ARRAIGNMENT AND PLEA 2.

When the complainant is about to

depart from the Philippines with no
Arraignment is a mode and manner of
definite date of return, the accused
implementing the constitutional right of the
must be arraigned without delay.
accused to be informed of the nature and
3. Cases under Dangerous Drugs Act
causes of the accusation against him.
Trial in absentia may be conducted only
(The purpose of which is for the accused to
after valid arraignment. (Conditions for
be informed of the reason of his case, of the
trial in absentia to happen: court must have
possible consequences of it and for him to
acquired jurisdiction over the person of the
be equipped to counter allegations against
accused, accused must have been arrested
him for his own defense.)
and he must have been arraigned)
Under the law, arraignment is made upon
Accused must personally appear during his
the filing of the complaint or information
arraignment and when he enters his plea.
against the accused before the court. It shall
Counsel cannot enter plea for accused.
be made in open court by the judge or clerk
of court with furnishing the copies of Here, arraignment and plea shall be made
complaint or information to the accused and of record but failure to do so shall not affect
reading them in a language or dialect known the validity of the proceedings.
to the latter. The accused is then asked
GR: JUDGEMENT IS VOID WHEN ACCUSED IS
whether he pleads guilty or not guilty.
NOT ARRAIGNED
The prosecution may call trial witnesses
XPN: IF ACCUSED WENT TO TRIAL WITHOUT
other than those named in the complaint or
BEING ARRAIGNED SUBSEQUENT
information.
ARRAIGNMENT WILL CURE THE ERROR
When should arraignment be held? PROVIDED THAT HE WAS ABLE TO PRESENT
EVIDENCE AND CROSS-EXAMINE THE
Arraignment is held depending on the
WITNESSES OF THE PROSECUTION DURING
following:
TRIAL
1. If the accused is detained, it shall be
The period of suspension of arraignment
held within 10 days from court’s
shall not exceed 60 days from the filing of
receipt of the case.
the petition for review of the resolution of
2. If the accused is NOT detained, it
the prosecutor with either the DOJ or
shall be held within 30 days from the
Office of the President.
date the court acquires jurisdiction
over the accused. RULES TO OBSERVE FOR ARRAIGNMENT
UNDER THE CONTINUOUS TRIAL OF
When arraignment is held within a shorter
CRIMINAL CASES IN PILOT COURTS
period
1. In plea bargaining, the accused is
Arraignment is held within a shorter period
allowed to enter a plea of guilty for a
in the following instances:
lesser offense, provided that the
1. When the accused in under preventive private offended party for private
detention, his case should be raffled crimes or the arresting officer for
within 3 days from the filing of the victimless crimes is present to
complaint or information and he conform with it. Thereafter, judgment
should be arraigned within 10 days shall immediately be rendered in the
from the date of the raffle. Pre-trial same proceedings. XPN (drugs cases)
conference is to be held within 10 2. When the accused enters a plea of
days from the arraignment. (Speedy guilty for a crime charged in the
Trial Act) information, judgment shall
 immediately be rendered, except in A plea of not guilty by the accused is
cases involving capital offenses. entered in the following instances:
3. Where there is neither plea
1. When the accused pleads not guilty
bargaining nor a plea of guilty
2. When the accused refused to plead
entered by the accused, the court
3. When the accused enters into a
shall immediately proceed with the
conditional plea
arraignment of the accused and
4. When the accused entered plea of
thereafter indicate the pre-trial and
guilty but with exculpatory evidence.
trial dates in the Order.
(Here, plea of guilty by the accused is
4. The pre-trial and trial dates are
withdrawn. The court may order the
scheduled by the Regular
accused to enter another plea or
Rules/Special Rules. The trial dates
enter a plea of not guilty. Therefore,
may shorten depending on the
there is no standing plea. If there is
number of the witnesses to be
no standing plea, the accused cannot
presented. A flowchart shall be
invoke double jeopardy when another
prepared by the court which shall
case similar to what he is facing is
serve as the final schedule of the
being filed against him)
hearings.
The presence of the offended party is
What happens when the accused pleaded
required at the arraignment for plea
guilty?
bargaining, determination of civil liability
If the accused pleaded guilty on the crime and other matters of similar nature.
charged against him, such is an unqualified
In case the offended party fails to appear
admittance of the crime and the mitigating
despite due notice thereat, the accused is
or aggravating circumstances alleged in the
allowed by the trial court to enter plea of
complaint.
guilty for a lesser offense necessary in the
Here, there is no need to present further crime charged with the conformity of the
evidence because the case is deemed tried trial prosecutor alone.
on its merit and must be submitted to
WHEN MAY AN ACCUSED ENTER A PLEA OF
decision.
GUILTY TO A LESSER OFFENSE
As such, reception of evidence is merely
An accused usually enters a plea of guilty to
discretionary. The accused may have present
a lesser offense in plea bargaining. In a plea
mitigating circumstances upon his plea of
bargaining, this is where the accused, the
guilty.
offended party and the prosecution have
If in the course of his presentation of mutual satisfactory disposition of the
evidence it is found out that his guilt is not case subject to the court’s approval.
present or there is a showing that there has
Plea bargaining involves the defendant’s
been an exempting circumstance, the court
plea of guilty to a lesser offense or to one of
will acquit him.
the multi-count indictment in exchange for a
Thus, plea of guilt by the accused is not lighter sentence than that for the graver
tantamount to his conviction. charge.
However, in a plea of guilty to a capital Only facts and not conclusions of law alleged
offense, reception of evidence to prove in the information must be admitted to a
guilt and the degree of culpability of the plea of guilty. Thus, any aggravating or
accused is mandatory. qualifying circumstance alleged in the
information will not be considered admission
When is a plea of not guilty be entered by
of said circumstances if evidence presented
the accused?
by the prosecution fails to prove the same.
Plea bargaining prevents the filing and the prosecution’s evidence proving the guilt
prosecution of the offense originally charged of the accused.
in the information except when the plea of
Consent of the offended party is necessary
guilty to a lesser offense is without the
before the accused may be allowed to
consent of the offended party and the
plead guilty to a lesser offense
prosecutor. (because presence of the
offended party is required in arraignment Failure to get consent from both the
and for purposes of plea bargaining, prosecutor and the offended party, the
determining of civil liability and other conviction of the accused shall not be a bar
matters requiring his presence but despite to another prosecution for an offense which
due notice and failure of the offended party necessarily includes the offense charged in
to be present thereat, the court may allow the former information. Here, there is no
the accused to enter a plea of not guilty for double jeopardy because there was not valid
a lesser offense necessary in the crime plea.
charged with conformity of the trial
If the offended party fails to appear during
prosecutor alone)
the arraignment, the court may still allow
REQUISITES OF PLEA BARGAINING the accused to plea for a lesser offense
necessarily included in the crime charged,
1. During the arraignment, the accused,
but with conformity to the trial prosecutor.
with the consent of the offended
party and the prosecutor (accused Thus, CONSENT OF BOTH THE OFFENDED
may also enter a plea of guilt to a PARTY AND THE PROSECUTOR IS A
lesser offence necessary included in CONDITION PRECEDENT TO A VALID PLEA
the crime charged if the offended OF GUILTY TO A LESSER OFFENSE
party was duly notified but did not
WHEN THE ACCUSED PLEADS GUILTY TO A
appear in the arraignment provided
CAPITAL OFFENSE, the courts will not
with conformity of the trial
impose the death penalty immediately, it
prosecutor.)
must follow the proper procedure below:
2. Enters a plea of guilt
3. To a lesser offender which is (1) conduct a searching inquiry as to the
necessarily included in the crime voluntariness and comprehension of his
charged plea(here the a. judge must convince
himself the accused entered his plea
After arraignment but before the trial, the
voluntarily and intelligently, b. that there
accused may still withdraw his plea of not
exists a rational basis of the finding of his
guilty and enter a plea of guilt to a lesser
guilt based on the testimony of witnesses
offense necessarily included in the crime
and c. inform the accused the exact length
charged. No amendment of the complaint or
of imprisonment and certainty that he will
information is necessary.
serve in a national penitentiary)XPN if there
Plea to a lesser offense after trial has is sufficient independent evidence to
begun may be allowed by the judge upon establish guilt. (People v Baharan)
approval by the prosecutor and the
(2) require the prosecution to present
offended party if they do not have
evidence to prove his guilt and degree of
sufficient evidence to establish the guilt of
culpability
the accused for the crime charged. The
judge cannot on his own grant the change (3) ask accused if he desires to present
of plea. evidence in his behalf and allow him to do so
if he desires
Thus, the acceptance of a judge of the
change of plea is improper and irregular Absence of a transcript of stenographic
when there is no finding on the weight of notes of the proceedings does not affect the
validity of the proceedings so long as the 4. Information does not charge an
accused had been given his right to be offense
informed of the nature and causes of the 5. Court has no jurisdiction
accusation against him and be able to
Withdrawal of an improvident plea is subject
comprehend of the consequences of his
to the discretion of the court.
plea.
Conviction based on improvident plea is set
aside only when such plea is the sole basis of
IMPROVIDENT PLEA the judgment.
Improvident plea is a plea without an There must be a declaration of accused
information covering all of the withdrawing his plea of guilty and
circumstances affecting it. Thus, it is based substituting it with a plea of not guilty.
on a mistaken and unreliable(misleading)
The 4-fold duty of the court if accused
information or advice.
appears without a counsel: (this right is
A conviction may be set aside if a plea of waivable) as a matter of right during
guilty is the sole basis of judgment. arraignment but at the trial, it is the
accused to assert his right to counsel or
However, if the prosecution proves upon
else court will not act
sufficient evidence of the guilt of the
accused independent of the plea, then this 1. Inform him of his right to counsel
warrants conviction. 2. Ask him if he wants to be represented
by a counsel
When there is an improvident plea of guilt,
3. If he cannot afford one, assign to him
and the prosecution proves the guilt of the
a counsel de officio to defend him
accused based on sufficient evidence, no
4. Allow him to hire an attorney to
reman is necessary.(so long as no procedural
represent him
irregularity)
Motion of the bill of particulars must be
When there is an improvident plea of guilt,
raised before the arraignment to enable
but the prosecution failed to prove guilt of
him to properly plead and prepare for
the accused, remand is necessary except
trial.
when the prosecution is still unable to prove
guilt that acquittal shall follow. His motion must contain the alleged
defects in the information or complaint
Withdrawal of the improvident plea of guilty
and the details desired.
is allowed before judgment of conviction
becomes final. It can be substituted to a The remedy for a defective information
plea of not guilty upon the discretion of the based on failure to alleged the time of the
court and may be granted if the prosecution commission of the crime with sufficient
does not have sufficient evidence to prove definiteness warrants a remedy of bill of
guilt of the accused. particulars and not motion to quash.
The instances where the accused entered There is a right to modes of discovery
an improvident plea afforded to the accused
1. When his plea of guilty is entered due The right of the accused to move for the
to violence or intimidation production of evidence in the possession of
2. When he is does not fully comprehend the prosecution.
his plea
Must have first permission of the court
3. Insufficient information to sustain his
before being authorized to inspect the
conviction of the offense charged
evidence in the possession of the
prosecution.
Grounds for suspension of arraignment
1. Prejudicial q
2. Accused suffering from unsound
mental condition
3. Petition for review pending before the
DOJ or the office of the president,
shall no exceed 60 days counted from
the filing of the petitions for review
4. Motion to q
5. Inhibition
6. Bill of particulars