CASE TITLE: Salcedo – Ortannez VS CA

FACTS:

Private respondent, Rafael Ortanez filed a complaint for annulment of marriage with damages against his
wife. He off presented his evidence which includes 3 cassette tape of alleged telephones conversation of
his wife and an unknown persons.

The petitioner filed her Objection/comment to private respondent’s oral offer of evidence, however the
trial court admitted all the evidence offered y the private respondent

Petitioner, then fled an appeal to CA assailing the admission in evidence of the aforementioned cassette
tapes

CA, however, dismissed the petition stating tape recorder can be admitted in evidence for certain
purposes and depending how they are presented. Also the court the said that a petition for certiorari is
inappropriate to rectify error in submitting evidence adduced during trial.

Hence, the appeal

ISSUE: Won recordings of the telephone conversations are admissible

RULING: No. Rep. Act 4200 “An act to prohibit and penalize wiretapping and other related violations of
the privacy of communication, and for other purposes expressly makes such tape recordings inadmissible
I evidence, Thus-

Sec 1, It shall be unlawful for any person, not being authorized by all the parties to any private
communication or spoken word to ta any wire or cable, or by using any other device arrangement , to
secretly overheat, intercept , or record such communication or spoken word by using a device commonly
known as a Dictaphone or Dictagraph or detectaphone , or however otherwise described

Sec 4 Any communication or spoken words or the existence, contents, substance, purport, or meaning of
the same or any part thereof, or any information therein contained, obtained or secured by any persons
in violation of the preceding sections of this act shall not be admissible in evidence in any judicial , quasi-
judicial legislative or administrative hearing investigation

Absent a clear showing that the both parties to the telephone conversations allowed the recording of the
same, the inadmissibility of the subjects tape is mandatory