PRACTICE COURT 1

COURT
OBSERVATION
REPORTS
SUBMITTED TO:
JUDGE GINA BIBAT-PALAMOS

September 13, 2019

SUBMITTED BY:

Abonita, Sean
Bautista, Ronald
Fernando, Gladen
Jimenez, Kriselda
Mesa, Jonna Isabel
Talampas, Annie Gean

4A
THE MEMBERS
In compliance to the PRACTICE COURT 1 course requirement all of the members of our
group, worked as a team, all attended the scheduled court visits, observed diligently, and with all
efforts contributed in the successful production of this paper and especially all gained knowledge
and ideas specially with the actual set-up in the courts which is the objective of this course.

ABONITA, SEAN

BAUTISTA, RONALD CAESAR

FERNANDEZ, GLADEN

JIMENEZ, KRISELDA

MESA, JONNA ISABEL

TALAMPAS, ANNIE GEAN

 TORRES, PRINCESS

TABLE OF CONTENTES

I. INTRODUCTION

II. REPORTS

A.METROPOLITAN TRIAL COURT

1. Criminal Cases
2. Civil Cases
3. Special Proceeding

B.REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

1. Criminal Cases
2. Civil Cases
 iii. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMISSION

IV. APPENDICES
I. INTRODUCTION

II.
A. METROPOLITAN TRIAL COURT

Last August 30, 2019, we observed the court proceedings at Metropolitan Trial Court,
Branch 16, Manila which was presided by Judge Minerva M. Alejandria-Bautista.

We were able to witness the Arraignment, Trial, and Promulgation of criminal cases and
a hearing of Motion for Issuance of Writ of Execution in a civil case. In People of Philippines vs.
Cajucom, which was set for arraignment, the accused pleaded guilty and paid a fine of 400 pesos
for Violations of Ordinance 5555 and Section 887, Revised Ordinances. In the case of People of
Philippines vs. Mansueto, which was for presentation of prosecution evidence in BP Blg. 6,
Patrolmen Esponilla and Ramos were presented and cross-examined by the public prosecutor and
was able to finish presenting its evidence and the defense is scheduled to present its evidence on
September 6, 2019.

In the third criminal case which was entitled People of the Philippines vs. Pascua and
Villafuerte, which was for Grave Threats and Malicious Mischief (for Pascua) and Serious
Physical Injuries(for Villafuerte) both accused and their counsels were not present and there was
no return, the promulgation was re-scheduled to September 6, 2019. Lastly, in the hearing of
Motion for Issuance of Writ of Execution in Camacho vs. Javier which was for Ejectment, both
parties were present, the plaintiff was given five (5) days to file their Reply.

In our observation, the Judge in this court was very calm and collected because she
knows when to ask clarificatory questions and to let the public prosecutor and public defender to
conduct their cross examinations. However, the court room was very small as it could not
accommodate all the litigants and most of them had to go out of the room until their respective
cases were called due to lack of space and chairs. We were able to see in this experience that
theory and practice do differ in some ways since in practice the application of the rules are
modified in order to accommodate the different situations unlike in theory which is strictly by
the book.

PROBLEM AREAS

Aside from the lack of facilities, we did not find major problems in the proceedings we
have observed in this particular court, however, we have observed that the policemen sometimes
have trouble comprehending the questions asked by the lawyers and they tend to ask for
repetition of the questions which was quoted already in the vernacular language.

SOLUTION

In order to solve this problem, we think it might be good to brief and coach the witnesses
first before presenting them to the witness stand and to inform them of what he should do while
giving their testimonies to avoid confusion on the part of the witnesses as well as to have a
smooth flow of the cross examination. However, as we have mentioned earlier practice is
different from theory, the said solution is difficult to apply due to heavy workload on the part of
the public prosecutor and public defender since aside from preparing for court hearing, they also
have other functions to attend to such as preliminary investigation, inquest, and preparation of
judicial affidavits for the public prosecutor while on the part of the public defender they are
assigned to multiple courts and quasi-judicial bodies, and also the preparation of judicial
affidavits.

B. REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

1) REGIONAL TRIAL COURT (CRIMINAL CASE)

 We observed hearings presided by Judge Marlina M. Manuel at the Manila City Regional
Trial Court Branch 25 last August 30, 2019.

It was a good day for observation as we have witnessed arraignment, direct examination
and cross examination of witness, and promulgation of sentence. The criminal cases involved
violations of Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (Republic Act No. 9165), complaints
for Reckless Imprudence with Homicide, and Acts of Lasciviousness.

We were also able to observe how the Judge, Fiscal, Defense lawyers, Interpreter and
Stenographer worked together to bring about an organized proceedings in the court.

During our visit, only criminal cases were scheduled on the said day. But still, we were
fortunate enough to have observed different court proceedings which we have only read in our
textbooks. It is true that these proceedings can easily be understood when observed personally.

PROBLEM AREAS

We have observed that the court rooms in RTC Manila are generally small. During our
court visit, some of the detainees who are defendants in the cases being heard before the court
waited outside the court room until they are called. The frequent opening of the door made the
court room susceptible to outside noise. Also, in one instance, a witness who was seated on his
wheelchair had a tough time entering the said court as there is only a small space within which
he can pass through. We also noticed that a bulky cabinet takes up so much space on the other
side of the room.

We were impressed with how the PAO Lawyer was able to represent the large amount of
defendants, mostly detainees, on that day. However, despite this, we have also noticed how most
of the defendants were asked by the former regarding different matters on their cases on the day
itself. To which most of them answered with confused looks. We remember how the PAO
Lawyer asked one of the defendants if there is still any witness that he could think of to present
at the court, to which the latter replied in the negative. We were somewhat worried that this
defendant may not know the repercussions of not presenting any witness for his case.

SOLUTION

As to the obvious problem of limited court room space, we understand that this is one of
the issues that courts in RTC Manila generally have. However, we may suggest that rearranging
the furniture inside the court room may be of great help. It would be better to place all the
cabinets inside the office for the staff instead of being placed in the court room itself, where
additional chairs and benches may be placed to accommodate more party-litigants and observers.
We also hope that indigent party-litigants be given more time and individualized assistance. We
can only wish that more Public defenders be made available to these indigents to act as their
counsel and represent them before the courts.

2) REGIONAL TRIAL COURT (CIVIL CASE)

On September 9, 2019, we were allowed to observe the court proceedings and case
hearings in Las Pinas Regional Trial Court Branch 122 presided by Hon. Joselito Vibandor.

During our visit, there are criminal and civil cases scheduled to be heard. In this visit, we
witnessed an arraignment of a criminal case in which the accused pleaded guilty to avail the
mitigating circumstance that will turn the penalty of imprisonment in in its minimum degree.
After that, another criminal case was called and it was for the cross-examination of the accused
in a case for acts of lasciviousness. There are other cases that was called but was suspended and
arranged for another date because of the absence of respondents or other parties.

The last case we observed was a special proceedings case for annulment of marriage. It was only
the petitioner who was present at the court. It was a continuation of presentation of evidence and
an expert witness was called in the witness stand. The witness Dr. Julian Ramos, a clinical
counselling psychologist. He presented a judicial affidavit which contains his clinical findings
based on his psychological evaluation of the petitioner. The public prosecutor cross-examined
the expert witness and through this Judge Vibandor also asked questions regarding the validity
and admissibility of the affidavit in court. It was an interesting cross examination and because of
this we learned a lot from the said proceeding.

Considering that this is the last court we visited, I can say that from what we’ve seen this is the
most organized and clean court we stayed at. They even have a computer inside the Judge’s
quarter and with this a printer to quickly issue Orders after a particular case was heard to be
issued to the parties of the case. At the end of the hearing session, Judge Vibandor asked us to
stay and took us on a tour of his Sala. In this, we were informed that this particular branch of Las
Pinas Regional Trial Court is a Family Court. We were taken in a room designated as waiting
area for children who are called to testify in court. He also demonstrated to us how the child was
treated and how they take precautionary measures to ensure that the child will feel safe while
inside the witness stand. This learning experience taught us how real-life situations in court
really happens outside of the law books and cases we read in school.

PROBLEM AREAS

We did not find major problems in the proceedings we have observed in this particular
court, apart from the non-appearance a respondent in one of the cases which resulted in the
failure of the prosecution to present evidence of the accused. One minute concern that our group
had noticed during the conduct of proceedings is the lack of preparation of witness before being
called on to give a testimony. One particular witness, who is the accused himself talked in an
unclear and inaudible manner that even the court interpreter had difficulty hearing and
translating the witness’ words. We consider this as a concern because it might affect the proper
administration of due process since the people inside the courtroom, especially the Judge, will
have a hard time hearing and understanding the exact words of the witnesses and would, most of
the time, merely rely on the interpretations of the court interpreter.
SOLUTION

In order to solve this problem, we think it might be good to brief the witness first before
calling him to the witness stand and to inform him of what he should do while giving his
testimony to avoid confusion on the part of the witness as well as to have a smooth flow of the
interview. Microphones should also be properly installed and placed near witnesses to aid them.

PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE

On September 5, 2019, we were allowed to observe the activities in the fiscal’s office in
Muntinlupa Hall of Justice.

During our visit at the prosecutor’s office, no proceedings were held on that day. There was no
inquest or preliminary investigation on that date. However, it turns out to be a lucky day for us
because Abner Afuang came to the office to subscribe before the prosecutor. We observed
Prosecutor Le Compte verify the facts on the complaint as Mr. Afuang raise his right hand to
swear on the truthfulness of the facts therein. Since it was not a busy day, Prosecutor Le Compte
let us in his office and was generous enough to give us a lecture regarding the proceedings and
the importance of such.
The office was well-lighted and the air-conditioning unit is functioning well. The secretary has
his own computer so he can assist the prosecutor with more ease. There were also enough chairs
inside to accommodate parties appearing before the prosecutor.

PROBLEM AREAS

When we went inside the office of the fiscal, we observed that there was a lot of pending
paperwork. He also shared that sometimes the amount of paperwork is greater than the ones we
saw. Fiscal Le Compte told us that sometimes the six (6) month period for resolution is not
observed because of his heavy workload, that in practice these periods are sometimes not
complied with. He also told us that sometimes he would prioritize preparing for trial than make
resolutions because it would not be smart to come unprepared in court. Moreover, the fiscal has a
secretary that helps him with the paperwork.
Also, one of the employees mentioned to us that there is a want of fiscals in their office because
there is one fiscal for every two (2) branches.

SOLUTION

They should appoint more fiscals in their office. If they would allow to continue the
present set up, it might result to a slower submission of resolution and the paperwork would pile
up even more. With the appointment of more prosecutors the paperwork as well as the workload
of the prosecutors will be lessened will result to a better system.

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION

We are able to visit the Main Office of the NLRC located at Banawe, Quezon City. With
such, we are very fortunate to meet Commissioner Mary Anne Daytia, who not just let us to
simply observe but also gave us some lectures and information about the real set-up in arbitration
or proceedings in their commission and especially she mentioned to us the current status of
NLRC, the fact that they have zero backlogs and all the processes in their commission are
running smoothly.
During our visit, we were fortunate to witness a compromise between the parties. There
was a signing of quitclaim and release, wherein both parties were present and the employee had
received the amount that they have agreed.

PROBLEM AREAS
 As per our observation with regards to the physical set-up or the facilities of NLRC in
general, that it is too old, lacks space, lacks equipment and it really needs to be improved.
Although the office of Commissioner Daytia was really neat and organized she ensured that they
have enough working space and sufficient equipment to use.

As to the process in the NLRC, Commissioner Daytia expressed to us he view regarding

her evaluation of the process that they have right now in their offce. According to her, generally
she is satisfied to the better changes that their commission have achieve, the fact that they have
zero backlogs in terms of disposition of cases. One thing that she mentioned that needs to be
changed was the redundancy of functions of some procedures. For example, in SENA were by
the parties are undergo mediation and given 2 chances to settle their claims with the best of their
interest. Then, if the parties failed to settle, the case will be brought to the Labor Arbiter, and
again the parties will be given the chance to settle there instead of just filing there claims for
having failed to settle before the SENA, hence, it merely impeded the speedy resolution of the
case and redundancy of the procedure.

As to the NLRC employees/personnel, we’re highly impressed and inspired of their

dedication and the fact that they really improved. But, despite such fact there still lack of arbiters
and commissioners to resolve cases, which if such deficiency would be sufficed, it will lead to
faster actions and lessen workloads.

SOLUTION

The government should give attention in improving facilities of government offices such
as the NLRC. By providing new work equipments, improving work facilities such as, the sala of
arbiters, cabinets, improvement of toilet, maintenance of elevators and the likes. For having a
good workplace environment would lead to better working conditions and faster transactions,
since that it caters to the great number of people given the fact that each year population
increases.
 Commissioner Daytia shared to us her views and ideas with regards to the changing of
the procedure in the court, that according to her, by removing the chance to parties of settlement
again before the labor arbiter without proper filing of their pleadings, having given 2 chances to
settle in the SENA, hence it causes delay, redundancy and more possibility of dilatory tactics.
With that, according to her it would be better that if the parties failed to settle before the SENA,
then when the case is formally filed before the labor arbiter there should be mandatory filing of
pleadings for the labor arbiter to rule on the matter but it is without prejudice to the settlement of
the parties, that when in such stage the parties decided to have a comprise they may do so.

By appointing more arbiters and commissioners would greatly help to speedy disposition
of case and harmonious working system that would cater to the interest of the growing number of
the population of employees and of the employers.

IV.
APPENDICE
S

METROPOLITAN TRIAL COURT – MANILA

 REGIONAL TRIAL COURT – MANILA (CRIMINAL

CASE)
REGIONAL TRIAL COURT – LAS PINAS (CIVIL CASE)
 PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE – MUNTINLUPA

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION