NQa Legal Research

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July 19, 2019

1. How to authenticate the video under the Rules on Electronic Evidence?

First, what is meant by authentication? Authentication is the process of

convincing the court that a document is what it purports to be; of proving the origin
of the image and that it has not subsequently been altered (or, where alteration has
occurred, proving the nature of the alteration). Such alteration could include, for
example, image enhancement or image manipulation.

Unlike the Rules of Court, the REE contains a provision expressly dealing
with video evidence. The REE provides that “audio, photographic and video
evidence of events, acts or transactions shall be admissible provided it shall be
shown, presented or displayed to the court and shall be identified, explained or
authenticated by the person who made the recording or by some other person
competent to testify on the accuracy thereof.” (Section 1, Rule 11)

The foregoing provision follows the jurisprudential rule that authentication of

photographs is not limited to the photographer who took the picture but that these
can also be identified by another competent witness who can testify as to their
exactness or accuracy (Sison vs. People, 250 SCRA 58 [1995]; Republic vs Court of
Appeals, 299 SCRA 199 [1998]).