Admissibility and Evidential Weight of Electronic Data Messages or Electronic

Documents

(Section 12)

A. ADMISSIBILITY

- In any legal proceedings, nothing in the application of the rules on evidence shall deny the
admissibility of an electronic data message or electronic document in evidence

a. On the sole ground that it is in electronic form; or

b. On the ground that it is not in the standard written form, and the electronic data message
or electronic document meeting, and complying with the requirements under Sections 6 or 7
(the Legal Recognition) hereof shall be the best evidence of the agreement and transaction
contained therein.

In Section 3, Rule 128 of the Rules of Court provides that evidence is admissible when it is
relevant to the issue and is not excluded by Law or these Rules.

EXAMPLE: Atty. Rufus the CALBs is asking the witness about the evidence presented.
Where were you on this date? I was there. Who was with you? I was with my boyfriend.
When did he become your boyfriend? or How often do you date each other? or Whats his
favorite color? Malaki ba ang tiyan niya?

Judge Joseph Pat reacted, My golly! Those questions are irrelevant. Anong pakialam niyan sa
topic? Walang connection ba!

In Rule 3, Section 2 of the Rules on Electronic Evidence states that: an electronic document
is admissible in evidence if it complies with the rules on admissibility prescribed by the
Rules of Court and related laws and is authenticated in the manner prescribed by these
Rules.

Who has the burden of proving the authenticity of the evidence?

- The person seeking to introduce electronic document evidence in a legal proceeding.

United States Magistrate Judge Paul W. Grimm said that: the inability to get evidence
admitted because of a failure to authenticate it almost always is a self-inflicted injury which
can be avoided by thoughtful advance preparation. If it is critical to the success of your case to
admit into evidence computer stored records, it would be prudent to plan to authenticate the
record by the most rigorous standard that may be applied.

Failure to properly authenticate electronic evidence is fatal.

B. EVIDENTIAL WEIGHT

In assessing the evidential weight of an electronic data message or electronic document, the
reliability of the manner in which it was generated, stored or communicated, the
reliability of the manner in which its originator was identified, and other relevant
factors shall be given due regard.