MODULE 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Learning Outcomes

 Can demonstrate competence and broad understanding on the rules of evidence and its
admissibility in a judicial proceeding

Learning Objectives

At the end of this module , the students should be able to:

 Explain coherently the definitions of evidence , its application and admissibility as

evidence
 Enumerate the different classification of evidence and kinds of admissibility
 Be able to show how an evidence can be admissible in judicial proceeding .

I . EVIDENCE DEFINED

Evidence defines under the Rules on Evidence is the means, sanctioned by these rules, of
ascertaining in a judicial proceeding the truth respecting a matter of fact.

A. Dual Concept of Evidence:

1. As the very materials presented in court consisting of objects, documents or oral narration of
witnesses

2. As a system, process or methodology of proving a fact. Hence it would refer to providing

answers to such questions as who may and who may not be witnesses , what may be allowed as
proof, how they are to be presented; what requirements are to be observed, what weight and
importance is to be given a certain evidence in relation to other pieces of evidence.
B. Definition explained:

1. “means sanctioned by these rules”. The procedure for determining the truth is as provided for
under Rules 128 to Rule 133, including the amendments there to and their interpretation given by
the Courts

2. “of ascertaining in a judicial proceeding”- the rules or procedure is applicable only to

controversies tried by the regular courts of law; the procedure or rules of evidence doe not apply
in quasi-judicial or administrative tribunals or to courts martial. The latter may adopt the rules in
their discretion

3.’ The truth”:

a). The ultimate objective of the rules of evidence is to render justice by arriving at the truth of
a matter in dispute i.e by knowing the facts and the meaning of these facts .

b). Factual or moral truth- the truth which the court seeks to know

c). Judicial truth- the truth as found by the courts based on the evidence presented to it

d) Ideal or perfect justice- when the judicial truth is likewise the factual truth

Where the two differ, still there is justice so long as the court observed both substantive and
procedural due process

4. “ respecting a matter of fact”… the fact to be established or the point in controversy must be
capable of being proven or ascertained by the rules of evidence. The rules do not apply and
cannot be used to answer questions or controversies involving religion or faith; dogma,
philosophy, literature, fantasy or fiction or those which are purely speculative.

II. SCOPE

The rules of evidence shall be the same in all court and in all trials and hearings except as
otherwise provided by law or the rules .
III . FACTUM PROBANDUM AND FACTUM PROBANS

a) Factum Probandum refers to the ultimate fact to be proven, or the proposition to be

established. That, which a party wants to prove to the court. E.g.: guilt or innocence; existence of
a breach of contract; existence of an obligation; the fact of payment; the injury or damage
incurred.

b). Factum Probans refers to the evidentiary facts by which the factum probandum will be
proved. Examples: the written contract; the promissory note to prove the existence of an unpaid
debt.

IV. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE

A. Direct and Circumstantial

1. Direct- that which proves a fact in issue or dispute without the aid of any inference or
presumption. It is evidence to the precise point.

Example: The eye witness account; the scar to show the wound

2. Circumstantial- proof of facts or fact from which taken singly or collectively, the existence of
the particular fact in issue maybe inferred or presumed as a necessary or probable consequence

a) This applies only in criminal cases and is governed under Rule 133(4) which for purposes
of supporting a finding of guilt, requires
i). that there be more than one circumstance
ii).that the facts from which the inference are derived are proven
iii). the combination of all the circumstances is such as to produce a conviction beyond
reasonable doubt
b) Per the Supreme Court: it is essential that the circumstantial evidence presented must
constitute an unbroken chain which leads one to a fair and reasonable conclusion pointing to the
accused, to the exclusion of all others, as the guilty person.
c). Guidelines in the appreciation of the probative value of circumstantial evidence
i) It should be acted upon with caution
ii). All essential facts must be consistent with the hypothesis of guilt
iii). The facts must exclude every other theory but that of guilt
iv). The facts must establishes such a certainty of guilt as to convince the judgment beyond
reasonable doubt that the accused is the one who committed the offense .

B. Positive vs. Negative Evidence

a). positive-evidence that affirms the occurrence of an event or existence of a fact, as when a
witness declares that there was no fight which took place

b). negative when the evidence denies the occurrence of an event or existence of a fact, as when
the accused presents witnesses who testify that the accused was at their party when the crime
was committed. Denials and alibi are negative evidences.

c). The general rule is that positive evidence prevails over negative evidence, or that a positive
assertion is given more weight over a plain denial
C. Primary (Best) vs. Secondary Evidence

a). primary- that which the law regards as affording the greatest certainty of the fact in question.
E.g.: the original of a contract is the best evidence as to its contents; the marriage contract as to
the fact of marriage; a receipt as to the fact of payment; the birth certificate as to filiation.

b). secondary- that which is necessarily inferior and shows on its face that a better evidence
exists. E.g.: Xerox copies of documents; narration of witnesses as to a written contract.

D. Conclusive vs. Prima facie

a).conclusive – may either be (i) that which the law does not allow to be contradicted as in
judicial admissions or (b) that the effect of which overwhelms any evidence to the contrary as the
DNA profile of a person as the natural father over a denial

b). prima facie- that which, standing alone and uncontradicted, is sufficient to maintain the
proposition affirmed. In the eyes of the law it is sufficient to establish a fact until it has been
disproved, rebutted or contradicted or overcome by contrary proof.

E. Cumulative vs. corroborative

a). cumulative- additional evidence of the same kind bearing on the same point. E.g.: testimonies
of several eyewitnesses to the same incident

b). corroborative-additional evidence of a different kind or character but tending to prove the
same point. It is evidence which confirms or supports. Thus: (i) the medico legal certificate
describing the injuries to have been caused by a sharp pointed instrument corroborates the
statement that the accused used a knife to stab the victim (ii) the positive results of a paraffin test
corroborates the allegation that the person fired a gun and (iii) the ballistics examination on the
gun of the suspect corroborates the statement that he fired his gun at the victim

V. ADMISSIBILITY OF EVIDENCE

Evidence is admissible when it is relevant to the issue and is not excluded by the Constitution,
law or these rules. (Rule 128 Sec 3 ,2019 Proposed Amendments of the Revised Rules on
Evidence )

Admissibility of evidence is an affair of logic and law, determined as it is by its relevance and
competence . The weight to be given to such evidence once admitted , still depends on judicial
evaluation
VI AXIOMS OR REQUISITES OF ADMISSIBILITY

A. RELEVANCY (None but facts having rational probative value are admissible). Per
section 4, “Evidence must have such a relation to the fact in issue as to induce belief in its
existence or non-existence”.

1. The material presented as evidence must affect the issue or question. It must have a
bearing on the outcome of the case. It requires both:

a). rational or logical relevancy in that it has a connection to the issue and therefore it has a
tendency to establish the fact which it is offered to prove. The evidence must therefore have
probative value

b). legal relevancy in that the evidence is offered to prove a matter which has been properly put
in issue as determined by the pleadings in civil cases, or as fixed by the pre-trial order, or as
determined by substantive law. If so the matter has materiality

Illustration: (i). Criminal case: the fact that the crime was committed at nighttime is rationally or
logically relevant to a killing at 12 midnight but evidence thereon would be not be legally
relevant if nighttime was not alleged in the Information. It would be immaterial. (ii) Civil Case:
In an action for sum of money based on a promissory note, evidence that the defendant was
misled into signing the note would be rationally relevant but if fraud was never alleged as a
defense, then evidence thereof would be legally irrelevant or immaterial.

The components of relevancy are therefore probative value and materiality.

2. Rule as to collateral matters: “Evidence on collateral matters shall not be allowed, except
when it tends in any reasonable degree to establish the probability or improbability of the
facts in issue”

a). collateral matters-facts or matters which are not in issue. They are not generally allowed to be
proven except when relevant.

b) In criminal cases, the collateral matters allowed to be proven, being relevant include:
(i). Antecedent Circumstances, or those in existing even prior to the commission of the crime.
They include such matters as habit, custom, bad moral character when self defense is invoked; or
plan design, conspiracy, or premeditation, agreement to a price, promise or reward

(ii) Concomitant circumstances or those which accompany the commission of the crime such as
opportunity to do the act or incompatibility

(iii).Subsequent circumstances or those which occur after the commission of the crime, such as
flight, escape, concealment, offer of compromise

c). Example: Motive is generally irrelevant and proof thereof is not allowed except: when the
evidence is purely circumstantial, when there is doubt as to the identity of the accused, or when it
is an element of the crime.

B. COMPETENCY ( All facts having rational probative value are admissible unless some
specific law or rule forbids). In short the evidence is not excluded by law or rules.

Principles which exclude relevant or material evidence:

A.The Exclusionary Rule Principle

The principle which mandates that evidence obtained from an illegal arrest, unreasonable search
or coercive investigation, or in violation of a particular law, must be excluded from the trial and
will not be admitted as evidence.

1. The principle judges the admissibility of evidence based on HOW the evidence is obtained or
acquired and not WHAT the evidence proves.

2. The principle is to be applied only if it is so expressly provided for by the constitution or by a

particular law. Even if the manner of obtaining the evidence is in violation of a certain law but
the law does not declare that the evidence is inadmissible, then such evidence will be admissible.

B. The Doctrine of the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

1. Evidence will be excluded if it was gained through evidence uncovered in an illegal arrest,
unreasonable search or coercive interrogation, or violation of a particular exclusionary law.
2. It is an offshoot of the Exclusionary Rule which applies to primary evidence. The doctrine
applies only to secondary or derivative evidence. There must first be a primary evidence which is
determined to have been illegally obtained then secondary evidence is obtained because of the
primary evidence. Since the primary evidence is inadmissible, any secondary evidence
discovered or obtained because of it may not also be used.

a. The poisonous tree is the evidence seized in an illegal arrest, search or interrogation. The fruit
of this poisonous tree is evidence discovered because of knowledge gained from the first illegal
search, arrest, or interrogation or violation of a law.

b. It is based on the principle that evidence illegally obtained by the state should not be used to
gain other evidence because the original illegally obtained evidence taints all those subsequently
obtained.

C .Illustrations:

A suspect as forced to make a confession where he revealed he took shabu from the room of X.
Based on this knowledge the police went to the house of X and with the consent of X, searched
his room and found the shabu. The confession is inadmissible because of the exclusionary. It is
the poisoned tree. The shabu is inadmissible because knowledge of its existence was based on
the confession. It is the fruit.

D. Exceptions to the two principles- when evidence is still admissible despite the commission of
an illegal arrest, search or interrogation, or violation of a particular exclusionary law.

1. Under the Doctrine of Inevitable Discovery- Evidence is admissible even if obtained through
an unlawful arrest, search, interrogation, or violation of an exclusionary law, if it can be
established, to a very high degree of probability, that normal police investigation would have
inevitably led to the discovery of the evidence

2. Independent Source Doctrine- evidence is admissible if knowledge of the evidence is gained

from a separate or independent source that is completely unrelated to the illegal act of the law
enforcers.
3. Attentuation Doctrine: evidence maybe suppressed only if there is a clear causal connection
between the illegal police action and the evidence. Or, that the chain of causation between the
illegal action and the tainted evidence is too attenuated i.e too thin, weak, decreased or fragile.
This takes into consideration the following factors:

a). The time period between the illegal arrest and the ensuing confession or consented search

b). The presence of intervening factors or events

c). The purpose and flagrancy of the official misconduct

Evidence Excluded by the Constitution

A. Under Article III of the Constitution the following evidence are inadmissible

1. evidence obtained in violation of the right against unreasonable search and seizure

2. evidence obtained in violation of the privacy of communication and correspondence, except

upon lawful order of the court or when public safety or order requires otherwise

3. evidence consisting of extra-judicial confessions which are uncounselled, or when the

confessant was not properly informed of his constitutional rights, or when the confession was
coerced

4. evidence obtained in violation of the right against self-incrimination

VII. KINDS OF ADMISSIBILITY OF EVIDENCE

1. Conditional Admissibility of Evidence- Evidence that will be admitted although seemingly

not admissible provided that its relevancy would be shown in a later stage of the trial.

A. Example: A Xerox copy of a document may be allowed to presented subject to the condition
that the original be later presented

2. Curative Admissibility of Evidence- Evidence which will be admitted although normally

inadmissible because similar inadmissible evidence has been introduced by the other party.
A. This applies to a situation when improper evidence was allowed to be presented by one party,
then the other party may be allowed to introduce or present similar improper evidence but only to
cure or to counter the prejudicial effect of the opponent’s inadmissible evidence.

B. The party presenting must have raised an objection to the improper evidence, for if he did not,
then it is discretionary for the court to allow him to present curative evidence

C. The evidence sought to be countered should not refer to those which are incompetent due to
an exclusionary rule

3. Multiple Admissibility of Evidence- when the evidence not admissible for one purpose but
admissible for two or more purposes

A. Examples of the first concept: (a) a knife may be admitted to prove the accused was armed
with a deadly weapon; to prove the weapon is far deadlier than the weapon of the victim; to
prove it was the weapon of the accused which cause the wounds and not some other instrument;
to corroborate the statement of a witness who claims he saw the accused holding a bladed
instrument.

B. Example of the second concept: (a). the extra judicial confession of one of several accused
may not be admitted to prove there was conspiracy among them or to prove the guilt of the other
co-accused but it maybe admitted to prove the guilt of the confessant (b) the statement of the
victim may not be admitted as a dying declaration but as part of the res gestae.

NOTE : Evidence de bene esse – evidence whose admissibility is conditioned upon a subsequent
showing of facts necessary to support its admission .

Admissibilty of Evidence and Probative Value of Evidence Distinguished

Admissibility of evidence refers to the question of whether or not the evidence refers to the
question of whether or not the evidence is to be considered at all . While in probative value of
evidence refers to the questi on of whether or not it proves an issue

Admissibility and Weight Distinguished

Admissibility of evidence pertains to the ability of evidence to allowed and accepted subject to
its relevancy and competency, where as weight of evidence pertains to the effect of evidence
admitted

Admissibility of evidence is the substantive feature of evidence as would make it worthy of

consideration by the court , whereas weight of evidence is the probative value of evidence as
given to it by court .
 ACTIVITY 1

NAME: DATE:

YEAR/BLOCK: SUBJECT

DIRECTION: Explain in your own words and understanding the questions propounded below in 100
words .

1. Explain coherently the importance and application of evidence in the field of law
enforcement.
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 2. How an evidence can be admissible in a judicial proceeding?
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 REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS
DIRECTION: Write your own reflection about the Rules of Evidence and its admissibility in judicial
proceeding.

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 5 3 2

CRITERIA / SCALE Exceeds Expectation Meets Needs Improvement

Expectation Earned
Points
Structure a.Paper is logically a. Paper has a clear a. There is some level of
organized organizational organization through
• Organization structure with disgressions, ambiguities
b.Easily followed some digressions, ,irrelevances are too many
• Flow of thought
ambiguities or
c.Effective, smooth, and b. Difficult to follow
irrelevances
• Transitions logical transitions
b.Easily followed c. Ineffective transitions
• Format d.Professional format
c.Basic transitions d. Rambling format

b.Structured
format

Grammar/mechanics a. Manipulates complex a Uses complex a. Uses compound sentences

sentences for sentences
• sentence structure effect/impact b.Too many punctuation and/or
b. Few punctuation mechanical errors
•punctuation/mechanics b.No punctuation or or mechanical
mechanical errors errors

Language a.Vocabulary is a.Vocabulary is a.Vocabulary is used properly

sophisticated and correct varied specific and through sentences
• Vocabulary; use of as are sentences which appropriate
vary in structure and may be simple
Vocabulary Frequently uses
Length
subject specific b. Infrequently uses subject
b.Uses and manipulates vocabulary specific vocabulary correctly
subject specific
Correctly
vocabulary for effect
b. Infrequently uses
subject specific
vocabulary
correctly
Contention /Information a.Central idea is well a.Central idea and a.The central idea is expressed
developed and clarity of clarity of purpose through it may be vague or too
Clarity of purpose purpose is exhibited are generally broad ; some sense of purpose is
throughout the paper evident throughout maintained throughout the
Critical and original
the essay essay
thought b.Abundance of evidence
of critical , careful b. Evidence of b.Some evidence critical ,
Use of examples
thought and analysis and critical ,careful careful thought and analysis and
/or insight thought and /or insight
analysis and /or
c.Evidence and examples insight c.There are some examples and
are vivid evidence ,though general.
c. There are good ,
relevant supporting
examples and
evidence

TOTAL: