CHAPTER 2

CONFESSION VERSUS ADMISSION

Confession vs Admission

The main difference between confession and admission is that confession

refers to a voluntary statement made by the person who has been accused of
committing a crime. It is a direct acknowledgment of guilt by the accused. On
the other hand, admission, while also being a voluntary statement, is merely
the acknowledgment that a particular fact is true.

CONFESSION DISTINGUISHED FROM ADMISSION

 Confession is the declaration of the accused acknowledging his guilt arising from the
commission of a crime.

 Admission is an acknowledgement of a fact or circumstance without accepting guilt.

Guilt maybe inferred in admission. When an accused confessed to the commission of a crime, he
accepts the facts constituting the offense but if he interposes self-defense or other exculpatory
grounds, then his acknowledgement is not a confession but admission.

KINDS OF CONFESSION

1. Extra Judicial Confession – Those made by the suspect during custodial investigation.
Simply explained are that those confessions are made outside of the Court.

Sec 3, Rule 133, Rules of Court – Extra judicial confession, not sufficient
ground for conviction: An extra judicial confession made by an accused, shall not be sufficient
ground for conviction, unless corroborated by evidence of corpus delicti (body of the crime.)

2. Judicial Confession – Those made by the accused in open Court. The plea of guilt
maybe during arraignment or any stage of the proceedings where the accused changes his plea of
not guilty to guilty.
 Sec. 2, Rule 129, Rules of Court states that “Judicial Admission is made
by the party in the pleadings, or in the course of the trial or other proceedings do not require
proof and cannot be contradicted unless previously shown to have been made through palpable
mistake.”

KINDS OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL CONFESSION

a. Voluntary Extra-judicial Confession- The confession is voluntary when the accused speaks
of his free will and accord, without inducement of any kind, with a full and complete knowledge
of the nature and the consequence of the confession.

b. Involuntary Extra-judicial Confession- Confessions obtained through force, threat,

intimidation, duress or anything influencing the voluntary act of the confessor.

EXTRA-JUDICIAL CONFESSION:

     AN EXTRA-JUDICIAL CONFESSION IS A DECLARATION MADE VOLUNTARILY AND WITHOUT

COMPULSION OR INDUCEMENT BY A PERSON UNDER CUSTODIAL INVESTIGATION, STATING OR
ACKNOWLEDGING THAT HE HAD COMMITTED OR PARTICIPATED IN THE COMMISSION OF A CRIME. 

An extra-judicial confession is admissible in evidence if the following requisites have been

satisfied:

(1) it must be voluntary;

(2) it must be made with the assistance of competent and independent counsel;

(3) it must be express; and

(4) it must be in writing.  The mantle of protection afforded by the above-quoted constitutional
provision covers the period from the time a person is taken into custody for the investigation of his
possible participation in the commission of a crime or from the time he is singled out as a suspect in the
commission of the offense although not yet in custody.  (PEOPLE VS. REYES, G.R. NO. 178300, MARCH
17, 2009, THIRD DIVISION, CHICO-NAZARIO).
 THE INTERVIEW AND INTERROGATION

A Philosophy of Interview and Interrogation:

The RIGHT officer

asking the RIGHT questions
in the RIGHT manner
at the RIGHT time and in the RIGHT place
will get the RIGHT answers.
INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW is the simple questioning of a person who cooperates with the investigator. In
account of the interview, the witnesses voluntarily give their accounts about the commission of a
crime.

THE GOLDEN RULE IN INTERVIEW

“Never conduct or let anyone conduct an interview if the interviewer has not gone to the
crime scene.” The questioning should be in agreement with the facts and conditions at the crime
scene. The questioning will lead wayward for the interviewer who had not seen personally the
crime scene and he will not be in a position to distinguish half-truths, exaggerations of falsehood
from the answers of the person being interviewed.

QUALITIES OF A GOOD INTERVIEWER

a. Rapport – It is the relation between the interviewer and the interviewee, which is
conducive to a fruitful result.

b. Forceful Personality – The appearance of the interviewer and other qualities such as skills
of communication techniques or the force of his language are the mainstays of the strength of his
character.

c. Knowledge of Human Behavior

d. Conversational Tone of Voice – His tone of voice must be conversational, not

confrontational as in interrogation.

e. Acting Qualities – He must possess the qualities of an actor, salesman and psychologist
and know how to use the power of persuasion.

f. Humility – He must be courteous, sympathetic and humble, ready to ask apologies for the
inconvenience of the interview.
REASONS WHY WITNESSES REFUSE TO TALK OR TESTIFY

a. Fear of Reprisal – witnesses who lack the courage to face the suspect, his associates or
relatives always entertain the fear of reprisal.

b. Great Inconvenience– On the part of those of hands-to-mouth existence there is this real
inconvenience, which will deprive them the time to earn for their living especially during the
ordeal of testifying during the trial.

c. Hatred Against the Police – This hatred maybe due to previous bad experience with rogue
members of the police organization.

d. Bias of the Witness – The witness maybe an acquaintance, friend, helper, or benefactor of
the suspect.

e. Avoidance of Publicity – There are witnesses who are shy and they shun publicity that
will bring discomfort to their ordinary or obscure way of living.

f. Family Restriction – Some famous and respected families preserve their reputations by
instilling to their members the need of the approval of their elders on matters affecting their
families.

INTERROGATION

Interrogation is the vigorous and confrontational questioning of a reluctant suspect about his
participation in a crime. Is the process of obtaining an admission or confession from those
suspects which means that the suspect is confronted about his participation in the commission in
an offense.is the act or process of questioning somebody closely, often in an aggressive manner,
especially as part of an official investigation or trial

Goals of interrogation:

 To find out the truth about the crime.

 To obtain an admission or confession of guilt from the suspect
 To gain all facts in order to determine the method of operation or modus operandi and the
circumstances of the crime in question.
 To collect information that guides investigators to arrive at a logical conclusion.

Phases of interrogation;
a. Planning and preparation – this refers to the interrogator keep himself aware on the situation
and he must observe and analyze the interrogee without his knowledge.

b. Approach – in this step, the interrogator should keep in mind to gain rapport with the subject.

c. Questioning – this is considered the hearth of interrogation. Were all techniques could apply to
obtain information from the subject.

d. Termination – this refers to the ending of the interrogation process, and it should end in a
friendly manner.

e. Recording – this refers to place in document the result of the interrogation, in this process it is
advisable to tape record all conversation.

f. Reporting – this is the end product of the interrogation.

THE TECHNIQUES OF INTERROGATION

A. EMOTIONAL APPEAL – This is a technique where the investigator, combining his

skills of an actor and a psychologist, addresses the suspect with an emotional appeal to confess.
Devotees of a religion may belong to this type.

B. SYMPATHETIC APPROACH – The investigator, in his preliminary or probing

questions must dig deep into the past troubles, plight and unfortunate events in the life of the
suspect. An offer of help, kindness, friendliness, may win his cooperation.

C. FRIENDLINESS – A friendly approach coupled with a posture of sincerity may induce

the suspect to confess.

D. TRICKS AND BLUFF TECHNIQUES

(1) The Pretense of Solid Evidence against the Accused

(2) The Weakest Link

(3) Drama

(4) Feigning Contact with Family Members

(5) The Line Up Method (Accused is lined-up among suspects)

(6) Reverse Line Up (Accused is alone and coached witnesses and victims are piled to
make accusations against the accused)
E. STERN APPROACH – The investigator displays a stern (demands immediate response)
personality towards the suspect by using the following methods:

 Jolting – In the questioning process, the investigator selects the right moment to shout a
pertinent question in an apparent righteous outrage. The suspect’s nerves will break to a
confession.

 Opportunity to Lie – The suspect is given all the opportunities to lie. The suspect is
questioned about his personal life, family, friends and his knowledge about the complainant and
witnesses. Then the suspect is questioned about his activity prior, during and after the
commission of the crime.

 F. THE MUTT AND JEFF OR SWEET AND SOUR METHOD

– The first set of investigators must appear to be rough, mean and dangerous.
When they had finished the interrogation, the second investigator intervenes by

stopping the first set of investigators. By being sympathetic and understanding, he begins his
interrogation. If the suspect still refuses to cooperate, then the process is repeated until there is a
confession.

 G. REMOVING THE ETHNIC OR CULTURAL BARRIER

– If the suspect is a Gaddang, a Gaddang investigator and the same should interrogate
him, the same with other ethnic or cultural groups. It is the Filipino’s way of life that we put our
trust and confidence to those who belong to our clan or tribe. The interrogation must be in the
language or dialect of the suspect so that we could get his full confidence. This is removing the
language barrier.

 H. SEARCHING FOR THE SOFT SPOT

– In every man’s heart, there is always that softest spot. The heart may have been
hardened to steal by poverty, destitution, hopelessness, despair, apathy, indifference, injustice,
hatred or other factors, yet there is always that spot which could be discovered by the
investigator thru his knowledge of human behavior. That spots maybe the youngest child, the
wife, the mother, and the brother who acted as his father, the grandparents or the best friend.

ADDITIONAL MODERN TECHNIQUES OF INTERROGATION

a. Rationalization – It is the use of reasons, which is acceptable to the subject that led to the
commission of the crime. Thus, it maybe said that sometimes, killing is a necessity rather than
by purpose or design. Robbery maybe a necessity to feed a starving family.

b. Projection – It is the process of putting the blame to other persons, not alone to the
suspect. The murderer may blame the mastermind for corrupting him with big sums of money,
or the mastermind blaming the greediness of the victim or the husband blaming the wife for her
infidelity.

c. Minimization – It is the act of minimizing the culpability of the suspect. The investigator
convinces the suspect that a confession will reduce the offense and the penalty. Thus, the
investigator could study it if there is a way to downgrade murder to homicide or the introduction
of mitigating circumstances with the result of the penalty being within the range of probation.