Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Rules 22 and 24
Revised Rules of Civil Procedure
(Pursuant to A.M. 14-03-02-SC, March 8, 2014)
A. PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE
I.
Rules 27 to 31 have not yet been adopted and, thus, may not yet be
applicable to pilot-courts.
b.3.
If a joint written motion or manifestation is filed by
the parties, retain the case and proceed with the
mandatory disclosure of evidence [Section 22.2].
c. Judicial Affidavits
c.1.
Act on and resolve a request for issuance of
subpoena ad testificandum or duces tecum filed by a
party [Section 22.2(d)].
c.2.
If the witness subject of the request is neither a
witness for the adverse party or a hostile witness and the
refusal to execute a judicial affidavit is unjustifiable, issue
subpoena ad testificandum or duces tecum in favor of the
requesting party.
c.3.
Send notice to the parties requiring the
simultaneous submission and service of their respective
judicial affidavits with all documentary and/or object
evidence attached thereto [Section 22.2(a)].
c.4.
Grant leave of court for the preparation of affidavit
through video conferencing if the intended witness is a
vital witness who is: (a) outside of the Philippines; or (b)
shown to be under an exceptional or compelling
predicament during the period for the submission of
judicial affidavits [Section 22.2(f)].
c.5.
Resolve a motion filed by a party to allow a witness
who was unable to execute a judicial affidavit to testify in
court by way or narration of the facts. The motion may be
granted if: (a) the inability of the witness to execute a
judicial affidavit is because of an exceptional or
compelling reason; (b) the motion contains the substance
of the testimony of the witness; and (c) the motion is filed
within the period for submission of judicial affidavits.
c.6.
Impose a fine which is not less than P1,000.00 or
more than P5,000.00 in case of the party fails to timely
submit the required judicial affidavits and exhibits or
submits a non-compliance judicial affidavit except in the
following instances:
c.6.a)
Failure of the party to submit was for good
cause and, in fact, the judicial affidavit and exhibits
were submitted within the prescribed period therefor.
c.6.b)
The non-compliance is with good cause and the
party submits a compliant replacement affidavit
within the prescribed period therefor.
c.7.
Resolve motions for leave of court filed by a party for
the submission of reply-judicial affidavits made beyond
the prescribed period [Section 22.2(b)]. No further judicial
b.6.b)
The identity of witnesses who will be presented
to testify on each issue or related issues and the
sequence for the examination of such witnesses by
the counsels of the contending parties;
b.6.c)
The specific dates for reception of evidence on
each issue or related issues;
b.6.d)
The mode of trial to be adopted by the court;
b.6.d.i.
Adopt a regular face-to-face trial where the
issues are complex or numerous and the
evidence from both sides consists of
testimonies of several witnesses or involve
numerous pieces of evidence. Spread the
schedules of hearings of the regular face-toface trial over a period of time.
b.6.d.ii.
Adopt a simple one-time face-to-face trial
where the issues are simple and few. If the
issues turn out to be complex or numerous,
suspend the proceedings and direct the
conduct of a regular face-to-face trial in
succeeding settings.
b.6.d.iii.
Adopt an alternate trial when warranted under
the
circumstances
or
upon
unanimous
agreement of the parties.
b.6.e)
In case of a face-to-face trial, the separate date
and schedule for examination of witnesses exempt
from face-to-face examination.
b.7.
Summarize the arrangements for the Order of Trial
based on the discussions during the preliminary
conference.
c. Judgment or dismissal [Section 22.9(e)]
c.1.
Determine whether judgment or dismissal of the case
is warranted, such as when there is no genuine issue
involved in the case.
c.2.
If necessary to determine a ground for dismissal of
the case, set the case for reception of evidence relating
to dismissal and, if warranted, dismiss the case.
III.
A.1.
Require the witnesses during trial of issues to testify
either in English of Filipino, whichever language will allow
fair exchanges [Section 24.17].
A.2.
Resolve any motion for the examination of the
witness to be conducted in the language or dialect known
to the witness on the ground of language difficulty
[Section 24.17].
A.3.
Try each factual issue in the sequence provided in
the Order of Trial. Two or more closely related issues may
be simultaneously tried. [Section 24.4(a)].
A.4.
Examine the witnesses to determine the truthfulness
of their judicial affidavits [Section 24.4(d)].
A.5.
Resolve the exception/s or objection/s raised against
the questions propounded by the counsel to the witness
as follows Sections 24.8 and 24.9]:
Type of Objection
FORM, i.e., questions are
argumentative,
leading,
multiple, repetitive, vague,
improper characterization,
confusing or unfair
SUBSTANCE, i.e., questions
are perceived to elicit
inadmissible answers such
as, but not limited to, those
relating to right against selfincrimination,
privileged
communication,
disqualification, Statute of
Frauds, rape shield law,
bank secrecy laws, AntiMoney Laundering Act, and
other
laws
or
rules
prohibiting disclosure
of
information or data
ADMISSIBILITY
under
applicable provisions of the
Rules on Evidence, i.e., best
evidence, parol evidence,
conclusion
or
opinion
evidence, hearsay evidence,
irrelevant
evidence
or
character evidence
When made
After question has
been answered
Court Action
(1) Note the exceptions
or, (2) strike out the
answer and rephrase
the question
Before witness
answers the
questions
Promptly
rule
on
exceptions or motions
If answer already
given, counsel may
move to strike out
the answer
Note
exception
and
consider when deciding
the case
d.2.a.viii.
d.2.a.ix.
d.2.b)
d.2.b.i.
d.2.b.ii.
d.2.b.iii.
d.2.b.iv.
iii
iv
v
vi
vii
ii
iii
iv
v
a) Ground rules
i Make sure that all the witnesses are present
during the scheduled hearing. [Section 24.6(a)]
ii Ensure that witnesses exempt from face-toface examination are not included, i.e., a child
witness or a person who is mentally,
psychologically, or physically challenged or
under a similar conditions that puts such
witness in a disadvantage in a face-to-face
confrontation. Order the examination of these
exempt witnesses separately on the schedules
indicated in the Order of Trial. [Section 24.10]
iii Order the witnesses to be arranged in such a
way that they sit face-to-face around the table
in a non-adversarial environment [Section
24.6(b)].
iv Grant/deny the request for a person to speak
and ensure that only one person at a time shall
speak during trial. [Section 24.6(c)].
v Instruct the witnesses and the parties that the
person who is speaking must identify
himself/herself for the record at all times
[Section 24.6(c)].
vi Rule on any objections raised against a witness
who attempts to pose questions to other
witnesses relating to their testimonies.
[Section 24.6 (e)].
vii Ensure that witnesses are given equal time and
opportunity to answer questions propounded
by the court and/or the counsels. [Section 24.6
(e)].
viiiConduct the trial in one setting. [Section
24.12].
b) First phase: Examination by the Court
i All the witnesses from the contending sides
shall appear and shall simultaneously swear to
the truth of their respective testimonies.
[Section 24.6(a)]
ii Examine and question the witnesses from the
contending sides regarding the issue or related
issues at hand in no particular sequence.
[Section 24.7 (g)].
iii When the questions are directed to specific
witnesses, grant/deny the request of witnesses
SAMPLE CASE
B. Trial on the second issue of whether or not the log ban is considered a
fortuitous event
to Company A
a. First phase examination