CLJ 4

EVIDENCE
DANILO S. YOLIM, LPT, EdD,PhD, LLB
SAFETY OFFICER 4
SECURITY OFFICER
 LESSON 2:
What Need Not Be Proved

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 Before we delve deeper into the rules concerning
the use and treatment of evidence in judicial
proceedings, we will discuss in this lesson the
instances where the courts will not or may not
require the presentation of evidence to prove the
factual allegations of the parties.

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 Judicial Notice
One instance where courts will not or may not require
the presentation of evidence is when the courts take
judicial notice of the factual allegations of the parties.
The Rules on Evidence identify specific situations
where the courts either automatically or upon request of
the parties, recognize facts, without the need of
evidentiary submissions.

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 Legal Basis
Revised Rules on Evidence, Rule 129, Section 1. Judicial notice, when
mandatory. A court shall take judicial notice, without the introduction of
evidence, of the existence and territorial extent of states, their political
history, forms of government and symbols of nationality, the law of
nations, the admiralty and maritime courts of the world and their seals,
the political constitution and history of the Philippines, the official acts of
legislative, executive and judicial departments of the National
Government of the Philippines, the laws of nature, the measure of time,
and the geographical divisions.

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 Revised Rules on Evidence, Rule 129, Section 2.
Judicial notice, when discretionary. - A court may
take judicial notice of matters which are of public
knowledge, or are capable of unquestionable
demonstration, or ought to be known to judges
because of their judicial functions.

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 Revised Rules on Evidence, Rule 129, Section
3. Judicial notice, when hearing necessary.
During the pre-trial and the trial, the court, motu
proprio or upon motion, shall hear the parties on
the propriety of taking judicial notice of any
matter.

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 Before judgment or on appeal, the court, motu
proprio or upon motion, may take judicial notice
of any matter and shall hear the parties thereon
if such matter is decisive of a material issue in
the case

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 Judicial notice dispenses of the need for evidence. It is
the [recognition] of certain facts that judges may
properly take and act on without proof because these
facts are already known to them. Put differently, it is
the assumption [not presumption] by a court of a fact
without the need for further traditional evidentiary
support.

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 The principle is based on convenience and
expediency in securing and introducing
evidence on matters which are not ordinarily
capable of dispute and are not bona fide
disputed

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 Generally speaking, matters of judicial notice have
three material requisites:
1. the matter must be one of common and general
knowledge;
2. it must be well and authoritatively settled and not
doubtful or uncertain; and
3. it must be known to be within the limits of the
jurisdiction of the court.

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 The court, on its own initiative, or when any party
asks for a hearing, may schedule a hearing on
the matters for judicial notice. During the pre-trial
or trial stage, any matter for judicial notice shall
be heard; before judgment or on appeal, only
matters decisive of a material issue in the case
shall be heard.

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 But judicial notice is not judicial knowledge. The
mere personal knowledge of the judge is not the
judicial knowledge of the court, and he or she is
not authorized to make his or her individual
knowledge of a fact, not generally or
professionally known, the basis of his or her
action.

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 Judicial cognizance is taken only of those matters which
are "commonly" known. In the same way, the courts
cannot take judicial notice of a disputed fact. For
instance, in a charge for malversation of public property,
particularly an issue of firearm that was recovered from
a municipal mayor, the Court cannot take judicial notice
of the value of the gun since it is one of the disputed
facts.

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 Mandatory Judicial Notice
Courts must necessarily take judicial notice of alleged
facts based on the idea that the alleged facts are of a
universally proven, truthful character. Because these facts are
generally and widely accepted as true, the courts do away
with what would otherwise be the indispensable presentation
of evidence. This rule not only unburdens the parties from
collecting and presenting evidence, but it also saves the
courts time in hearing the cases.

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 For instance, the courts should take mandatory judicial notice of the
declaration of martial law in Mindanao because it forms part of
Philippine political history and is as well an official act of the executive
department of the National Government. The courts should also take
mandatory judicial notice of the United Nations' Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, which is part of the law of nations. On the other
hand, the courts do not need to take mandatory judicial notice of an
ordinance, which is passed by the local legislative council (like the
Sangguniang Bayan) because it is an act of the executive department
of the local government unit and is a local law.

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 Discretionary Judicial Notice
Courts can also take judicial notice of alleged facts when they do not
fall under any of the categories for mandatory judicial notice but fall
under the categories in Rule 129, Section 2. If an alleged fact is of
public knowledge, capable of unquestionable demonstration, or ought
to be known to judges because of their judicial functions, then the party
alleging them can ask the court to recognize it as fact, and in effect, ask
to waive the requirement of evidence. In this situation, courts are
tasked to exercise their discretion or sound judgment and take into
consideration the character of the allegation, and how it will affect the
controversy being heard.

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 Examples:
In his affidavit, POI Espejo swore that when
posing as a buyer of shabu, he called the accused
and said, "Randy, pa-iskor naman." The drug court
took judicial notice of the term "pa-iskor," which is
a statement of interest in buying illegal drugs.

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 Dr. Chris Pascua was called in by the prosecution as a
forensic expert in a homicide case. Dr. Pascua frequently
appears before the trial judge, as he is the sole medicolegal
doctor in the province. The court has the discretion to take
judicial notice of Dr. Pascua's qualifications as an expert
witness because his occupation is of public knowledge in the
province and is known to the judge because of the judge's
official function.

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 During his testimony, Nico denied that he raped his
girlfriend, Garrie, because, at the time of the alleged
assault, Garrie had her period. The trial court ruled that
Nico's denial deserved no merit and took judicial notice
of the possibility of intercourse during menstruation.

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 Sheila filed a case for bigamy against her husband, Ray. During the
trial, Sheila asked the court to take judicial notice of the marriage
certificate proving the marriage of Ray and Ella, which Ella presented
in the annulment case against Ray. The trial court in the bigamy case
took judicial notice of the marriage certificate because the factual issue
of Ray's former marriage is a controversy in the criminal action.
Although courts are not authorized to take judicial notice of the records
of other cases, an exception is allowed when the other case has a
close connection with the controversy at hand

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 Courts, however, cannot take judicial notice of foreign laws,
foreign judgments, and other foreign public documents.
Instead of judicial notice, the proper way to present foreign
laws, foreign judgments, and other foreign public documents
as evidence is found under Sections 24 and 25 of Rule 132.
That said, the courts cannot take judicial notice of, say, the
criminal laws of Australia or a divorce decree issued by a
German court.

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 Admissions
Legal Basis
Revised Rules on Evidence, Rule 130, Section
27. Admission of a party. - The act, declaration or
omission of a party as to a relevant fact may be
given in evidence against him or her.

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 Revised Rules on Evidence, Rule 130, Section
34. Confession. - The declaration of an accused
acknowledging his or her guilt of the offense
charged, or of any offense necessarily included
therein, may be given in evidence against him or
her.

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 Admission is a clear, categorical, and voluntary declaration
on a matter of fact that is adverse to the interest of the
declarant. Otherwise put, for a declaration to be considered
an admission:
1. it must be on a matter of fact;
2. it is adverse or contrary to the interests of the declarant;
3. it only has one meaning; and
4. it was not forced, threatened, or intimidated out of the
declarant.

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 During her direct testimony in a case for Estafa, the accused declares,
"Alam ko po ang code sa combination lock sa tindahan ni Aling Fe."
This declaration is an admission because:
1. it is about the fact of knowing the code to the combination lock;
2. knowing the code to the combination lock is adverse to the
accused's interest of not being implicated in the crime;
3. it can only mean that the accused knows the code to the
combination lock; and
4. the accused was not forced, threatened, or intimidated for it.
Because of this admission, the accused cannot later claim that she
could not open the lock because she does not know the code.

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 Because of this admission, the accused cannot
later claim that she could not open the lock
because she does not know the code.

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 Judicial admissions made by parties in the course of the trial,
whether oral or written, in the same case, do not require
further evidence to prove them.
They are legally binding on the declarant, and the declarant
may not present contrary evidence to disprove the
admission.

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 Because of this admission, the accused cannot
later claim that she could not open the lock
because she does not know the code.

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 Written judicial admissions can be made in
pleadings (e.g., complaint, answer, reply, etc.),
judicial affidavits, and motions. Oral judicial
admissions can be made during testimonial
examinations.

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 Another example of an admission made in the
course of judicial proceedings is an admission
made by a party during the pre-trial stage. During
the pre-trial, the court will ask the parties to
identify the allegations of the other party that
they would like to admit.

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 The set of admissions will be the stipulated facts of the
case, and the parties do not have to present evidence
during the trial as to these matters. The trial will then
be limited to the presentation of evidence on the facts
in issue or the allegations of the parties that are
denied by the opposing parties.

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 Suppose the prosecution alleges that Regina Corona,
the person accused of stealing the pearl tiara from the
jewelry store, visited the store on the morning of the
theft. During the pre-trial conference, the defense
does not deny Regina's presence at the store in the
morning when the tiara was stolen and admits this
allegation as fact.

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 Hence, Regina's presence at the store is an
admission. On the other hand, the defense denies the
prosecution's allegation that Regina did not own the
tiara and alleges that Regina issued a check to the
store owner for the value of the tiara. If the prosecution
agrees that Regina issued a check for the tiara, then
this too is an admission.

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 The effect of a judicial admission is that the declarant
is barred from presenting evidence contrary to the fact
that they admitted. However, if the admission was
made through a palpable or obvious mistake, or the
imputed admission, was not, in fact, made, then the
admission can be contradicted with evidence.

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 In the example above, if Regina admits her presence
at the store on the morning of theft because of her
mistaken belief that the date in question falls on 5
June 2019, Regina can challenge the admission with
contradictory evidence. If the date in question
happens to be 5 June 2020 instead, Regina can
present evidence that she was confined in an isolation
facility for having contracted COVID-19 on said date.

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 In Chapter V, we will discuss the rules on res inter alios acta,
which refer to admissions made by third parties. In general,
admissions by third parties against the interest of another
cannot prejudice the latter. Therefore, the need to present
evidence to prove the matter of fact admitted by a third party
remains. However, in certain instances, the court recognizes
exceptions where admissions by third parties also have the
effect of legally binding the person against whom the
admission is made.

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