Arraignment and plea

BY: CHELDY SYGACO ELUMBA-PABLEO,MPA,LLB
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

ARRAIGNMENT
• An arraignment is the means of implementing the
constitutional right of the accused to be informed of the
nature and cause of the accusation against him.
• Actual arraignment is an element of due process.
• It has been held that where there is no valid arraignment,
no valid judgment can be rendered and the case should be
remanded to the trial court for further proceedings.

ARRAIGNMENT AND PLEA—HOW MADE
• A. The accused must be arraigned BEFORE the court where the
complaint or information has been filed or assigned for trial.
• It shall be made in open court by the judge or clerk by furnishing
the accused with a copy of the complaint or information, reading
the same in the language or dialect known to him and asking
whether he pleads guilty or not guilty.

• B. The accused must be present at the arraignment and must
personally enter his plea.
• Both arraignment and plea must be made of record, but a failure
to do so shall not affect the validity of the proceedings.
• C. When the ACCUSED REFUSES TO PLEAD , or makes a conditional
plea of guilt, a plea of not guilty shall be entered for him.

• D. when the ACCUSED PLEADS GUILTY, but presents exculpatory evidence, his
plea shall be deemed withdrawn and a plea of not guilty shall be entered for
him.
• E. When the ACCUSED IS UNDER PREVENTIVE DETENTION, his case shall be
raffled and its records shall be transmitted to the judge to whom the case
was raffled within 3 days from filing of the information or complaint and shall
be arraigned within 10 days from the date raffled.
• The pre-trial conference shall be held within 10 days after arraignment.

• F. Private offended party shall be required to appear at the
arraignment for PURPOSES of plea bargaining, determination of
civil liability, and other matters requiring his presence.
• FAILURE TO APPEAR: (despite due notice)- the court may allow the
accused to enter plea of guilty to a lesser offense which is
necessarily included in the offense charged with the conformity of
the trial prosecutor alone.

• G. UNLESS shorter period is provided by SPECIAL LAW or Supreme
Court Circular, the arraignment shall be held within 30 days from
the date the court acquires jurisdiction over the person of the
accused.
• The time of the PENDENCY of motion to quash or for bail of
particulars, or other causes justifying suspension of the
arraignment shall be excluded in computing the period.

ISSUES WHICH ACCUSED MAY RAISE BEFORE PLEA
If ILLEGALLY ARRESTED or WARRANT ILLEGALLY ISSUED:
he should move to quash or to recall the warrant, for
ENTERING a plea without questioning the legality of the
arrest will tantamount to a waiver thereof.

IF NOT or INCOMPLETE ONE: the counsel for the accused should, if
he also desires, ask the court that the accused be accorded with
PI or re-investigation.
REFUSAL OF THE COURT TO GRANT: can be controlled by certiorari
and prohibition to prevent trial.

• IF SO: the accused should file a bill of particulars, pursuant to
Sec. 10 of Rule 116, otherwise he will be deemed to have
waived the defects of the complaint or information.

• IF SO: the accused should file a motion to quash, otherwise the
grounds thereof are deemed waived, except the grounds of no
offense charged, lack of jurisdiction over the offense, extinction of
the offense or penalty and jeopardy.

PLEA OF GUILTY TO LESSER OFFENSE
• At the arraignment, the accused with the consent of the offended
party and the prosecutor, may be allowed by the trial court to
plead guilty to a lesser offense which is necessarily included in the
offense charged.
• AFTER THE ARRAIGNMENT BUT BEFORE TRIAL, the accused may
still be allowed to plead to said lesser offense after withdrawing
his plead of not guilty.
• NO AMENDMENT of the complaint or information is necessary.

PLEA OF GUILT TO LESSEROFFENSE BY PLEA
BARGAINING
• Plea bargaining in the criminal cases is the process whereby the accused, the
offended party and the prosecution work out a mutually satisfactory
disposition of the case subject to the court approval.
• ORDINARILY, the plea bargaining is made DURING pre-trial stage of the
criminal proceedings, this being one of the subjects of pre-trial conference.
• It includes amending the information by alleging more mitigating
circumstances in the information and allowing the accused to plead guilty
thereto, as this will lighten the penalty, depending upon the number of
mitigating circumstances.

EFFECTS ON PLEA BARGAINING TO LESSER OFFENSE
• The rules however use word may in the second sentence of Section 2,
denoting an exercise of discretion upon the trial court on whether to allow the
accused to make such plea. Trial courts are exhorted to keep in mind that a
plea of guilty for a lighter offense than that actually charged is not supposed
to be allowed as a matter of bargaining or compromise for the convenience of
the accused.

EFFECTS ON PLEA BARGAINING TO LESSER OFFENSE
• The acceptance of an offer to plead guilty to a
lesser offense is not demandable by the
accused as a matter of right but is a matter
that is addressed entirely to the sound
discretion of the trial court. (People vs.
Villarama)

WHEN IS PLEA BARGAINING NOT ALLOWED?
• It is not allowed under the Dangerous Drugs Act whe
re the imposable penalty is reclusion perpetua to death.
• BUT in OCA CIRCULAR NO. 09-2018: on the matter of plea
bargaining in drug cases PURSUANT TO ESTIPONA V.
JUDGE LOBRIGO , G.R. NO. 226679, 15 August 2017 there
will be amendments to the previous ruling.

IMPROVIDENT PLEA
• Plea involuntarily made and without consent.
• It would be considered if there was failure to
conduct searching inquiry, failure of prosecution to
present evidence, no rational basis between
testimony and guilt.

WITHDRAWAL OF IMPROVIDENT PLEA OF GUILTY
• Sec. 5. Withdrawal of improvident plea of guilty.–At anytime
before the judgment of conviction becomes final, the court may
permit an improvident plea of guilty to be withdrawn and be
substituted by a plea of not guilty.
NOTE: The tenor of above provision is clear. There should be a
categorical declaration from the accused that he is withdrawing his plea of
guilty and substituting it with a plea of not guilty.

CAN AN IMPROVIDENT PLEA OF GUILTY BE WITHD
RAWN AS A MATTER OF RIGHT?
• No, the withdrawal of the plea of guilty is not a matter of strict right to
the accused but is within the discretion of the court.
• The reason behind this is that trial has already commenced and will put
all of the past proceedings to waste. Therefore, the plea may only be
withdrawn with permission of the court.
• Moreover, there is presumption that the plea was made
voluntarily. The court must decide whether the consent of the accused
was in fact vitiated when he entered his plea.

PLEA OF GUILTY TO CAPITAL OFFENSE
• Sec. 3. Plea of guilty to capital offense; reception of evidence. – When
the accused pleads guilty to a capital offense, the court shall
conduct a searching inquiry into the voluntariness and full
comprehension of the consequences of his plea and shall require
the prosecution to prove his guilt and the precise degree of culpability.
The accused may present evidence in his behalf.

ACCUSED PLEADS GUILTY TO A CAPITAL OFFENSE
• THE COURT SHOULD DO THE FOLLOWING:
1. Conduct a searching inquiry into the voluntariness and full
comprehension of the consequences of the plea
2. Require the prosecution to present evidence to prove the guilt and the
precise degree of culpability of the accused for the purpose of imposing the
proper penalty
3. Ask the accused if he desires to present evidence in his behalf and allow
him to do so if he desires
• MANDATORY for the court to conduct the searching inquiry
otherwise, there would be an improvident plea.

RECEPTION OF PROSECUTION AND DEFENSE
EVIDENCE
• The purpose of requiring presentation of prosecution evidence after the accused had
plead guilty to a capital offense are to:
1. Preclude any doubt as to the possibility that there might have been
misunderstanding on the part of the accused as to the nature of the charges to
which he pleaded guilty;
2. Ascertain the circumstances attendant to the commission of crime which justify or
require the exercise of greater or lesser degree of severity in the imposition of the
prescribed penalties;
3. Enable the Supreme Court have the evidence necessary to the fulfillment of its duty
of review of the automatic appeals from death sentence.

PLEA OF GUILT TO NON-CAPITAL OFFENSE
• Sec. 4. Plea of guilty to non-capital offense;
reception of evidence, discretionary. –
When the accused pleads guilty to a non-capital
offense, the court may receive evidence from th
e parties to determine the penalty to be imposed

ACCUSED PLEADS GUILTY TO A NON-CAPITAL
OFFENSE
• The court may receive evidence from the parties to
determine the penalty to be imposed.
• Unlike in a plea of guilty to a capital offense, t
he reception of evidence in this case is not
mandatory.
• It is merely discretionary on the court.

IMPORT OF PLEA OF GUILT
• The ESSENCE of plea of guilt in criminal trial is that the
accused, on arraignment, admits his guilt freely, voluntarily,
and with full knowledge of the consequences and meaning of
his act, and with clear understanding of the precise nature of
the crime charged in the information, without necessity of
requiring additional evidence, since by so pleading, the
defendant himself has supplied the necessary proof.

IMPORT OF PLEA OF GUILT--EXCEPTION
• Where the accused pleaded guilty of an information
which did not allege all the elements of the crime charged,
a plea of guilty to such an information does not warrant
the conviction of the accused.

ACCUSED MAY BE ALLOWED TO PRESENT EVIDENCE
• Where the record shows that some mitigating
circumstances attended the commission of the crime, the
refusal of the trial court to allow the defense to present
evidence showing mitigating circumstances CONSTITUTE
grave abuse of discretion.

EVIDENCE PRESENTED SHOWS ACCUSED NOT GUILTY
• If the accused is permitted to present evidence after his plead of
guilty to a non-capital offense and such shows that the accused is
not guilty of the crime charged, the accused must be ACQUITTED,
for there is no rule which provides that simply because the
accused pleaded guilty to the charge that his conviction
automatically follows.
• Additional evidence independent of the plea may be considered to
convince the judge that it was intelligently made.

ACCUSED VACATED THE PLEA OF GUILTY TO NOT
GUILTY
• After the accused testified in the presentation of evidence to prove mitigating
circumstances, on the facts which showed that he acted in self-defense, and
set the merits of the case for trial at a later date, during which the prosecutor
and the defense manifested that they are submitting the case for decision
based on the evidence already adduced, the trial cannot be said to have
denied its right to present evidence and the judgment of acquittal rendered by
trial court be said to be tainted with grave abuse of discretion and with the
appeal therefrom by the prosecution cannot be sustained as it would place
the accused in DOUBLE JEOPARDY.

EFFECTS OF PLEA OF GUILT TO INFORMATION THAT
CHARGES NO OFFENSE
• If the facts alleged in the complaint or information not constitute
an offense, the plea of guilt does not warrant conviction of the
accused.
• PP vs DIGERO Supreme Court held: if the information in the case
alleging possession of false treasury and bank notes without
alleging intent to use the same but only intent to possess them,
charges does not warrant conviction of the accused .

EFFECTS OF PLEA OF GUILT TO INFORMATION THAT
CHARGES NO OFFENSE
• The plea of guilt CONNOTES an ADMISSION by the
accused of the facts as alleged in the information
and not of the acts charged as UNLAWFUL or LACK
OF COURTS JURISDICTION. –(hence, the acts alleged
do not constitute a crime—his conviction is VOID)

DUTY OF THE DEFENSECOUNSEL WHEN ACCUSED
INTENDS TO PLEAD GUILTY
• WHEN HIS CLIENT DESIRES TO ENTER A PLEA OF GUILT, THE FOLLOWING MUST BE
OBSERVED:
1. Fully acquaint himself with the records and surrounding circumstances of the case;
2. Confer with the accused and obtain from him his account of what had happened;
3. Advise him of his constitutional rights;
4. Thoroughly explain to him the import of a guilty plea and the inevitable conviction that will
follow;
5. See to it that the prescribed procedure which experience has shown to be necessary to the
administration of justice is strictly followed and disclosed in the court records.

DUTY OF THE DEFENSECOUNSEL WHEN ACCUSED
INTENDS TO PLEAD GUILTY
• A defense counsel should prod the court to apply
and follow the procedure and leave no room for
doubt that there is no mistake or misunderstanding
as to the nature of the charges to which the
accused pleads guilty.

SUPREME COURTS’ MANDATORY REVIEW
• The review of the Supreme Court of the lower court’s
judgment would permit a judicial inquiry as to the extent
a defense counsel has performed his duty an accused
who pleaded guilty to a capital offense and would thus
minimize occasions for denial of an accused’s right to an
effective assistance of counsel.

DUTY OF THE COURT TO INFORM ACCUSED OF HIS
RIGHT TO COUNSEL
• Before arraignment, the court shall inform the accused
of his right to counsel and ask him if he desires to have
one.
• UNLESS the accused is allowed to defend himself in
person, or has employed counsel of his own choice,
the court must assign a counsel de oficio to defend
himself.

FOUR FOLD DUTIES OF THE TRIAL JUDGE
1. To inform the accused that he has the right to have his own counsel before
being arraigned;
2. After giving such information, the court must ask the accused whether he
desires the aid of counsel;
3. If he so desire to procure the service of counsel, the court must grant him
reasonable time to do so;
4. If he desire to have counsel but is unable to employ one, the court must
assign counsel de oficio to defend him.

APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL DE OFICIO
• The court, considering the gravity of the offense and the difficulty
of the questions that may arise, shall appoint as counsel de oficio
such members of the bar in good standing who, by reason of such
experience and ability, can adequately defend the accused.
• BUT IN LOCALITUES, where such member of the bar are not
available, the court may appoint any person, resident of the
province and of good repute for probity and ability, to defend the
accused.

TIME FOR COUNSEL DE OFICIO TO PREPARE
• Whenever a counsel de oficio is assigned by the court to defend the accused
at the arraignment, he shall be given a reasonable time to consult with the
accused as his plea before proceeding with the arraignment.
• Counsel must expressly demand right to be given reasonable time to consult
with the accused.
• DENIAL: constitute reversible error and a ground for new trial.
• TO BE WAIVED: must be expressly or impliedly by not asking for time to
prepare for trial.

BILL OF PARTICULARS
• Accused may, before arraignment, move a bill of
particulars to enable him properly to plead and
prepare for trial.
• The motion shall specify the alleged defects of the
complaint or information and the details desired.

BILL OF PARTICULARS
• Where the information fails to allege the time of
commission of the offense with sufficient
definiteness, the remedy is to file a motion for bill
of particulars, otherwise the defects may be
waived.

OFFICE AND PURPOSE OF BILL OF PARTICULAR
• PURPOSE: to enable party properly to prepare his
responsive pleading
• This implies not just the opportunity to properly prepare a
responsive pleading but also to prepare an intelligent
answer.
• It is to prevent injustice or to do justice in the case when
that cannot be accomplished without the aid of such bill.

WHAT IS BEYOND THE SCOPE OF BILL OF PARTICULARS
• It is not the office of a bill of particulars to supply materials
allegations necessary to the validity of a pleading, or to change a
cause of action or defense stated in the pleading, or to state a
cause of action or defense other than the one stated.
• A motion for a bill of particulars may not call for matters which
should form part of the proof of the complaint upon trial.
• For to obtain evidentiary matters is not the function of a bill of
particulars.

ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR BILL OF PARTICULARS
• If the court grants a motion for bill of particulars, the
party concerned must comply within 10 days from notice
of the order, UNLESS a different period is fixed by the
court.
• CHALLENGE: such order by filing a petition for certiorari.

• REFUSAL: of party to obey or insufficient compliance therewith may justify
the court to impose any of the following:
1. The striking out of the pleading or part thereof to which the order is directed;
2. The dismissal of the complaint
BILL OF PARTICULARS may either be in a separate or in an amended pleading
and served on the adverse party.
It becomes part of the pleading for which it is intended.

• The filing of a motion for bill of particulars suspends the period to
file a responsive pleading.
• IF GRANTED: the moving party has the remaining period or at least
five (5) days to file his answer from service of the bill of particulars.
• IF DENIED: he has the same period to file his responsive pleadings
from receipt of order denying the motion.

PRODUCTION AND INSPECTION OF EVIDENCE
• Upon motion of the accused showing good cause and with notice
to all parties, the court in order prevent surprise, suppression, or
alteration, may move for the production or inspection of material
evidence in the possession of the prosecution.
• It authorize the defense to inspect, copy or photograph any
evidence of the prosecution in its possession after obtaining the
permission of the court.

SUSPENSION OF ARRAIGNMENT
• Upon motion by the proper party, the arraignment shall be suspended in
following cases:
1. Accused appears to be suffering from an unsound mental condition which
effectively renders him unable to fully understand the charge against him and to
plead intelligently thereto;
2. There exist a prejudicial question;
3. A petition for review of the resolution of the prosecutor is pending at either the
DOJ or the Office of the President; provided the period of suspension shall not
exceed 60 days counted from the filing of the petition with the reviewing office.

TO DETERMINE INSANITY
• 3 MAJOR CRITERIA:
1. DELUSION TEST-an insane person believes in the state of things , the
existence of which no rational person would believe.
2. IRRESISTIBLE IMPULSE TEST—when reason of dures or mental disease, he
has lost the power to choose between right and wrong, to avoid the act in
question, his free agency being at time destroyed.
3. RIGHT AND WRONG TEST—a person is insane when he suffers from such
perverted condition of mental and moral faculties as to render him incapable
of distinguishing between right and wrong.

INSANITY UNDER ADMINISTRATIVE CODE
• Insanity is a manifestation in language or conduct, of
diseased or disordered condition of the mentality,
functional or organic, and characterized by perversion,
inhibition, or by disordered function of the sensory or of
the intellectual faculties, or by impaired or disordered
volition.

PREJUDICIAL QUESTION
• “A petition for suspension of the criminal action based
upon the pendency of a prejudicial question in a civil
action may be filed in the office of the prosecutor or the
court conducting the preliminary investigation. When the
criminal action has been filed in court for trial, the
petition to suspend shall be filed in the same criminal
action at any time before the prosecution rests.”

PREJUDICIAL QUESTION
• May be raised during the preliminary investigation
and if the information is filed in court, the same
may be raised before the trial court as ground to
suspend the arraignment.

PETITION REVIEW OF RESOLUTION OF PROSECUTION
TO DOJ OR OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
• ANOTHER GROUND TO SUSPEND THE ARRAIGNMENT—is
when the accused has filed a petition for review of the
resolution of prosecutor to the DOJ of the resolution of
the latter to the Office of the President, for review of said
resolution or the resolution of the Secretary of Justice, as
the case may be.
• FILED: 60 days from the filing of the petition.

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