Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Rules 22 and 24
Revised Rules of Civil Procedure
(Pursuant to A.M. 14-03-02-SC, March 8, 2014)
C. Judicial Affidavits
1. Request for the issuance of a subpoena ad testificandum
or duces tecum if your intended witness, who is neither
the witness of the adverse party nor a hostile witness,
2 Rules 27 to 31 have not yet been adopted and, thus, may not yet be applicable to
pilot-courts.
unjustifiably declines to execute a judicial affidavit or
provide the relevant documentary and/or object evidence
[Section 22.2(d)].
2. If the court issues a subpoena as requested, personally
serve the subpoena upon the intended witness and bear
the cost of the expenses of the witness in appearing
before the lawyer who will prepare or supervise the
preparation of the judicial affidavit [Section 22.2(d)].
3. Request for leave of court to prepare an affidavit through
video conferencing if a vital witness 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)].
4. If the motion for leave of court to prepare an affidavit
through video conferencing of a vital witness is granted,
submit the judicial affidavit to the court with attestation
regarding its authenticity [Section 22.2(f)].
5. Within thirty (30) days from receipt of the notice of the
court to submit judicial affidavits and documentary or
object evidence, submit and serve the judicial affidavits
of all the witnesses intended to be presented, attaching
the documentary and/or object evidence properly
identified and authenticated [Section 22.2(a)]. Upon
submission of the judicial affidavits and evidence, the
direct testimony of the witnesses and the evidence
previously marked as exhibits shall be deemed offered
and admitted [Section 22.2(i)].
6. Within the same period of thirty (30) days, file a motion
to allow a witness to testify in court containing the
substance of the testimony which shall be restricted to
relevant facts, if such witness is unable to execute a
judicial affidavit because of exceptional and compelling
reasons, i.e., government employees or officials with high
demand of their official work [Section 22.2(g)].
7. Within fifteen (15) days from receipt of the adverse
partys judicial affidavits, submit reply judicial affidavits
on matters not touched on in the initial affidavits [Section
22.2(b)].
8. Submission of further judicial affidavits must be with
leave of court and for justifiable grounds [Section
22.2(b)].
9. In case of failure to submit the required judicial affidavits
and exhibits when due:
a) Submit the required judicial affidavits and exhibits
within fifteen (15) days from receipt of the adverse
partys judicial affidavits with good cause shown
[Section 22.2(e)].
b) If failure is without good cause, pay the fine imposed
by the court (PhP1,000 - PhP5,000) and submit the
required judicial affidavits and exhibits within fifteen
(15) days from receipt of the adverse partys judicial
affidavits [Section 22.2(e)].
10. In case of non-conformity of the judicial affidavit to
the content requirements:
a) If the non-compliance is with good cause, submit
compliant replacement affidavits within ten (10) days
from receipt of the exclusion order issued by the
court [Section 22.2(h)].
b) If the non-compliance is without good cause, pay the
fine imposed by the court (PhP1,000 - PhP5,000) and
submit compliant replacement affidavits within ten
(10) days from receipt of the exclusion order issued
by the court [Section 22.2(h)].
B. Matters to be taken up
6. List of the witnesses from either side who are competent to testify on each of
the factual issues or related factual issues in the case; and
7. Statement of the legal issues that the case presents once the factual issues
and related factual issues have been resolved.
1. Determine and advise the court whether there is a need
to amend or make changes to the Terms of Reference
prepared by the court [Section 22.9(a)].
2. If there are issues which, under the Terms of Reference
prepared by the court, are excluded for trial, request that
such excluded issue/s be included for trial and deposit
court costs amounting to not less than PhP10,000.00 but
not more than PhP50,000.00 as may be imposed by the
court. The court costs deposited shall be forfeited to the
court if the issue so included is determined to be a sham
by the court or a higher court on appeal; otherwise, the
amount shall be refunded [Section 22.9(b)].
3. Consult with the adverse party if there is a chance of
amicable settlement and, if so, request the court to
adjourn the preliminary conference [Section 22.9(c)].
4. For purposes of the Order of Trial to be issued [Section
22.9(d)]:
a) Inform the court which issues are intended to be
heard first or simultaneously, in case of related
issues.
b) Name the witnesses who will be presented to testify
on each specific issue to be heard and if a witness or
witnesses will testify on more than one issue.
c) Agree on the specific dates of trial and reception of
evidence of each issue or related issues.
d) Elect the mode of trial to be adopted by the court. If
an alternate trial is desired, agree with the adverse
party.
e) In case the mode of trial adopted will be face-to-face,
determine whether a simple or regular face-to-face
trial is necessary. Inform the court of the witnesses
exempt from face-to-face examination and request a
separate date and schedule for their examination.
f) Inform the court if there are certain issues which
must be tried by commissioners.
5. Determine if there is a need to make changes in the
details to be included in the Order of Trial based on the
summary given by the judge at the end of the preliminary
conference.
B. Order of Trial
1. Await the Order of Trial to be issued by the court and
ensure that the same accurately reflects the matters
taken up and agreed upon during the preliminary
conference.
2. Prepare the witnesses and evidence to be presented at
the scheduled dates of trial as indicated in the Order of
Trial.
C. Judgment or dismissal
1. Point out the existence of a genuine issue involved in the
case so as to preclude the court from immediately
rendering judgment or dismissing the case.
2. If the court determines that there is a ground for
dismissal of the case, prepare the evidence in support
thereof for presentation at the date set by the court for
its reception.
I. BEFORE TRIAL
4 The rule on Proffer of Excluded Evidence is not yet part of the rules for pilot
testing.
A. Common Rules
1. Advise the witness that he/she may testify either in
English or Filipino. [Section 24.17]
2. If the witnesses cannot properly take part in the
exchange because of language difficulty, move that the
examination of the witness be conducted in the language
or dialect known to the witness. [Section 24.17]
3. Follow the sequence of factual issues to be tried by the
court as appearing in the Order of Trial. Prepare the
witness or witnesses to be presented to testify on the
factual issue or related issues scheduled for hearing
[Section 24.4(a)].
4. Examine the witnesses to determine the truthfulness of
their judicial affidavits [Section 24.4(d)].
C. Modes of Trial
1. ALTERNATE TRIAL
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-to-
face 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. Examine these exempt witness
separately on the schedules indicated in the
Order of Trial. [Section 24.10]
iii Arrange the witness in such a way that they sit
face-to-face around the table in a non-
adversarial environment [Section 24.6(b)].
iv Ensure that only one person at a time shall
speak during trial and with prior permission of
the court. [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 Object to a witness who attempts 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)].
A. Decision
B. Appeal - In case of an adverse decision, file an appeal. The
period to appeal shall be reckoned from the date of receipt of the
written decision by the appealing party. [Section 24.13 (b) (6)].
SAMPLE CASE
Company A is now suing Company B for breach of contract with damages for failure to
provide the Narra wood panels to Company A in accordance with the terms of the contract.
In its Answer, Company B argued that it complied with the terms of the contract because it
delivered Narra wood panels. Its failure to deliver the Narra wood panel class 3 to Company
A was due to a log ban imposed by the government which constitutes a fortuitous event.
Company B argued that the wood panel it provided is Narra wood class 4 which substantially
complies with its obligation under the contract.
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Illustration of Face-
to-Face Trial