Arraignment and Plea

1. RULE 116 (ARRAIGNMENT
AND PLEA)
Week 8

2. RULE 116 – ARRAIGNMENT AND PLEA
How is the arraignment made?
In open court (where the complaint or
information was filed or assigned for trial) 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 him whether he pleads guilty or not guilty.

3. Once the court has acquired jurisdiction
over the person of the accused, the
arraignment of the accused and the pre-
trial shall be set within ten (10) calendar
days from date of the court’s receipt of
the case for a detained accused, and
within thirty (30) calendar days from the
date the court acquires jurisdiction
(either by arrest or voluntary surrender)
over a non-detained accused.
The Court must set the arraignment of
the accused in the commitment order, in
the case of detained accused, or in the

4. HOW IS THE PLEA MADE?
The accused MUST be present at the
arraignment and must personally enter
his plea.
Both arraignment and plea shall be
made by record, but failure to do so
shall not affect the validity of the
proceedings. (S1b R116)

5. In multiple cases, the court, upon
personal examination of the
accused, may allow a waiver of the
reading of the information upon
the full understanding and express
consent of the accused and his/her
counsel, which consent shall be
expressly stated in both the
minutes/ certificate of arraignment

6. WHEN SHALL A PLEA OF NOT GUILTY
BE ENTERED FOR THE ACCUSED?
(1) When the accused REFUSES to
plea or makes a CONDITIONAL
plea
(2) When the accused pleads guilty
BUT presents EXCULPATORY
evidence, his plea shall be deemed
withdrawn and a plea of not guilty

7. CASE: After a plea of guilty, the
accused was allowed to present
evidence of mitigating
circumstances. The accused
instead testified that he acted in
self-defense.
What should the court do?

8. The court should enter a plea of
not guilty for the accused. The
earlier plea of guilty shall be
deemed withdrawn.
S1d R116
When the accused pleads guilty but
presents exculpatory evidence, his
plea shall be deemed withdrawn
and a plea of not guilty shall be

9. Is the private offended party
required to appear at the
arraignment?
Yes. Purpose: plea bargaining,
determination of civil liability, and
other matters requiring his
presence.

10. What is the consequence if the
offended party fails to appear
despite due notice?
The court may allow the accused to
enter a plea of guilty to a lesser
offense which is necessarily
included in the offense charged
with the conformity of the trial
prosecutor alone.

11. WHAT IS PLEA BARGAINING?
The process whereby the accused and the
prosecutor in a criminal case work out a
mutually satisfactory disposition of the case
subject to court approval. It usually involves
the defendant’s pleading guilty to a lesser
offense or to only one or some of the counts of
a multi-court indictment in return for a lighter
sentence than that for the graver charge.
(Black’s Law Dictionary)
(Daan vs. Sandiganbayan [2008] citing People

12. CASE: X was charged with two counts
of raping his daughter. Upon
arraignment, X pleaded guilty but
bargained for a lesser penalty for
each case. Complainant’s mother and
the public prosecutor agreed with the
plea bargain. Hence the trial court
rendered judgment sentencing X to
ten years for each count of rape.
Was there a proper plea bargaining?

13. No.
X’s plea is not the plea bargaining
contemplated and allowed by law and the
rules of procedure.
X did not plea to a lesser offense.
The only instance where a plea
bargaining is allowed under the Rules is
when an accused pleads guilty to a lesser
offense necessarily included in the
offense charged pursuant to S2 R116.
In such a case, the reduction of the

14. Note, X did not plea to a lesser
offense. He pleaded guilty to the rape
charges and only bargained for a
lesser penalty. In short, he did not
plea bargain but made conditions on
the penalty to be imposed.
People vs. Magat
This is erroneous because by
pleading guilty to the offense
charged, accused-appellant should
be sentenced to the penalty to which

15. CASE: X was charged with two
counts of raping his daughter.
Upon arraignment, X pleaded
guilty but bargained for a lesser
penalty for each case.
Complainant’s mother and the
public prosecutor agreed with the
plea bargain. What should the

16. The Court should enter a plea of not
guilty for X.
S1c R116
When the accused refused to plead or
makes a conditional plea, a plea of
not guilty shall be entered for him.
X made a conditional plea by
admitting his guilty provided that a
certain penalty will be meted upon
him. Hence, the Court should enter a
plea of not guilty.

17. People vs. Magat, G.R. No. 130026, May
31, 2000
Plea bargaining is limited solely to
pleading guilty to a lesser offense
necessarily included in the offense
charged.
Arguable – Riguera
Ground: There is nothing in the RCP to that effect.
The 1985 Rules adopted in a footnote the definition
in Black’s Law Dictionary that plea bargaining is
“the process whereby the accused and the
prosecution in a criminal case work out a mutually
satisfactory disposition of the case subject to court

18. Revised Guidelines for Continuous Trial of
Criminal Cases
(d) Arraignment Proper
(i) Plea bargaining xxx – If the accused
desires to enter a plea of guilty to a lesser
offense, plea bargaining shall immediately
proceed, provided the private offended party
in private crimes, or the arresting officer in
victimless crimes, is present to give his/her
consent with the conformity of the public
prosecutor to the plea bargaining. Thereafter,
judgment shall be immediately rendered in

19. Revised Guidelines for Continuous
Trial of Criminal Cases
(ii) Plea guilty to the crime charged
in the Information – If the accused
pleads guilty to the crime charged
in the Information, judgment shall
be immediately rendered, except in
those cases involving capital
punishment.

20. Bar Q: X was charged with murder
attended by treachery and evident
premeditation. During arraignment,
X, assisted by counsel, pleaded guilty
with the qualification “hindi ko
sinadya patayin.” X’s counsel assured
the court that he fully apprised X of
the information, the nature of the
charge, and the consequences of his
plea. Was the plea of guilty entered
valid? (1996 Bar)

21. No.
Clearly, the plea of guilty was
conditional. X claimed that he did not
intend to kill the victim. As such, a
plea of not guilty should have been
entered for X.
When the accused makes a
conditional plea, a plea of not guilty
shall be entered for him.

22. Bar Q: X was charged with murder
attended by treachery and evident
premeditation. During arraignment, X,
assisted by counsel, pleaded guilty with
the qualification “hindi ko sinadya
patayin.” X’s counsel assured the court
that he fully apprised X of the
information, the nature of the charge,
and the consequences of his plea. X even
waived the prosecution’s presentation of
evidence against him. The court
convicted X of murder. May the
prosecution dispense with the

23. No.
S4 R116: The reception of
evidence becomes discretionary
when the accused pleads guilty to
a non-capital offense.
Here, there was no valid plea of
guilty, the reception of evidence is
therefore MANDATORY.

24. WHEN MAY THE ACCUSED ENTER A PLEA OF
GUILTY TO A LESSER OFFENSE?
* at arraignment
with the consent of the offended party and
conformity of the public prosecutor – accused
may plead guilty to a lesser offense which is
necessarily included in the offense charged (S2
R116)
* after arraignment but before trial
accused may still be allowed to plead guilty
to the said lesser offense after withdrawing his
plea of not guilty

25. Daan vs. Sandiganbayan (2008)
Ordinarily, plea bargaining is
made during the pre-trial stage of
the proceedings. Xxx. But it may
also be made during the trial
proper and even after the
prosecution has finished
presenting its evidence and rested

26. May the accused plead guilty to a
lesser offense which is cognizable
by a court of lesser jurisdiction
than the trial court?
Yes.
Once a court acquires jurisdiction
by virtue of the allegations of the
complaint or information it retains
the same until the final disposition

27. May a plea of guilty be withdrawn
and be substituted by a plea of not
guilty?
Yes. If the plea of guilt was
IMPROVIDENT and provided that
the judgment of conviction has not
yet become final (S5 R116). The
withdrawal shall be made with the
permission of the court. The court

28. People vs. Lunia, G.R. No. 128289, April 23,
2002
Conviction based on an improvident
plea of guilty may be set aside only
when such plea is the sole basis of
the judgment. But if the trial court
relied on the evidence of the
prosecution and convincing evidence
to convict beyond reasonable doubt,

29. Estipona vs. Lobrigo, August 15,
2017
Sec. 23 of the CDDA which
disallows plea bargaining in drugs
cases is unconstitutional for
infringing on SC’s rule-making
authority.

30. GROUNDS FOR SUSPENSION OF
ARRAIGNMENT
(a) The 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. In
such case, the court shall order his mental
examination and, if necessary, his confinement for
such purpose.
(b) There exists a prejudicial question.
(c) A petition for review of the resolution of the
prosecutor is pending at either the DOJ or the