LYCEUM NORTHERN LUZON

COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION

MacArthur Highway, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
Tel No: (075) 568-7963

CLJURIS 4
CRIMINAL EVIDENCE
MODULE 2

1.

I. RULE 129. WHAT NEED NOT TO BE PROVED (Refer to A.M. No. 19-08-15-SC for amendments)
A. Define ‘Judicial Notice’
Judicial notice is the cognizance of certain facts that judges may properly take and act
on without proof because these facts are already known to them. Put differently, it is
the assumption by a court of a fact without need of further traditional evidentiary
support.

B. Basis of Judicial Notice

Generally speaking, matters of judicial notice have three material requisites: (1) the
matter must be one of common and general knowledge; (2) it must be well and
authoritatively settled and not doubtful or uncertain; and (3) it must be known to be
within the limits of the jurisdiction of the court.

C. Kinds of Judicial Notice

Judicial notice is the cognizance of certain facts that judges may properly take and act
on without proof because these facts are already known to them. Put differently, it is
the assumption by a court of a fact without need of further traditional evidentiary
support.

D. What is the direct effect of Judicial Notice upon the burden of proving a fact?

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 LYCEUM NORTHERN LUZON
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
MacArthur Highway, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
Tel No: (075) 568-7963

E. What facts are subject to mandatory judicial notice? Give examples of each.
i. Territorial extent
1. The Philippines, being entirely surrounded by the sea, is the only
Southeast Asian country which shares no land boundaries with its
neighbors. The total land area of the Philippines is 300,055 square
kilometres which stretches for 1,850 kilometres from north to south
while spanning 1,100 kilometres from east to west.
ii. General history
iii. Forms of government of states
iv. Symbols of nationality
1. Aside from those stated symbols in the Constitution and in Republic
Act 8491, there are only six official national symbols of the Philippines
enacted through law, namely sampaguita as national flower, narra as
national tree, the Philippine eagle as national bird, Philippine pearl as
national gem, arnis as national

v. Law of nations
1. Definition of the law of nations. The Law of Nations is the science
which teaches the rights subsisting between nations or states, and the
obligations correspondent to those rights.

vi. Admiralty courts and their seals

1. An admiralty court is a tribunal with jurisdiction over maritime law,
including cases regarding shipping, ocean, and sea laws. Historically,
admiralty courts were a separate part of the court system. In modern
times, these cases may be assigned within the regular court system,
usually at the federal or Superior Court level.

vii. Political constitution and history of the Philippines

1. The Philippines has had a total of six constitutions since the
Proclamation of Independence on June 12, 1898. In 1899, the Malolos
Constitution, the first Philippine Constitution—the first republican
constitution in Asia—was drafted and adopted by the First Philippine
Republic, which lasted from 1899 to 1901.

viii. Matters relating to the legislative department

1. The Legislative branch is authorized to make laws, alter, and repeal
them through the power vested in the Philippine Congress. This
institution is divided into the Senate and the House of
Representatives.

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 LYCEUM NORTHERN LUZON
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
MacArthur Highway, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
Tel No: (075) 568-7963

ix. Matters relating to the executive department

1. Executive departments are responsible for selecting, interviewing and
hiring vice presidents and directors to run various departments.
Executives who work within these departments must make sure all
functional areas like marketing are run effectively.

x. Matters relating to the courts of justice

1. Present-day Supreme Court. Pursuant to the provisions of the 1987
Constitution, the Supreme Court is composed of a chief Justice and 14
associate justices who serve until the age of 70. The court may sit en
banc or in one of its three divisions composed of five members each.

xi. Laws of nature

xii. Measurement of time
xiii. Geographical divisions,

F. What facts are subject to discretionary judicial notice? Give examples of each
i. Matters of public knowledge
1. The matters fall into three groups: 1. Those which are of public
knowledge 2. Those which are capable of unquestionable
demonstration and 3. Matters ought to be known to judges because of
their judicial functions.

ii. Matters capable of unquestionable demonstration

1. These are matters which, even if not notorious, can be immediately
shown to exist or be true so as to justify dispensing with actual proof

iii. Matters ought to be known to judge because of their judicial functions

1. The mere personal knowledge of the judge is not the judicial
knowledge

G. Define ‘Judicial Admissions’

A judicial admission is a formal statement, either by party or his or her attorney, in
course of judicial proceeding which removes an admitted fact from field of
controversy. It is a voluntary concession of fact by a party or a party's attorney during
judicial proceedings

H. Define ‘Extra Judicial Admissions’

The extrajudicial confession of an accused is admissible in evidence to prove his guilt
beyond reasonable doubt provided it is made voluntarily and of his own free will.

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 LYCEUM NORTHERN LUZON
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
MacArthur Highway, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
Tel No: (075) 568-7963

I. Distinguish ‘Judicial admissions’ from ‘Extra Judicial Admissions

Judicial admissions are conclusive upon the party making them, while extrajudicial
admissions or other admissions are, as a rule, and where the elements of estoppel are
not present, disputable.

J. What are the different forms of Judicial Admissions

Judicial admissions are conclusive upon the party making them, while extrajudicial
admissions or other admissions are, as a rule, and where the elements of estoppel are
not present, disputable.

K. Does failure to answer the complaint amount to judicial admission of facts alleged
therein?
Effect of failure to answer. – Should the defendant fail to answer the complaint within
the period above provided, the court, motu proprio or on motion of the plaintiff, shall
render judgment as may be warranted by the facts alleged in the complaint and
limited to what is prayed for therein.

L. What is the effect of a judicial admission?

A judicial admission is a formal stipulation by party or counsel that concedes any
element of a claim or defense. ' Its effect is to determine the issue conclusively, to
dispense entirely with the need for further evidence.

II. RULE 130. RULES OF ADMISSIBILITY (Refer to A.M. No. 19-08-15-SC for amendments)
A. Define ‘Object (Real) Evidence
i. Scope of Object (Real) Evidence
1. Object as evidence. - Objects as evidence are those addressed to the
senses of the court. When an object is relevant to the fact in issue, it
may be exhibited to, examined or viewed by the court. (1

ii. Distinguish Object (Real) Evidence from Demonstrative Evidence

1. Demonstrative evidence can include things like photographs, film
recordings, or x-rays.
2. Real evidence is the kind that you may see on television also. Think of
real evidence as something that is three dimensional, like an object

iii. Requisites for the admissibility

1. There are three requirements for admissibility: relevancy, competency
and proper authentication.

B. Define ‘Documentary Evidence’

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 LYCEUM NORTHERN LUZON
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
MacArthur Highway, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
Tel No: (075) 568-7963

1. Section 2. Documentary evidence. — Documents as evidence consist

of writing or any material containing letters, words, numbers, figures,
symbols or other modes of written expression offered as proof of their
contents. (n

ii. Original Document Rule

1. Section 3. Original document must be produced; exceptions
a. Section 3. Original document must be produced; exceptions. —
When the subject of inquiry is the contents of a document, no
evidence shall be admissible other than the original document
itself, except in the following cases:
b. (a) When the original has been lost or destroyed, or cannot be
produced in court, without bad faith on the part of the offeror;
c. (b) When the original is in the custody or under the control of
the party against whom the evidence is offered, and the latter
fails to produce it after reasonable notice;
d. (c) When the original consists of numerous accounts or other
documents which cannot be examined in court without great
loss of time and the fact sought to be established from them is
only the general result of the whole; and
e. (d) When the original is a public record in the custody of a
public officer or is recorded in a public office. (2a)

2. Section 4. Original of document

a. Section 4. Original of document. —

i. (a) The original of the document is one the contents of

which are the subject of inquiry.
ii. (b) When a document is in two or more copies
executed at or about the same time, with identical
contents, all such copies are equally regarded as
originals.
iii. (c) When an entry is repeated in the regular course of
business, one being copied from another at or near the
time of the transaction, all the entries are likewise
equally regarded as originals. (3a)

iii. Secondary Evidence

1. Section 5. When original document is unavailable
a. When original document is unavailable. — When the original
document has been lost or destroyed, or cannot be produced

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 LYCEUM NORTHERN LUZON
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
MacArthur Highway, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
Tel No: (075) 568-7963

in court, the offeror, upon proof of its execution or existence

and the cause of its unavailability without bad faith on his
part, may prove its contents by a copy, or by a recital of its
contents in some authentic document, or by the testimony of
witnesses in the order stated. (4a)

2. Section 6. When original document is in adverse party’s custody or

control
a. When original document is in adverse party's custody or
control. — If the document is in the custody or under the
control of adverse party, he must have reasonable notice to
produce it. If after such notice and after satisfactory proof of
its existence, he fails to produce the document, secondary
evidence may be presented as in the case of its loss. (5a)

3. Section 7. Summaries
a. Evidence admissible when original document is a public
record. — When the original of document is in the custody of
public officer or is recorded in a public office, its contents may
be proved by a certified copy issued by the public officer in
custody thereof. (2a)

4. Section 8. Evidence admissible when original document is a public

record
a. A party who calls for the production of a document and
inspects the same is not obliged to offer it as evidence. (6a

5. Section 9. Party who calls for document not bound to offer it

a. Evidence of written agreements. – When the terms of an
agreement have been reduced to writing, it is considered as
containing all the terms agreed upon and there can be,
between the parties and their successors in interest, no
evidence of such terms other than the contents of the written
agreement. However, a party may present evidence to modify,
explain or add to the terms of the written agreement if he puts
in issue in his pleading: (a) An intrinsic ambiguity, mistake or
imperfection in the written agreement; (b) The failure of the
written agreement to express the true intent and agreement
of the parties thereto; (c) The validity of the written
agreement; or (d) The existence of other terms agreed to by
the parties or their successors in interest after the execution of

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 LYCEUM NORTHERN LUZON
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
MacArthur Highway, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
Tel No: (075) 568-7963

the written agreement. The term “agreement” includes wills.

(7a)

iv. Parol Evidence Rule

1. Define ‘Parole Evidence Rule’
a. In general, the parol evidence rule prevents the introduction
of evidence of prior or contemporaneous negotiations and
agreements that contradict, modify, or vary the contractual
terms of a written contract when the written contract is
intended to be a complete and final expression of the parties'
agreement.

2. Section 10. Evidence written agreement

a. Section 10. Evidence of written agreements. – When the terms
of an agreement have been reduced to writing, it is considered
as containing all the terms agreed upon and there can be, as
between the parties and their successors in interest, no
evidence of such terms other than the contents of the written
agreement
3. Reason for the Parol Evidence Rule
a. In general, the parol evidence rule prevents the introduction
of evidence of prior or contemporaneous negotiations and
agreements that contradict, modify, or vary the contractual
terms of a written contract when the written contract is
intended to be a complete and final expression of the parties'
agreement.

4. Distinguish the ‘Best Evidence Rule’ from ‘Parol Evidence Rule’

a. Difference between the Best Evidence Rule and the
ParolEvidence RuleIn the Best Evidence Rule,
b. the original document is not available or there is a dispute as
to whether said writing is original.Whereas inParol Evidence
Rule it presupposes that the original document is available in
court.
c. In terms of application, the Best Evidence Rule does not apply
to all types of evidence. It only applies when the evidence
isdocumentary, and the content of the document is the subject
of the inquiry. Where the issue is the execution or existence of
thedocument or the circumstances surrounding its execution,
the best evidence rule does not apply and testimonial
evidence is admissible(Arceo v. People, 495 SCRA

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 LYCEUM NORTHERN LUZON
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
MacArthur Highway, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
Tel No: (075) 568-7963

204).Whereas, Parol Evidence Rule applies to contracts which

the parties have decided to set forth inwriting. Therefore,Parol
Evidence Rule does not apply to oral contracts

5. When is Parol Evidence admissible?

a. Parol evidence is admissible to show the existence of grounds
that would cause the contract to be void. Such grounds include
illegality, fraud, duress, mistake, and lack of consideration.
And parol evidence is allowed to show evidence of lack of
contractual capacity.

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