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kULL 116: AkkAIGNMLN1 AND LLA

Sect|on 1. Arra|gnment and p|ea, how made.
(a) 1he accused must be arra|gned before the court where the
comp|a|nt or |nformat|on was f||ed or ass|gned for tr|a|. 1he
arra|gnment sha|| be made |n open court by the [udge or c|erk by
furn|sh|ng the accused w|th a copy of the comp|a|nt or |nformat|on,
read|ng the same |n the |anguage or d|a|ect known to h|m, and ask|ng
h|m whether he p|eads gu||ty or not gu||ty. 1he prosecut|on may ca|| at
the tr|a| w|tnesses other than those named |n the comp|a|nt or
|nformat|on.

(b) 1he accused must be present at the arra|gnment and must
persona||y enter h|s p|ea. 8oth arra|gnment and p|ea sha|| be made of
record, but fa||ure to do so sha|| not affect the va||d|ty of the
proceed|ngs.

(c) When the accused refuses to p|ead or makes a cond|t|ona| p|ea, a
p|ea of not gu||ty sha|| be entered for h|m. (1a)

(d) When the accused p|eads gu||ty but presents excu|patory ev|dence,
h|s p|ea sha|| be deemed w|thdrawn and a p|ea of not gu||ty sha|| be
entered for h|m. (n)

(e) When the accused |s under prevent|ve detent|on, h|s case sha|| be
raff|ed and |ts records transm|tted to the [udge to whom the case was
raff|ed w|th|n three (3) days from the f|||ng of the |nformat|on or
comp|a|nt. 1he accused sha|| be arra|gned w|th|n ten (10) days from
the date of the raff|e. 1he pre-tr|a| conference of h|s case sha|| be he|d
w|th|n ten (10) days after arra|gnment. (n)

(f) 1he pr|vate offended party sha|| be requ|red to appear at the
arra|gnment for purposes of p|ea barga|n|ng, determ|nat|on of c|v||
||ab|||ty, and other matters requ|r|ng h|s presence. In case of fa||ure of
the offended party to appear desp|te due not|ce, the court may a||ow
the accused to enter a p|ea of gu||ty to a |esser offense wh|ch |s
necessar||y |nc|uded |n the offense charged w|th the conform|ty of the
tr|a| prosecutor a|one. (C|r. 1-89)

(g) Un|ess a shorter per|od |s prov|ded by spec|a| |aw or Supreme Court
C|rcu|ar, the arra|gnment sha|| be he|d w|th|n th|rty (30) days from the
date the court acqu|res [ur|sd|ct|on over the person of the accused.
1he t|me of the pendency of a mot|on to quash or for a b||| of
part|cu|ars or other causes [ust|fy|ng suspens|on of the arra|gnment
sha|| be exc|uded |n comput|ng the per|od. (Sec. 2, C|r. 38-98)

I. Genera| o|nts
ArralgnmenL cannoL be dlspensed wlLh.
o lf Lhere ls no arralgnmenL, Lhe [udgmenL would be
defecLlve.
CondlLlonal lea ! allows Lhe defendanL Lo requesL LhaL Lhe
courL revlew speclflc legal lssues before Lhe plea can be
enforced.
o Lxample: l wlll plead lf you lnclude Lhese people/enLer
new lnformaLlon, eLc.


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II. When arra|gnment takes p|ace (Sect|on 1, c & g)
lf Lhe person ls noL yeL deLalned ! WlLhln a perlod of 30 days
from Lhe Llme Lhe courL acqulres [urlsdlcLlon over Lhe person of
Lhe accused. Pow? 8y arresL or volunLary surrender.
o WlLhln Lhe same 30 days, 8u1 Al1L8 arralgnmenL, pre-
Lrlal musL also be conducLed. (ku|e 118, Sect|on 1)
lf Lhe person ls prevenLlvely deLalned ! Lhe perlods are shorLer
(3:10:10), from Lhe Llme Lhe lnformaLlon ls flled, Lhe case wlll be
seL for raffle wlLhln 3 days, now from Lhe Llme Lhe raffle ls
concluded Lhe arralgnmenL wlll be scheduled wlLhln a perlod of
10 days Lherefrom. And Lhe pre-Lrlal wlll be scheduled wlLhln 10
days LhereafLer.

III. 8e|ated Arra|gnment Va||d (eop|e v. 1r|n|dad)
Were Lhe proceedlngs lnvalld? nC. Lhe procedural defecL was
cured when hls counsel parLlclpaLed ln Lhe Lrlal wlLhouL ralslng
any ob[ecLlon LhaL hls cllenL had yeL Lo be arralgned. Cn facL, hls
counsel cross-examlned Lhe prosecuLlon wlLnesses, moreover,
no proLesL was made when appellanL was subsequenLly
arralgned."
o ln shorL ! 8elaLed arralgnmenL ls valld for Lhe reason
LhaL Lhere was opporLunlLy Lo cross and Lhe lawyer
parLlclpaLed ln Lhe proceedlngs.

IV. When p|ea of not gu||ty |s entered by the Court
1. lf Lhe accused refuses Lo enLer a plea, Lhe courL wlll enLer for
hlm a plea of noL gullLy.
2. lf an accused enLers a plea of gullL wlLh an exculpaLory defense
or self-defense, Lhe courL wlll enLer a plea of noL gullLy.
3. lf lL ls a condlLlonal plea, Lhe courL wlll enLer a plea of noL gullLy.

V. When p|ea of gu||ty |s entered
lea of gullL ls equlvalenL Lo a [udlclal confesslon.
1he plea of gullL may be wlLhdrawn aL any Llme before Lrlal.
klnds:
o lea of gullL Lo a caplLal offense (Sect|on 3)
o lea of gullL Lo a non-caplLal offense (Sect|on 4)
o lea of gullL Lo a lesser offense (Sect|on 2)
o lmprovldenL plea (Sect|on S)

VI. Who shou|d be present dur|ng arra|gnment
" Accused. 1he proceedlngs cannoL conLlnue ln Lhe accused's
absence, because arralgnmenL should be made personally by
Lhe accused. lf he's absenL Lhe courL wlll slmply whaL, reseL Lhe
hearlng and lssue a warranL for hls arresL.
! Cffended parLy. unless Lhe presence of Lhe offended parLy ls
requlred when Lhere ls a plea of gullL Lo a lesser offense, for
purposes of deLermlnlng clvll llablllLy. Cr when Lhe courL
requlres Lhe aLLendance of Lhe offended parLy.
o 8ecause Lhe offended parLy ls only a wlLness for Lhe
SLaLe. 1he offended parLy ls whaL you call a complalnlng
wlLness. 1herefore hls or her absence wlll noL affecL Lhe
conducL of Lhe proceedlngs.

Sect|on 2. |ea of gu||ty to a |esser offense.
At arra|gnment, the accused, w|th the consent of the offended party
and the prosecutor, may be a||owed by the tr|a| court to p|ead gu||ty
to a |esser offense wh|ch |s necessar||y |nc|uded |n the offense
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charged. After arra|gnment but before tr|a|, the accused may st||| be
a||owed to p|ead gu||ty to sa|d |esser offense after w|thdraw|ng h|s
p|ea of not gu||ty. No amendment of the comp|a|nt or |nformat|on |s
necessary. (Sec. 4, C|r. 38-98)

I. kequ|s|te
1. Genera| ku|e: ConsenL of Lhe offended parLy and prosecuLor ls
acqulred.
a. Lxcept|on: 1he prosecuLor may negoLlaLe for a lesser
offense when Lhe offended parLy was duly noLlfled and
Lhe offense Lhe accused pleaded Lo ls necessarlly
lncluded ln Lhe offense charged.
2. 1he plea ls made prlor Lo Lrlal.

II. When p|ea to gu||t for a |esser offense be made
uurlng arralgnmenL ! for as long Lhere ls noLlce Lo Lhe
offended parLy and Lhe prosecuLlon, even lf Lhe offended parLy
ls absenL, and Lhe lesser offense ls necessarlly lncluded ln Lhe
offense charged.
AfLer arralgnmenL
8efore Lrlal/AL re-1rlal
o Lqu|va|ent to p|ea barga|n|ng (ku|e 118) ! Lhe lasL
opporLunlLy Lo plead gullLy Lo a lesser offense ls durlng
pre-Lrlal.
II. Consent of the prosecutor and the offended party
Cffended parLy ! clvll aspecL of Lhe case, and Lhe offended
parLy was Lhe one dlrecLly damaged.
rosecuLor ! because Lhe sLaLe was offended by Lhe crlme.

Sect|on 3. |ea of gu||ty to cap|ta| offense, recept|on of ev|dence.
When the accused p|eads gu||ty to a cap|ta| offense, the court sha||
conduct a search|ng |nqu|ry |nto the vo|untar|ness and fu||
comprehens|on of the consequences of h|s p|ea and sha|| requ|re the
prosecut|on to prove h|s gu||t and the prec|se degree of cu|pab|||ty.
1he accused may present ev|dence |n h|s beha|f. (3a)

I. What |s a cap|ta| offense? (ku|e 114, Sect|on 6)
lL ls an offense whlch aL Lhe Llme of appllcaLlon for ball and aL
Lhe Llme of commlsslon Lhe penalLy for Lhe offense ls deaLh.
1he prosecuLlon, desplLe Lhe plea of gullL Lo a caplLal offense,
wlll sLlll have Lo presenL lLs evldence Lo esLabllsh Lhe exacL
culpablllLy of Lhe accused.
o A full Lrlal musL sLlll be conducLed Lo deLermlne Lhe
exacL culpablllLy of Lhe accused.

II. Gu|de||nes |n conduct|ng a Search|ng Inqu|ry (eop|e v. U||t)
1. ClrcumsLances on cusLodlal lnvesLlgaLlon and prellmlnary
lnvesLlgaLlon wlll have Lo be lnqulred upon by Lhe [udge. So Lhe
[udge shall sLlll lnqulre upon Lhe conducL of Lhese lnvesLlgaLlons.
2. Ask Lhe defense counsel wheLher he has conferred wlLh, and
compleLely explalned Lo Lhe accused Lhe consequences of hls
plea lncludlng Lhe meanlng of legal Lerms. ?ou wlll have Lo ask
Lhe accused do you know Lhe consequences of your plea?" do
you need Lo explaln whaL murder ls? uo u need Lo explaln whaL
aggravaLlng clrcumsLances are? MlLlgaLlng? ?LS, Lhe [udge wlll
have Lo explaln.
3. LllclL lnformaLlon on personallLy proflle of Lhe accused. uoes he
really know whaL Lhe plea ls all abouL?
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4. lnform Lhe accused of exacL lengLh of lmprlsonmenL or naLure of
penalLy under Lhe law. So Lhe accused wlll have Lo be lnformed.
3. 8equlre Lhe accused Lo fully narraLe Lhe lncldenL.
noLe: volunLarlness of Lhe accused ls lmporLanL.
noLe: 1here should be a dlllgenL efforL on Lhe parL of Lhe [udge.
1he background of Lhe accused musL be necessarlly examlned
(knowledge, famlly, educaLlon, eLc.)
1he experlence of Lhe accused under deLenLlon/cusLodlal
lnvesLlgaLlon musL also be examlned.

Sect|on 4. |ea of gu||ty to non-cap|ta| offense, recept|on of ev|dence,
d|scret|onary.
When the accused p|eads gu||ty to a non-cap|ta| offense, the court
may rece|ve ev|dence from the part|es to determ|ne the pena|ty to be
|mposed. (4)

I. Non-Cap|ta| Cffense
Pearlng ls noL requlred/dlscreLlonary.
Pearlng lf ever lL ls conducLed, wlll only proceed for purposes of
deLermlnlng Lhe exacL penalLy for Lhe offense.
o lf Lhe CourL knows exacLly whaL penalLy Lo lmpose, Lhen
hearlng may be dlspensed wlLh.

Sect|on S. W|thdrawa| of |mprov|dent p|ea of gu||ty.
At any t|me before the [udgment of conv|ct|on becomes f|na|, the
court may perm|t an |mprov|dent p|ea of gu||ty to be w|thdrawn and
be subst|tuted by a p|ea of not gu||ty. (S)


I. Improv|dent |ea of Gu||ty Def|ned
lL ls a plea where Lhe consequence Lhereof ls noL known Lo Lhe
accused. 1herefore, Lhe accused dld noL lnLelllgenLly enLer hls
plea, he ls noL aware of Lhe consequence Lhereof - LhaL ls why
Lhe law glves hlm Lhe opporLunlLy Lo wlLhdraw before flnal
[udgmenL.
An lmprovldenL plea may be wlLhdrawn anyLlme before Lhe
[udgmenL of convlcLlon becomes flnal and execuLory.

II. ku|es when Improv|dent |ea of Gu||t |s made
lf Lhe sole basls of a convlcLlon ls an lmprovldenL plea ! and lL
reached Lhe Supreme CourL, usually ln cases lnvolvlng
Llfe/8ecluslon erpeLua, Lhe Supreme CourL wlll noL render
[udgmenL buL wlll only remand Lhe case for furLher proceedlngs
lf Lhe sole basls of Lhe convlcLlon ls an lmprovldenL plea.
lf Lhe basls of Lhe convlcLlon ls noL Lhe lmprovldenL plea, Lhough
Lhere was an lmprovldenL plea ! buL Lhere are oLher evldence
Lo esLabllsh/polnL on Lhe culpablllLy of Lhe accused, Lhen Lhe
Supreme CourL wlll render a [udgmenL.

Sect|on 6. Duty of court to |nform accused of h|s r|ght to counse|.
8efore arra|gnment, the court sha|| |nform the accused of h|s r|ght to
counse| and ask h|m |f he des|res to have one. Un|ess the accused |s
a||owed to defend h|mse|f |n person or has emp|oyed counse| of h|s
cho|ce, the court must ass|gn a counse| de of|c|o to defend h|m. (6a)

Sect|on 7. Appo|ntment of counse| de of|c|o.
1he court, cons|der|ng the grav|ty of the offense and the d|ff|cu|ty of
the quest|ons that may ar|se, sha|| appo|nt as counse| de of|c|o such
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members of the bar |n good stand|ng who, by reason of the|r
exper|ence and ab|||ty, can competent|y defend the accused. 8ut |n
|oca||t|es where such members of the bar are not ava||ab|e, the court
may appo|nt any person, res|dent of the prov|nce and of good repute
for prob|ty and ab|||ty, to defend the accused. (7a)

Sect|on 8. 1|me for counse| de of|c|o to prepare for arra|gnment.
Whenever a counse| de of|c|o |s appo|nted by the court to defend the
accused at the arra|gnment, he sha|| be g|ven a reasonab|e t|me to
consu|t w|th the accused as to h|s p|ea before proceed|ng w|th the
arra|gnment. (8a)

Sect|on 9. 8||| of part|cu|ars.
1he accused may, before arra|gnment, move for a b||| of part|cu|ars to
enab|e h|m proper|y to p|ead and prepare for tr|a|. 1he mot|on sha||
spec|fy the a||eged defects of the comp|a|nt or |nformat|on and the
deta||s des|red. (10a)

I. o|nt
?ou need Lo clLe Lhe defecL ln Lhe lnformaLlon.
?ou may ask Lhe prosecuLlon Lo speclfy or glve Lhe parLlculars
concernlng Lhe defecLs of Lhe lnformaLlon.
o ALLy. 1ranqull ! Lhls may noL necessarlly be a good
move, because lL can gulde Lhe prosecuLlon Lo amend a
defecLlve lnformaLlon LhaL could have been dlsmlssed
vla a moLlon Lo quash.
lf Lhe prosecuLlon does noL provlde a blll of parLlculars, or whaL
lL provlded was defecLlve, Lhe case wlll be dlsmlssed based on
fallure Lo prosecuLe.
o V|rata v. Sand|ganbayan ! Lhe 8lll of arLlculars merely
relLeraLed sLuff and even added allegaLlons.

Sect|on 10. roduct|on or |nspect|on of mater|a| ev|dence |n
possess|on of prosecut|on.
Upon mot|on of the accused show|ng good cause and w|th not|ce to
the part|es, the court, |n order to prevent surpr|se, suppress|on, or
a|terat|on, may order the prosecut|on to produce and perm|t the
|nspect|on and copy|ng or photograph|ng of any wr|tten statement
g|ven by the comp|a|nant and other w|tnesses |n any |nvest|gat|on of
the offense conducted by the prosecut|on or other |nvest|gat|ng
off|cers, as we|| as any des|gnated documents, papers, books,
accounts, |etters, photographs, ob[ects, or tang|b|e th|ngs not
otherw|se pr|v||eged, wh|ch const|tute or conta|n ev|dence mater|a| to
any matter |nvo|ved |n the case and wh|ch are |n the possess|on or
under the contro| of the prosecut|on, po||ce, or other |aw |nvest|gat|ng
agenc|es. (11a)

I. o|nt
1he accused can demand LhaL records, documenLs ln Lhe
possesslon of Lhe pollce offlcers or Lhe offended parLy be
presenLed Lo avold suppresslon, surprlse or even desLrucLlon.
?ou could requlre by moLlon Lhe presenLaLlon of Lhese
documenLs.

Sect|on 11. Suspens|on of arra|gnment.
Upon mot|on by the proper party, the arra|gnment sha|| be suspended
|n the fo||ow|ng cases:

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(a) 1he accused appears to be suffer|ng from an unsound menta|
cond|t|on wh|ch effect|ve|y renders h|m unab|e to fu||y understand the
charge aga|nst h|m and to p|ead |nte|||gent|y thereto. In such case, the
court sha|| order h|s menta| exam|nat|on and, |f necessary, h|s
conf|nement for such purpose,

(b) 1here ex|sts a pre[ud|c|a| quest|on, and

(c) A pet|t|on for rev|ew of the reso|ut|on of the prosecutor |s pend|ng
at e|ther the Department of Iust|ce, or the Cff|ce of the res|dent,
prov|ded, that the per|od of suspens|on sha|| not exceed s|xty (60)
days counted from the f|||ng of the pet|t|on w|th the rev|ew|ng off|ce.
(12a)

I. Subsect|on (a): Where the accused |s of unsound m|nd
lf an accused ls of unsound mlnd, Lhere ls no way by whlch he
would know whaL he ls golng Lhrough.
ArralgnmenL durlng Lhls perlod would vlolaLe Lhe flrsL
requlremenL of arralgnmenL ls LhaL Lhe accused should've been
lnformed of Lhe naLure and cause of accusaLlon agalnsL hlm.

II. Subsect|on (b): re[ud|c|a| uest|on
So Lhe arralgnmenL could sLlll be suspended lf you are able Lo
Llmely flle a moLlon for suspenslon of proceedlngs on Lhe
ground of a pre[udlclal quesLlon.
Where can you flle Lhls? 8efore Lhe Cfflce of Lhe rosecuLor
conducLlng prellmlnary lnvesLlgaLlon or before Lhe courL before
Lhe prosecuLlon would resL lLs case.

III. Subsect|on (c): et|t|on for rev|ew pend|ng w|th the DCI
lf Lhe uC! ls unable Lo compleLe lLs resoluLlon wlLhln 60 days,
Lhe courL wlll arralgn.

IV. ku|e 6S: et|t|on for Cert|orar| w||| not sta|| proceed|ngs
Powever Lake noLe LhaL Lhe new provlslon glves you a wlndow
of 10 days. lf you flle a peLlLlon Lhe courL wlll noL acL wlLhln a
perlod of 10 days, buL LhaL ls noL a 18C.
?ou cannoL exLend Lhe perlod of 60 days even for a compelllng
reason.

V. eop|e v. Astro|ogo: Arrest v|s--v|s Arra|gnment
Any ob[ecLlon, defecL, or lrregularlLy aLLendlng an arresL musL
be made before Lhe accused enLers hls plea or arralgnmenL and
havlng falled Lo move for Lhe quashlng of Lhe lnformaLlon
agalnsL hlm before arralgnmenL, appellanL ls esLopped from
quesLlonlng Lhe legallLy of arresL."