Bellen, Honey Joy M.

Remedial Law I Reviewer

Rules 115 - 120

Rule 120 Judgment

Judgment definition and form. —

 Judgment is the adjudication by the court that

 the accused is guilty or not guilty of the offense charged
 and the imposition on him of the proper penalty and civil liability, if any.

 It must be written in the official language, personally and directly prepared by the judge and signed by him
and
 shall contain clearly and distinctly a statement of the facts and the law upon which it is based.

Note: Llamas v CA: “The remedy of annulment of judgment cannot be availed of in criminal cases”

Hipos, Sr. vs. Bay: “The bounden duty of the trial court is to make an independent assessment on the merits of a
motion to withdraw an Information on the ground of lack of probable cause based on a resolution of the Secretary of
Justice. Having acquired jurisdiction over a case, it is not bound by such resolution but is required to evaluate it
before proceeding further with the trial.”

Contents of a judgment Purpose

If the judgment is of conviction, it shall state (1)
the legal qualification of the offense constituted
by the acts committed by the accused and the
aggravating or mitigating circumstances which
attended its commission; (2) the participation of
the accused in the offense, whether as principal,
accomplice, or accessory after the fact; (3) the
penalty imposed upon the accused; and (4) the
civil liability or damages caused by his wrongful
act or omission to be recovered from the
accused by the offended party, if there is any,
unless the enforcement of the civil liability by a
separate civil action has been reserved or
waived.
In case the judgment is of acquittal, it shall
state whether the evidence of the prosecution
absolutely failed to prove the guilt of the
accused or merely failed to prove his guilt
beyond reasonable doubt. In either case, the
judgment shall determine if the act or omission
from which the civil liability might arise did not
exist.
Conviction – to determine how the judge came
up with the decision
Parties were accorded their right to be heard.
Case: People v Baron
Requisites, circumstantial evidence: one
circumstance; (b) the facts from which the
inferences are derived have been established;
(c) the combination of all circumstances is such
as to warrant a finding of guilt beyond
reasonable doubt and this judgment of
conviction based on circumstantial evidence can
be sustained when the circumstances proved
form an unbroken chain that results to a fair and
reasonable conclusion pointing to the accused,
to the exclusion of all others, as the perpetrator.

Judgment for two or more offenses. — When two or more offenses are charged in a single complaint or
information but the accused fails to object to it before trial, the court may convict him of as many offenses as are
charged and proved, and impose on him the penalty for each offense, setting out separately the findings of fact and
law in each offense.

Judgment in case of variance between allegation and proof. — When there is variance between the offense
charged in the complaint or information and that proved,

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Bellen, Honey Joy M.
Remedial Law I Reviewer
Rules 115 - 120

 and the offense as charged is included in or necessarily includes the offense proved, the accused shall be
convicted of the offense proved which is included in the offense charged, or of the offense charged which is
included in the offense proved. Relate this to succeeding provision:

When an offense includes or is included in another. — An offense charged necessarily includes the offense
proved when some of the essential elements or ingredients of the former, as alleged in the complaint or information,
constitute the latter. And an offense charged is necessarily included in the offense proved, when the essential
ingredients of the former constitute or form a part of those constituting the latter.

People v Wei Kong – rape by carnal knowledge does not necessarily include or included in the crime of rape by
sexual assault.

Section 6. Promulgation of judgment. — The judgment is promulgated by reading it in the presence of the accused
and any judge of the court in which it was rendered. However, if the conviction is for a light offense, the judgment
may be pronounced in the presence of his counsel or representative. When the judge is absent or outside of the
province or city, the judgment may be promulgated by the clerk of court.

Payumo v SB – importance of promulgation: the judge who pens the decision only needs to be an incumbent
judge at the time of promulgation, even if later on assigned at another branch. Incumbent, meaning, of the same
court pa rin that’ll promulgate the judgment

If not (e.g. died, vacated office, resigned) – vote is automatically withdrawn or cancelled

Accused may be absent:

 Judgment for light offense

 Kahit ninotify – failed to attend (case: Reyes v Mangino – to afford the offended party to enforce the
judgment)

If the accused is confined or detained in another province or city, the judgment may be promulgated by the executive
judge of the Regional Trial Court having jurisdiction over the place of confinement or detention upon request of the
court which rendered the judgment. The court promulgating the judgment shall have authority to accept the notice of
appeal and to approve the bail bond pending appeal;  provided, that if the decision of the trial court convicting the
accused changed the nature of the offense from non-bailable to bailable, the application for bail can only be filed and
resolved by the appellate court.

The proper clerk of court shall give notice to the accused personally or through his bondsman or warden and counsel,
requiring him to be present at the promulgation of the decision. If the accused tried in absentia because he jumped
bail or escaped from prison, the notice to him shall be served at his last known address.

In case the accused fails to appear at the scheduled date of promulgation of judgment despite notice, the
promulgation shall be made by recording the judgment in the criminal docket and serving him a copy thereof at his
last known address or thru his counsel.

Important:

If the judgment is for conviction and the failure of the accused to appear was without justifiable cause, he shall lose
the remedies available in these rules against the judgment and the court shall order his arrest. Within fifteen (15)
days from promulgation of judgment, however, the accused may surrender and file a motion for leave of court to avail
of these remedies. He shall state the reasons for his absence at the scheduled promulgation and if he proves that his
absence was for a justifiable cause, he shall be allowed to avail of said remedies within fifteen (15) days from notice. 
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Bellen, Honey Joy M.
Remedial Law I Reviewer
Rules 115 - 120

Meaning: surrender – not merely filing a notice of appeal and stating reason for non-appearance. Surrender means
the physical and voluntary surrender plus proper motion

Modification of judgment

A judgment of conviction may, upon motion of the accused, be modified or set aside before it becomes final or before
appeal is perfected.

Except where the death penalty is imposed, a judgment becomes final:

 after the lapse of the period for perfecting an appeal,
 or when the sentence has been partially or totally satisfied or served,
 or when the accused has waived in writing his right to appeal,
 or has applied for probation