A.M. No. 12-8-8-SC
Whereas, case congestion and delays plague most courts in cities, given
the huge volume of cases filed each year and the slow and cumbersome
adversarial system that the judiciary has in place;
Whereas, about 40% of criminal cases are dismissed annually owing to the fact
that complainants simply give up coming to court after repeated postponements;
Whereas, few foreign businessmen make long-term investments in the Philippines
because its courts are unable to provide ample and speedy protection to their
investments, keeping its people poor;
Whereas, in order to reduce the time needed for completing the testimonies of
witnesses in cases under litigation, on February 21, 2012 the Supreme Court
approved for piloting by trial courts in Quezon City the compulsory use of
judicial affidavits in place of the direct testimonies of witnesses;
Whereas, it is reported that such piloting has quickly resulted in reducing by
about two-thirds the time used for presenting the testimonies of witnesses,
thus speeding up the hearing and adjudication of cases;
Whereas, the Supreme Court Committee on the Revision of the Rules of Court,
headed by Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio, and the Sub-Committee on
the Revision of the Rules on Civil Procedure, headed by Associate Justice
Roberto A. Abad, have recommended for adoption a Judicial Affidavit Rule that
will replicate nationwide the success of the Quezon City experience in the use
of judicial affidavits;
and
Whereas, the Supreme Court En Bane finds merit in the recommendation;
NOW, THEREFORE, the Supreme Court En Bane hereby issues and promulgates the
following:
Section 1. Scope. - (a) This Rule shall apply to all actions, proceedings, and
incidents requiring the reception of evidence before:
(1) The Metropolitan Trial Courts, the Municipal Trial Courts in Cities, the
Municipal Trial Courts, the Municipal Circuit Trial Courts, and the Shari' a
Circuit Courts but shall not apply to small claims cases under A.M. 08-8-7-SC;
(2) The Regional Trial Courts and the Shari' a District Courts;
(3) The Sandiganbayan, the Court of Tax Appeals, the Court of Appeals, and the
Shari' a Appellate Courts;
(4) The investigating officers and bodies authorized by the Supreme Court to
receive evidence, including the Integrated Bar of the Philippine (IBP); and
(5) The special courts and quasi-judicial bodies, whose rules of procedure are
subject to disapproval of the Supreme Court, insofar as their existing rules of
procedure contravene the provisions of this Rule.1
(b) For the purpose of brevity, the above courts, quasi-judicial bodies, or
investigating officers shalJ be uniformly referred to here as the
"court."
Sec. 2. Submission of Judicial Affidavits and Exhibits in lieu of direct
testimonies. -
(a) The parties shall file with the court and serve on the adverse party,
personally or by licensed courier service, not later than five days before
pre-trial or preliminary conference or the scheduled hearing with respect to
motions and incidents, the following:
(1) The judicial affidavits of their witnesses, which shall take the place of
such witnesses' direct testimonies; and
(2) The parties' documentary or object evidence, if any,
which shall be attached to the judicial affidavits and marked as Exhibits A, B,
C, and so on in the case of the complainant or the plaintiff, and as Exhibits
1, 2, 3, and so on in the case of the respondent or the defendant.
(b) Should a party or a witness desire to keep the original document or object
evidence in his possession, he Inay, after the same has been identified, marked
as exhibit, and authenticated, warrant in his judicial affidavit that the copy
or reproduction attached to such affidavit is a faithful copy or reproduction
of that original. In addition, the party or witness shall bring the original
document or object evidence for comparison during the preliminary conference
with the attached copy, reproduction, or pictures, failing which the latter
shall not be admitted.
This is without prejudice to the introduction of secondary evidence in place of
the original when allowed by existing rules.
Sec. 3. Contents of judicial Affidavit. - A judicial affidavit shall be
prepared in the language known to the witness and, if not in English or
Filipino, accompanied by a translation in English or Filipino, and shall
contain the following:
(a) The name, age, residence or business address, and occupation of the
witness;
(b) The name and address of the lawyer who conducts or supervises the
examination of the witness and the place where the examination is being held;
(c) A statement that the witness is answering the questions asked of him, fully
conscious that he does so under oath, and that he may face criminal liability
for false testimony or perjury;
(d) Questions asked of the witness and his corresponding answers, consecutively
numbered, that:
Show the circumstances under which the witness acquired the facts upon which he
testifies;
Elicit from him those facts which are relevant to the issues
that the case presents; and
Identify the attached documentary and object evidence and
establish their authenticity in accordance with the Rules of Court;
(e) The signature of the witness over his printed name; and
(f) A jurat with the signature of the notary public who administers the oath or
an officer who is authorized by law to administer the same.
Sec. 4. Sworn attestation of the lawyer.
(a) The judicial affidavit shall contain a sworn attestation at the end,
executed by the lawyer who conducted or supervised the examination of the
witness, to the effect that:
He faithfully recorded or caused to be recorded the
questions he asked and the corresponding answers that the witness gave; and
Neither he nor any other person then present or assisting
him coached the witness regarding the latter's answers.
(b) A false attestation shall subject the lawyer mentioned
to disciplinary action, including disbarment.
Sec. 5. Subpoena. - If the government employee or official, or the
requested witness, who is neither the witness of the adverse party nor a
hostile witness, unjustifiably declines to execute a judicial affidavit or
refuses without just cause to make the relevant books, documents, or other
things under his control available for copying, authentication, and eventual
production in court, the requesting party may avail himself of the issuance of
a subpoena ad testificandum or duces tecum under Rule 21 of the Rules of Court.
The rules governing the issuance of a subpoena to the witness in this case
shall be the same as when taking his deposition except that the taking of a
judicial affidavit shal1 be understood to be ex parte.
Sec. 6. Offer of and objections to testimony in judicial affidavit.- The
party presenting the judicial affidavit of his witness in place of direct
testimony shall state the purpose of such testimony at the start of the presentation
of the witness. The adverse party may move to disqualify the witness or to
strike out his affidavit or any of the answers found in it on ground of
inadmissibility. The court shall promptly rule on the motion and, if granted,
shall cause the marking of any excluded answer by placing it in brackets under
the initials of an authorized court personnel, without prejudice to a tender of
excluded evidence under Section 40 of Rule 132 of the Rules of Court.
Sec. 7. Examination of the witness on his judicial affidavit. - The
adverse party shall have the right to cross-examine the witness on his judicial
affidavit and on the exhibits attached to the same. The party who presents the
witness may also examine him as on re-direct. In every case, the court shall
take active part in examining the witness to determine his credibility as well
as the truth of his testimony and to elicit the answers that it needs for
resolving the issues.
Sec. 8. Oral offer of and objections to exhibits. - (a) Upon the
termination of the testimony of his last witness, a party shall immediately
make an oral offer of evidence of his documentary or object exhibits, piece by
piece, in their chronological order, stating the purpose or purposes for which
he offers the particular exhibit. (b) After each piece of exhibit is offered,
the adverse party shall state the legal ground for his objection, if any, to
its admission, and the court shall immediately make its ruling respecting that
exhibit. (c) Since the documentary or object exhibits form part of the judicial
affidavits that describe and authenticate them, it is sufficient that such
exhibits are simply cited by their markings during the offers, the objections,
and the rulings, dispensing with the description of each exhibit.
Sec. 9. Application of rule to criminal actions. -
(a) This rule shall apply to all criminal actions:
Where the maximum of the imposable penalty does not exceed six years;
Where the accused agrees to the use of judicial affidavits,
irrespective of the penalty involved; or
With respect to the civil aspect of the actions, whatever
the penalties involved are.
(b) The prosecution shall submit the judicial affidavits of its witnesses not
later than five days before the pre-trial, serving copies of the same upon the
accused. The complainant or public prosecutor shall attach to the affidavits
such documentary or object evidence as he may have, marking them as Exhibits A,
B, C, and so on. No further judicial affidavit, documentary, or object evidence
shall be admitted at the trial.
(c) If the accused desires to be heard on his defense after receipt of the
judicial affidavits of the prosecution, he shall have the option to submit his
judicial affidavit as well as those of his witnesses to the court within ten
days from receipt of such affidavits and serve a copy of each on the public and
private prosecutor, including his documentary and object evidence previously
marked as Exhibits 1, 2, 3, and so on. These affidavits shall serve as direct
testimonies of the accused and his witnesses when they appear before the court
to testify.
Sec. 10. Effect of non-compliance with the judicial Affidavit Rule.
-
(a) A party who fails to submit the required judicial affidavits and exhibits
on time shall be deemed to have waived their submission. The court may,
however, allow only once the late submission of the same provided, the delay is
for a valid reason, would not unduly prejudice the opposing party, and the
defaulting party pays a fine of not less than Php l,000.0 nor more than Php
5,000.00, at the discretion of the court.
(b) The court shall not consider the affidavit of any witness who fails to
appear at the scheduled hearing of the case as required. Counsel who fails to
appear without valid cause despite notice shall be deemed to have waived his
client's right to confront by cross-examination the witnesses there present.
(c) The court shall not admit as evidence judicial affidavits that do not
conform to the content requirements of Section 3 and the attestation
requirement of Section 4 above. The court may, however, allow only once the
subsequent submission of the compliant replacement affidavits before the
hearing or trial provided the delay is for a valid reason and Judicial
Affidavit Rule would not unduly prejudice the opposing party and provided
further, that public or private counsel responsible for their preparation and
submission pays a fine of not less than Php1,000.00 nor more than Php5,000.00,
at the discretion of the court.
Sec. 11. Repeal or modification of inconsistent rules. - The provisions of
the Rules of Court and the rules of procedure governing investigating officers
and bodies authorized by the Supreme Court to receive evidence are repealed or
modified insofar as these are inconsistent with the provisions of this Rule.
The rules of procedure governing quasi-judicial bodies inconsistent herewith
are hereby disapproved.
Sec. 12. Effectivity.- This rule shall take effect on January 1, 2013
following its publication in two newspapers of general circulation not later
than September 15, 2012. It shall also apply to existing cases.
Manila, September 4, 2012.
Related News:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/337361/sc-modifies-implementation-of-judicial-affidavit-rule
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2013/01/09/supreme-court-revises-rules-judicial-affidavits-262078