Crim Pro - Rule 116

Arraignment and Plea

what is arraignment
how is the accused informed?
Constitutional right - one of the rights of the accused; right to be informed

Mode of informing the accused:

1. arraignment -
2. information -

impt ang arraignment bec it involves the right of the accused to be informed
What will be the effect if there is no arraignment but the accused participate
and convicted? - judgment will not be valid.
purpose of arraignment - to be properly prepare for his defense

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 💡 PP v Pangilinan - with arraignment but it was conducted after trial.
the defect is cured.

FACTS Pangilinan is the husband of BBB and the father of AAA. On

September 9, 1995, AAA felt that appellant approach their bed where
she and her two siblings are sleeping. Appellant removed her shorts
and lay on top of her. Her hands were pinned down above her head
by the appellant. Appellant tried to insert her penis on the vagina of
AAA but was not successful. On the following night, again appellant
did the same but this time he had forcibly inserted his penis unto the
vagina of AAA. During the month of September 1995, appellant
repeatedly raped AAA. On the month of January 1995, appellant did
the same act towards AAA. On March 1997, BBB the mother of AAA
went home from Singapore. AAA kept her silence until the time when
BBB is about to leave for Singapore. BBB was confronted by the
grandmother of AAA saying that appellant is molesting AAA. BBB
confronted AAA and she tearfully confessed. BBB filed the complaint.
Prosecution finally offered the evidences in which the trial court
finds that those evidences against the accused are strong. Trial court
having discovered that the accused has not be arraigned, scheduled
his arraignment.

**ISSUE**Whether or not, the case would be dismissed for the

ground that the appellant was not properly arraigned.

**HELD**No. Because appellant’s elated arraignment did not

prejudice him. This procedural defect was cured when **his counsel
participated in the trial without raising any objection that his client
had yet to be arraigned.** His counsel even cross-examined the
prosecution witnesses.  **His counsel’s active participation in the
hearings is a clear indication that he was fully aware of the charges
against him; otherwise, his counsel would have objected and
informed the court of this blunder. Moreover, no protest was made
when appellant was subsequently arraigned.** The parties did not
question the procedure undertaken by the trial court. It is only now,
after being convicted and sentenced to two death sentences, that
appellant cries that his constitutional right has been violated. It is
already too late to raise this procedural defect. SC did not allow it.

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 💡 PP v dumaca - it must be in the dialect known to the accused

**Facts:**The accused, an illiterate laborer, was charged guilty of

five instances of rape of her daughter. When he was arraigned, he
pleaded guilty to all of the complaints against him. Eventually
however, he informed the court that he was only guilty of two counts
of rape, that the other three might have been done by the victim’s
boyfriend and he was merely blamed for it.Since he was charged for
a heinous crime, the case was elevated to Supreme Court, which
found the arraignment process of the accused to be questionable.

**Issue:**Whether or not the arraignment was valid.

**Held:**No. Section 1(a) of Rule 116 requires that the arraignment

should be made in open court by the judge himself or by the clerk of
court furnishing the accused a copy of the complaint or information
with the list of witnesses stated therein, then reading the same in the
language or dialect that is known to him, and asking him what his
plea is to the charge. The requirement that the reading be made in a
language or dialect that the accused understands and known is a
mandatory requirement, just as the whole of said Section 1 should be
strictly followed by trial courts. This the law affords the accused by
way of implementation of the all-important constitutional mandate
regarding the right of an accused to be informed of the precise
nature of the accusation leveled at him and is, therefore, really an
avenue for him to be able to hoist the necessary defense in rebuttal
thereof.  It is an integral aspect of the due process clause under the
Constitution. In the case at hand, the arraignment appears to have
consisted merely of the bare reading of the five complaints,
synthetically and cryptically reported in the transcript. Moreover, the
court found out that the complaint or information was not read to
the accused in the language known to him, as his local dialect was
kinaray-a and the lower court conducted the arraignment in Ilonggo.
The bottom line of the rule is that a plea of guilt must be based on a
free and informed judgment. Thus, the searching inquiry of the trial
court must be focused on: 1 the voluntariness of the plea; and 2
the full comprehension of the consequences of the plea. The
questions of the trial court failed to show the voluntariness of the

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 plea of guilt of the appellant nor did the questions demonstrate
appellants full comprehension of the consequences of the plea. The
records do not reveal any information about the personality profile
of the appellant which can serve as a trustworthy index of his
capacity to give a free and informed plea of guilt. The age, socio-
economic status, and educational background of the appellant were
not plumbed by the trial court.*The Supreme Court remanded the
two criminal cases where the accused pleaded guilty back to the
lower court for further and appropriate proceedings.*

what is the significance of entering a plea of guilty or not guilty?

what is a capital offense?
v non capital offense?
what is searching inquiry? purpose? - considering the gravity of the offense,
naiintindihan ba ng client mo na makukulong sya; not necessary in capital
offense
In terms of evidence, is there a difference?
1. Capital offense: purpose, to determine the guilt.
non capital offense: to determine the penalty, no guilt.
2. plea of guilty in Capital offense: require mag present ng evidence
Non Capital offense: presentation of evidence is discretionary. Not mandatory
but directory. not required.
-what is plea to a lesser offense? is it a valid plea? Ex. charge of rape but the
accused said that it was just an acts of lasciviousness.
-a lesser of offense is necessarily included in the offense charge when some of
the elements of the offense charged includes the elements of the lesser
offense.
-why is it allowed?
-what is the effect of pleas of guilty? - expedition of proceedings,
-what is the effect of pleas of guilty to a lesser offense - purpose: to entice
the accused to enter a plea of guilty.
-in case of plea of not guilty,
-the silence of the accused when questioned if he plea guilty or not guilty, it
will be taken as not guilty because of presumption of innocence.
Ex. i will plea guilty if the judge will give me the minimum penalty. Not Guilty.
bec it is conditional plea.

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 -sige, i will plea of guilty. when it comes to the presentation of evidence, the
accused denied. Is it a valid plea? No, exculpatory evidence.
Exculpatory Evidence - you are presenting evidence that will excuse you or
exempt you from liability. So it should be not guilty.

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