to degrade his reputation, unless it to be
calls for a different mode of answer, the the very fact at issue or to a fact from
answers of the witness shall be given which the fact in issue would be
orally. (1a) presumed. But a witness must answer
to the fact of his previous final conviction
Section 2. Proceedings to be recorded. for an offense. (3a, 19a)
The entire proceedings of a trial or
hearing, including the questions Section 4. Order in the examination of
propounded to a witness and his an individual witness. The order in
answers thereto, the statements made which the individual witness may be
by the judge or any of the parties, examined is as follows;
counsel, or witnesses with reference to
the case, shall be recorded by means of (a) Direct examination by the proponent;
shorthand or stenotype or by other
means of recording found suitable by (b) Cross-examination by the opponent;
the court.
(c) Re-direct examination by the
A transcript of the record of the proponent;
proceedings made by the official
stenographer, stenotypist or recorder (d) Re-cross-examination by the
and certified as correct by him shall be opponent. (4)
deemed prima facie a correct statement
of such proceedings. (2a) Section 5. Direct examination. Direct
examination is the examination-in-chief
Section 3. Rights and obligations of a of a witness by the party presenting him
witness. A witness must answer on the facts relevant to the issue. (5a)
questions, although his answer may
tend to establish a claim against him. Section 6. Cross-examination; its
However, it is the right of a witness: purpose and extent. Upon the
termination of the direct examination,
(1) To be protected from irrelevant, the witness may be cross-examined by
improper, or insulting questions, and the adverse party as to many matters
from harsh or insulting demeanor; stated in the direct examination, or
connected therewith, with sufficient
(2) Not to be detained longer than the fullness and freedom to test his
interests of justice require; accuracy and truthfulness and freedom
from interest or bias, or the reverse, and
(3) Not to be examined except only as to to elicit all important facts bearing upon
matters pertinent to the issue; the issue. (8a)
(4) Not to give an answer which will tend Section 7. Re-direct examination; its
to subject him to a penalty for an purpose and extent. After the cross-
offense unless otherwise provided by examination of the witness has been
law; or concluded, he may be re-examined by
the party calling him, to explain or
supplement his answers given during or of a partnership or association which
the cross-examination. On re-direct- is an adverse party.
examination, questions on matters not
dealt with during the cross-examination, A misleading question is one which
may be allowed by the court in its assumes as true a fact not yet testified
discretion. (12) to by the witness, or contrary to that
which he has previously stated. It is not
Section 8. Re-cross-examination. allowed. (5a, 6a, and 8a)
Upon the conclusion of the re-direct
examination, the adverse party may re- Section 11. Impeachment of adverse
cross-examine the witness on matters party's witness. A witness may be
stated in his re-direct examination, and impeached by the party against whom
also on such other matters as may be he was called, by contradictory
allowed by the court in its discretion. evidence, by evidence that his general
(13) reputation for truth, honestly, or integrity
is bad, or by evidence that he has made
Section 9. Recalling witness. After at other times statements inconsistent
the examination of a witness by both with his present, testimony, but not by
sides has been concluded, the witness evidence of particular wrongful acts,
cannot be recalled without leave of the except that it may be shown by the
court. The court will grant or withhold examination of the witness, or the
leave in its discretion, as the interests of record of the judgment, that he has
justice may require. (14) been convicted of an offense. (15)
Section 10. Leading and misleading Section 12. Party may not impeach his
questions. A question which suggests own witness. Except with respect to
to the witness the answer which the witnesses referred to in paragraphs (d)
examining party desires is a leading and (e) of Section 10, the party
question. It is not allowed, except: producing a witness is not allowed to
impeach his credibility.
(a) On cross examination;
A witness may be considered as
(b) On preliminary matters; unwilling or hostile only if so declared by
the court upon adequate showing of his
(c) When there is a difficulty is getting adverse interest, unjustified reluctance
direct and intelligible answers from a to testify, or his having misled the party
witness who is ignorant, or a child of into calling him to the witness stand.
tender years, or is of feeble mind, or a
deaf-mute; The unwilling or hostile witness so
declared, or the witness who is an
(d) Of an unwilling or hostile witness; or adverse party, may be impeached by
the party presenting him in all respects
(e) Of a witness who is an adverse party as if he had been called by the adverse
or an officer, director, or managing party, except by evidence of his bad
agent of a public or private corporation character. He may also be impeached
and cross-examined by the adverse
party, but such cross-examination must same was correctly written or recorded;
only be on the subject matter of his but in such case the writing or record
examination-in-chief. (6a, 7a) must be produced and may be
inspected by the adverse party, who
Section 13. How witness impeached by may, if he chooses, cross examine the
evidence of inconsistent statements. witness upon it, and may read it in
Before a witness can be impeached by evidence. So, also, a witness may testify
evidence that he has made at other from such writing or record, though he
times statements inconsistent with his retain no recollection of the particular
present testimony, the statements must facts, if he is able to swear that the
be related to him, with the writing or record correctly stated the
circumstances of the times and places transaction when made; but such
and the persons present, and he must evidence must be received with caution.
be asked whether he made such (10a)
statements, and if so, allowed to explain
them. If the statements be in writing they Section 17. When part of transaction,
must be shown to the witness before writing or record given in evidence, the
any question is put to him concerning remainder, the remainder admissible.
them. (16) When part of an act, declaration,
conversation, writing or record is given
Section 14. Evidence of good character in evidence by one party, the whole of
of witness. Evidence of the good the same subject may be inquired into
character of a witness is not admissible by the other, and when a detached act,
until such character has been declaration, conversation, writing or
impeached. (17) record is given in evidence, any other
act, declaration, conversation, writing or
Section 15. Exclusion and separation of record necessary to its understanding
witnesses. On any trial or hearing, may also be given in evidence. (11a)
the judge may exclude from the court
any witness not at the time under Section 18. Right to respect writing
examination, so that he may not hear shown to witness. Whenever a
the testimony of other witnesses. The writing is shown to a witness, it may be
judge may also cause witnesses to be inspected by the adverse party. (9a)
kept separate and to be prevented from
conversing with one another until all B. AUTHENTICATION AND PROOF
shall have been examined. (18) OF DOCUMENTS
Section 16. When witness may refer to Section 19. Classes of Documents.
memorandum. A witness may be For the purpose of their presentation
allowed to refresh his memory evidence, documents are either public
respecting a fact, by anything written or or private.
recorded by himself or under his
direction at the time when the fact Public documents are:
occurred, or immediately thereafter, or
at any other time when the fact was (a) The written official acts, or records of
fresh in his memory and knew that the the official acts of the sovereign
authority, official bodies and tribunals, handwriting of such person because he
and public officers, whether of the has seen the person write, or has seen
Philippines, or of a foreign country; writing purporting to be his upon which
the witness has acted or been charged,
(b) Documents acknowledge before a and has thus acquired knowledge of the
notary public except last wills and handwriting of such person. Evidence
testaments; and respecting the handwriting may also be
given by a comparison, made by the
(c) Public records, kept in the witness or the court, with writings
Philippines, of private documents admitted or treated as genuine by the
required by law to the entered therein. party against whom the evidence is
offered, or proved to be genuine to the
All other writings are private. (20a) satisfaction of the judge. (23a)
Footnote