PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee v. RICARDO BODOSO Y BOLOR, accused-appellant. G.R. Nos. 149382-149382, 5-5-2003. EN BANC, BELLOSILLO, J.

LEAD: TRIAL COURTS MUST TAKE HEED that in criminal cases involving capital offenses the waiver of the right to present evidence and be heard should not be considered haphazardly, perfunctorily, lightly or trivially, because the right is inherent in due process, but must at all times be scrutinized by means of a test and procedure to ascertain that the waiver was done voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently with sufficient awareness of its relevant cNIRCumstances and likely consequences. FACTS: Jenny Bodoso (Jenny) filed a case of qualified rape by means of force and intimidation against his father Ricardo Bodoso (Ricardo). A warrant of arrest was issued by the court and Ricardo was subsequently detained. He was subjected by the same court to preliminary investigation where he failed to submit counter affidavit/rebuttal evidence against his daughters complaint-affidavit. Prosecution presented two witnesses Jenny and the doctor who issued the medical certificate; after which, the defense counsel cross-examined the prosecution witnesses. Jenny did not substantiate the allegation that she was only 14 y.o. when the crime was supposedly perpetrated. The prosecution then submitted documentary evidence , which was admitted by the court, and then rested its case. Upon the manifestation of the counsel de oficio, reception of the evidence for the defense was deferred to the next month. After a month, as booked in the trial calendar, the defense was summoned to present its evidence. Lamentably, unlike in the previous settings of the trial court, the consolidated records of the criminal case do not indicate whether accusedappellant was present on the scheduled trial date. There were also no transcript of stenographic notes nor minutes of the proceedings on that date that would have elucidated on the cryptic order of the trial judge of even date tersely stating Upon the manifestation of counsel for the accused, Atty. Danilo Brotamonte, that the defense is not intending to present any evidence and now resting its case today, this case therefore is now submitted for decision. RTC: Ricardo guilty of 2 counts of qualified rape against his 14 y.o.old daughter; He was sentenced with capital punishment; hence, the case was submitted to SC for automatic review. ISSUE: WON Ricardo waived his right to present evidence and be heard. HELD: NO. DISPO: RTC decision was set aside and the case was remanded to it. RATIO: The counsel de oficio argued that the accusation was just trumped up by Jennys bf, that there was no proof beyond reasonable doubt, and that there was no evidence supporting Jennys claim that she was just a minor when her father raped her. However, they did not seek relief from the Order that inexplicably waived their clients constitutional right to present evidence and be heard. Although such was not questioned by the counsel, because a life is at stake in this case, the issue about the waiver of rights was still considered by SC in the interest of justice. Intestate Estate of the Late Vito Borromeo v. Borromeo SC pointed out that this was a civil case where SC set aside the waiver of hereditary rights because it was not clearly and convincingly shown that the heir had the intention to waive his right or advantage voluntarily.

The rule on waiver cannot be any less in this criminal case where a life is at stake.

It is elementary that the existence of waiver must be positively demonstrated since a waiver by implication cannot be presumed. The standard of waiver requires that it "not only must be voluntary, but must be knowing, intelligent, and done with sufficient awareness of the relevant cNIRCumstances and likely consequences." There must thus be persuasive evidence of an actual intention to relinquish the right. Mere silence of the holder of the right should not be easily construed as surrender thereof; the courts must indulge every reasonable presumption against the existence and validity of such waiver. Necessarily, where there is a reservation as to the nature of any manifestation or proposed action affecting the rights of the accused to be heard before he is condemned, certainly, the doubt must be resolved in his favor to be allowed to proffer evidence in his behalf.
The criminal rules of procedure strictly provide the step-by- step formula to be followed by courts in cases punishable by death. This is to ensure that the constitutional presumption of innocence in favor of the accused is preserved and the State makes no mistake in taking life and liberty except that of the guilty. Hence, any deviation from the regular course of trial should always take into consideration that such a different or extraordinary approach has been undertaken voluntarily and intelligently. For otherwise, as in the instant case, denial of due process can be successfully invoked since no valid waiver of rights has been made. SC said that the RTC is wrong in not assuring if Ricardo really did waive his rights and this waiver should "not only must be voluntary, but must be knowing, intelligent, and done with sufficient awareness of the relevant cNIRCumstances and likely consequences." RTC should have been more cautious because this should have already been an automatic procedure, but more importantly Ricardo did not personally, on a person-to-person basis, manifest to the trial court the waiver of his own right. Also, RTC should not have just based the waiver on the counsel de oficios words because he may just have been driven by self-interest of finishing that cases he is handling. RTC must itself properly inquire if the waiver was validly done. In People v. Court of Appeals and People v. Flores SC said that even if the accused waived his right to present evidence, the court should have still insured that the accused knows importance of what he is waiving and its consequence. SC also said that there are some precedents where the accused was correctly denied the right to present defense evidence after he had waived his right to be heard. These cases however involved a valid, verified, clear and convincing renunciation of an accuseds right to offer contrary proof, cNIRCumstances that are sorely missing in the instant case. To protect the right to due process of every accused in a capital offense and to avoid any confusion about the proper steps to be taken when a trial court comes face to face with an accused or his counsel who wants to waive his clients right to present evidence and be heard, SC adopted, as a prerequisite to the validity of such waiver, a procedure akin to a "searching inquiry" as specified in People v. Aranzado when an accused pleads guilty:

1. The trial court shall hear both the prosecution and the accused with their respective counsel on the desire or manifestation of the accused to waive the right to present evidence and be heard. 2. The trial court shall ensure the attendance of the prosecution and especially the accused with their respective counsel in the hearing which must be recorded. Their presence must be duly entered in the minutes of the proceedings. 3. During the hearing, it shall be the task of the trial court to a. ask the defense counsel a series of questions to determine whether he had conferred with and completely explained to the accused that he had the right to present evidence and be heard as well as its meaning and consequences, together with the significance and outcome of the waiver of such right. If the lawyer for the accused has not done so, the trial court shall give the latter enough time to fulfill this professional obligation. b. inquire from the defense counsel with conformity of the accused whether he wants to present evidence or submit a memorandum elucidating on the contradictions and insufficiency of the prosecution evidence, if any, or in default thereof, file a demurrer to evidence with prior leave of court, if he so believes that the prosecution evidence is so weak that it need not even be rebutted. If there is a desire to do so, the trial court shall give the defense enough time for this purpose. c. elicit information about the personality profile of the accused, such as his age, socio-economic status, and educational background, which may serve as a trustworthy index of his capacity to give a free and informed waiver. d. all questions posed to the accused should be in a language known and understood by the latter, hence, the record must state the language used for this purpose as well as reflect the corresponding translation thereof in English
SC also said that in order to be safe, lower courts may use the above procedure for non-capital offenses. General rule: If there is an invalid waiver but that facts were adequately represented in the criminal case and no procedural unfairness or irregularity has prejudiced either the prosecution or the defense, the guilty verdict may nevertheless be upheld where the judgment is supported beyond reasonable doubt by the evidence on record since it would be a useless ritual to return the case to the trial court for further proceedings. The general rule is obviously not applicable in this case and thus remanded to the trial court.