EVIDENCE REMEDIAL LAW PRE-WEEK

EVIDENCE X: If party puts in issue in his pleading:

EVI DENCE o
(1) Intrinsic ambiguity, mistake or
imperfection in the written
agreement;
NOTE:
(2) Failure of written agreement to
X = Exception
express the true intent of the parties;
(3) Validity of written agreement;
(4) Existence of other terms agreed to
CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE AS TO after execution of written agreement
FORM 3) Testimonial evidence:
a) Disqualification of witnesses:
1) Object/real = Directly addressed to the court’s (1) Mental incapacity or immaturity;
senses. (2) Marriage;
2) Documentary = Writing or any material (3) Dead Man’s Statute or Survivorship
containing modes of written expression offered as Rule = Parties or assignors of parties to a
proof of their contents. case, or persons in whose behalf a case is
3) Testimonial = Testimony/deposition of a witness. prosecuted, against an
executor/administrator or other
representative of a deceased person, or
against a person of unsound mind, upon a
ADMISSIBILITY
claim/demand against the estate of such
deceased person or against such person
o When determined: At the time evidence is offered of unsound mind, cannot testify as to any
to the court. matter of fact occurring before the death
o Admissible evidence = Relevant + Competent. of deceased person or before person
became of unsound mind.
Relevant Material o X:
Definition Having any value Directed to prove a o Deceased was guilty of fraud
in reason as fact in issue as
established by evidence other
tending to prove determined by the
than the testimony of survivor;
any matter rules of substantive
provable in an law and pleading
o Survivor sued by decedent’s
action estate;
Test WON the former WON the fact it o Estate filed a counterclaim
tends to establish intends to prove is against survivor or where he was
probability or in issue cross-examined.
improbability of the b) Privileged communications:
latter (1) Marital privilege = Spouses, during or
after marriage, cannot be examined
RULES ON ADMISSIBILITY without the consent of the other as to any
1) Object evidence. communication received in confidence by
2) Documentary evidence: one from the other during the marriage.
a) Best evidence rule (BER) = If content of a o X:
document is subject of inquiry, no evidence a) Civil case by one against the
shall be admissible other than the original other;
document. b) Criminal case for crime
o X: If original is: committed by one against the
(1) Lost, destroyed, or cannot be other or the latter's direct
produced in court, without bad faith descendants/ascendants.
of offeror; (2) Attorney-client privilege;
(2) In custody or under control of party (3) Physician-patient privilege;
against whom evidence is offered, (4) Priest-petinent privilege;
and latter fails to produce it after (5) Public officer privilege;
reasonable notice; (6) Parental and filial privilege.
(3) Consists of numerous accounts which
cannot be examined in court without ADMISSIONS AND CONFESSIONS
great loss of time, and the fact o Act/declaration/omission of a party as to a
sought to be established is only the relevant fact may be given in evidence against
general result of the whole; him.
(4) A public record in custody of public
officer. COMPROMISE
o Original of a document = 1) Civil cases – Offer of compromise not an
(1) Contents are subject of inquiry admission of liability. Not admissible against
(2) In 2 or more copies executed at or offeror.
about the same time, with identical 2) Criminal cases – Offer of compromise by accused
contents, all are equally regarded as may be received in evidence as implied admission
originals of guilt.
(3) Entry is repeated in the regular o X:
course of business, one being copied a) Cases involving criminal negligence;
from another at/near the time of the b) Allowed by law to be compromised.
transaction, all entries are regarded
as originals o Offer to pay or payment of medical expenses not
b) Secondary evidence. admissible in evidence as proof of civil/criminal
c) Parol evidence rule = If terms of an liability for the injury.
agreement have been reduced to writing, it is o Plea of guilty later withdrawn or an unaccepted
considered as containing all the terms agreed offer of a plea of guilty to lesser offense, not
upon and there can be no evidence of such admissible in evidence against accused.
terms other than the contents of the written o Plea of forgiveness analogous to an attempt to
agreement. compromise.

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EVIDENCE REMEDIAL LAW PRE-WEEK

o Offer to compromise does not require that 1) Dying declaration = Requisites:

criminal complaint be first filed before offer can be a) Made under consciousness of an impending
received as evidence against offeror. death;
b) Refers to cause and surrounding
RES INTER ALIOS ACTA circumstances of death;
= Rights of party cannot be prejudiced by an c) Refers to facts the person is competent to
act/declaration/omission of another. (1st branch of testify to; &
res inter alios acta rule) d) Offered in any case wherein his death is
o X: subject of inquiry.
1) Partner’s/agent’s admission; 2) Declaration against interest.
2) Co-conspirator’s admission; 3) Pedigree.
3) Admission by privies. 4) Family tradition.
o Extra-judicial statements of accused implicating a 5) Common reputation.
co-accused may not be utilized against the latter. 6) Res gestae = Requisites:
o X: a) Made by a person while a starting occurrence
1) Co-accused impliedly acquiesced/adopted is taking place or immediately
the confession by not questioning its prior/subsequent thereto, with respect to the
truthfulness; circumstances thereof.
2) Accused persons voluntarily and b) Accompanying an equivocal act material to
independently executed identical the issue, and giving it a legal significance.
confessions without collusion; 7) Entries in the course of business.
3) Accused admitted after being apprised of 8) Official records.
confession; 9) Commercial lists.
4) If charged as co-conspirators of crime 10) Learned treatises.
confessed by 1 and confession is used 11) Prior testimony.
only as a corroborating evidence;
5) Confession used as circumstantial
evidence to show probability of OPINION RULE
participation by co-conspirator;
6) Confessant testified for co-defendant; o Opinion of witness not admissible.
7) Co-conspirator’s extra-judicial confession o X:
corroborated by other evidence on record. 1) Expert witness: On matters requiring
special knowledge/skill/experience/
CONFESSION training which he has shown to possess.
= Declaration of accused acknowledging his guilt of 2) Ordinary witness: If proper basis is given,
the offense charged, or of any offense necessarily and regarding:
included therein, may be given in evidence a) Identity of person about whom he
against him. has adequate knowledge;
b) Handwriting with which he has
sufficient familiarity;
CONDUCT AND CHARACTER AS EVIDENCE c) Mental sanity of person with whom he
is sufficiently acquainted;
CONDUCT d) Impressions of emotion/behavior/
o Evidence that one did or did not do a certain thing condition/appearance of a person.
at one time, is not admissible to prove that he did
or did not do the same/similar thing at another
time. (2nd branch of res inter alios acta rule) BURDEN OF PROOF
o X: That evidence may be received to prove a
specific intent/knowledge/identity/plan/ = Duty of party to present evidence on the facts in
system/scheme/habit/custom/usage. issue necessary to establish his claim/defense by
the amount required by law.
CHARACTER
o Character evidence is not admissible.
o X:
1) Criminal cases:
WHAT NEED NOT BE PROVED
a) Accused – May prove his good moral
character pertinent to the moral trait 1) Judicial notice
involved in the offense a) Mandatory:
b) Prosecution – May not prove bad (1) Existence and territorial extent of
moral character of accused. states;
o X: In rebuttal. (2) Their political history;
c) Offended Party – If it tends to (3) Their forms of government;
establish in any reasonable degree (4) Their symbols of nationality;
the im/probability of the offense. (5) Law of nations;
2) Civil cases: (6) Admiralty and maritime courts of the
o If pertinent to the issue of character world and their seals;
involved in case. (7) Political constitution and history of the
Philippines;
(8) Official acts of Philippine legislative,
executive and judicial departments
HEARSAY RULE
(9) Laws of nature;
(10) Measure of time;
TESTIMONIAL KNOWLEDGE (11) Geographical divisions.
o Witness may testify only as to those facts which b) Discretionary:
he has personal knowledge of (those derived from (1) Public knowledge;
his own perception). (2) Capable of unquestionable
demonstration;
EXCEPTIONS TO HEARSAY RULE (3) Ought to be known to judges because of

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EVIDENCE REMEDIAL LAW PRE-WEEK

their judicial functions. took part in

2) Judicial admissions = Written/verbal admissions armed hostilities
made in the course of the proceedings in the 3. In danger of
same case. death and whose
3) Presumptions: existence has not
a) Conclusive: Person whose Remarriage:
(1) Party by his own spouse has been
declaration/act/omission, has led another absent for 4 - Spouse present
4 consecutive years; must institute
to believe a thing to be true and act upon
has a well-founded summary
such belief, he cannot in any litigation
belief that absent proceedings as
arising out of such spouse already dead provided in Family
declaration/act/omission be permitted to Missing spouse in Code and in the
falsify it. danger of death rules for declaration
(2) Tenant not permitted to deny title of his under extra-ordinary of presumptive
landlord at the time of commencement of circumstances above death of absentee,
the relation of landlord-tenant between 2 without prejudice to
them. effect of
b) Disputable: reappearance of
(1) Presumption of innocence; absent spouse
(2) Unlawful act done with unlawful intent;
(3) Person intends ordinary consequences
of voluntary act; (24) Acquiescence resulted from belief that
(4) Person takes ordinary care of his the thing acquiesced in was
concerns; conformable to law/fact;
(5) Evidence willfully suppressed would be (25) Things happened according to the
adverse if produced; ordinary course of nature;
(6) Money paid by one to another was due (26) Persons acting as copartners entered
to the latter; into contract of co-partnership;
(7) Thing delivered by one to another (27) Man and woman deporting themselves
belonged to the latter; as husband and wife have entered into
(8) Obligation delivered to debtor has been lawful contract of marriage;
paid; (28) Presumptions governing children of
(9) Prior rents or installments paid when women who contracted another
receipt for the later ones is produced; marriage within 300 days after
(10) Person found in possession of a thing termination of former marriage (in the
taken in the doing of a recent wrongful absence of proof to the contrary):
act is the taker; Things over which a
person possesses or exercises acts of When child was born Presumption
ownership, are owned by him; Before 180 days after Conceived during the
(11) Person in possession of an order on solemnization of former marriage, provided
himself for payment of money or subsequent marriage it’s born within 300 days
delivery of anything has paid the money after termination of former
or delivered the thing; marriage
(12) Person acting in public office was After 180 days following Conceived during
regularly appointed or elected; celebration of subsequent marriage,
(13) Official duty regularly performed; subsequent marriage even though it’s born
(14) Court or judge acting as such was within the 300 days after
acting in lawful exercise of jurisdiction; termination of former
marriage.
(15) All matters within an issue raised in a
case were laid before the court (or
arbitrator) and passed upon by it; (29) A thing once proved to exist continues
(16) Private transactions were fair and as long as is usual with things of the
regular; nature;
(17) Ordinary course of business followed; (30) The law has been obeyed;
(18) Sufficient consideration for a contract; (31) A printed/published book, purporting to
(19) Negotiable instrument given/indorsed be printed/published by public
for sufficient consideration; authority, was so printed/published;
(20) Indorsement of negotiable instrument (32) A printed/published book, purporting to
made before it’s overdue and at place contain reports of cases adjudged in
where it’s dated; tribunals of the country where the book
(21) Writing is truly dated; is published, contains correct reports of
(22) Letter duly directed and mailed received such cases;
in the regular course of mail; (33) A trustee or other person whose duty it
(23) Absence: was to convey real property to a
particular person has actually conveyed
No. of it to him when such presumption is
years of Instances Purpose necessary to perfect the title of such
absence person or his successor in interest;
All purposes except (34) Survivorship: (For all purposes, X:
Without it being succession)
7 opening his
known WON he is
succession
alive
10 Opening his Situation Person presumed to
5 After age of 75 Succession have survived
1. On board vessel Both < 15 y/o Older
lost during Both > 60 y/o Younger
All purposes
voyage, or One < 15 y/o, One <15
4 including opening
aircraft missing the other > 60 y/o
of his succession
2. Member of the Both > 15 and < 60 y/o, Male
armed forces Of different sexes

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Both > 15 and <60 y/o, Older of proof which produces conviction in an
Of the same sex unprejudiced mind. It is not a degree of proof
One < 15 or > 60 y/o, One between those ages as, excluding the possibility of error, produces
and the other between absolute certainty. Only moral certainty is
those ages required.
o Extra-judicial confessions are not sufficient to
(35) Between 2 or more persons called to convict.
succeed each other: Whoever alleges o X: If corroborated by evidence of actual
the death of one prior to the other, commission of a particular crime (corpus
shall prove the same. If no proof, they delicti).
shall be considered to have died at the o Elements of corpus delicti:
same time. a) Existence of a certain act/result
forming the basis of the criminal
charge; &
PRESENTATION OF EVIDENCE b) Existence of a criminal agency as the
cause of the act/result.
EXAMINATION OF WITNESS o Requisites for circumstantial evidence to be
o Leading questions not allowed. sufficient to convict:
O X: a) More than 1 circumstance;
1) Cross examination; b) Facts from which the inferences are
2) Preliminary matters; derived are proven; &
3) Difficulty getting direct and intelligible c) Combination of all the circumstances is
answers from witness who is ignorant, such as to produce a conviction beyond
child of tender years, of feeble mind, or reasonable doubt.
deaf-mute;
4) Unwilling/hostile witness; RULES ON ELECTRONIC EVIDENCE (REE)
5) Witness who is an adverse party or an
officer/director or managing agent of a ADMISSIBILITY OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT
public/private corporation or of a o Admissible if: Compliant with ROC rules on
partnership/association which is an admissibility + Authenticated in the manner
adverse party. prescribed by REE.
o Confidential character of a privileged
OFFER AND OBJECTION communication not lost solely on the ground that
o The purpose for which the evidence is offered it is in the form of an electronic document.
must be specified, because such evidence may be
admissible for several purposes under the doctrine BEST EVIDENCE RULE (BER)
of multiple admissibility. o Electronic document equivalent of original
document under BER: Printout or output readable
Kind of evidence When to offer by sight or other means, shown to reflect the data
Testimonial At time the witness is called to accurately.
testify o Regarded as originals:
Documentary and After presentation of a party’s 1) Document is in 2 or more copies executed
Object testimonial evidence at/about the same time with identical
contents;
o Absence of offer is a defect which is waived when 2) Counterparts produced by same impression as
party fails to object when the ground became original, or from the same matrix, or by
reasonably apparent. mechanical/electronic re-recording, or by
o Defect caused by the absence of formal offer of chemical reproduction, or other equivalent
exhibits can be cured by the identification of the techniques that accurately reproduces
exhibits by testimony duly recorded and the original.
incorporation of the said exhibits in the records of o Not admissible to same extent as the original:
the case. 1) Genuine question raised as to authenticity of
original;
What to object to When to object 2) If circumstances make it unjust to admit the
Testimonial evidence Immediately after offer is copy in lieu of original.
made
Question propounded in As soon as the grounds AUTHENTICATION OF E-DOCUMENTS
the course of oral become reasonably
o Burden of proving authenticity is on person
examination apparent
seeking to introduce an e-document.
Offer done in writing Within 3 days after notice
o Means:
of the offer, unless
1) Evidence that it had been digitally signed;
different period is allowed
by the court 2) Evidence that appropriate security
The grounds for objection must be specified. procedures/devices as may be authorized by
the SC or law for authentication were applied;
3) Other evidence showing its integrity and
reliability to the satisfaction of the judge.
REQUIRED QUANTUM OF EVIDENCE o Considered as public document: Document
electronically notarized according to SC rules.
1) Administrative cases:
o Substantial evidence = Amount of relevant FACTORS AFFECTING EVIDENTIARY WEIGHT OF
evidence which a reasonable mind might E-DOCUMENTS
accept as adequate to support a conclusion. 1) Reliability of manner/method in which it was
2) Civil cases: generated/stored/communicated;
o Preponderance of evidence = Evidence 2) Reliability of manner in which its originator was
adduced by one side is, as a whole, has identified;
greater weight than that of the other. 3) Integrity of information and communication
3) Criminal cases: system in which it is recorded/stored;
o Proof beyond reasonable doubt = Degree 4) Familiarity of witness or person who made the

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EVIDENCE REMEDIAL LAW PRE-WEEK

entry with the communication and information

system;
5) Nature and quality of the information which went
into the communication and information system
upon which the electronic document was based;
6) Other factors which the court may consider as
affecting accuracy/integrity of the electronic.

HEARSAY RULE EXCEPTION

o Memorandum/report/record or data compilation of
acts/events/conditions/opinions/diagnoses made
by electronic, optical or other similar means
at/near the time of or from transmission or supply
of information by person with knowledge thereof,
and kept in the regular course/conduct of a
business activity, and such was the regular
practice to make the memorandum/report/record
or data compilation by electronic, optical or similar
means, all of which are shown by the testimony of
the custodian or other qualified witnesses.
o To overcome presumption: Evidence of
untrustworthiness of the source of information or
the method/circumstances of the preparation,
transmission or storage.

RULE ON EXAMINATION OF A CHILD

WITNESS

o Child witness =
1) Person < 18y/o at time of giving testimony;
2) In child abuse cases: over 18 y/o but is found
by the court as unable to fully take care of
himself because of physical/mental disability
or condition.
o Every child presumed qualified to be a witness. To
rebut presumption of competence, burden of proof
lies on party challenging competence.
o Exclusion of the public during the child’s
examination to protect the child’s right to privacy.
o Alternative modes of giving testimony:
1) Live-link television testimony, in criminal
cases where the child is a victim or a witness.
2) Screens, one-way mirrors
3) Videotaped deposition.

HEARSAY EXCEPTION IN CHILD ABUSE CASES

o Before hearsay statement may be admitted,
proponent must make known to adverse party the
intention to offer such statement and its
particulars to give fair opportunity to object.
o If child is available: Require child to be
present at the presentation of the hearsay
statement for cross-examination.
o If child is unavailable: Fact of unavailability
must be proved. The hearsay testimony to be
admitted only if corroborated by other
admissible evidence.

SEXUAL ABUSE SHIELD RULE

O Evidence inadmissible in any criminal proceeding
involving alleged child sexual abuse:
1) Offered to prove that alleged victim engaged
in other sexual behavior;
2) Offered to prove sexual predisposition of
alleged victim.
o X: Admissible evidence of specific instances of
sexual behavior by alleged victim to prove that a
person other than the accused was the source of
semen/injury or other physical evidence.

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