PHILIPPINES Law and Practice Contributed by: Leland R Villadolid J, Gilberto D Gallos, Antonio Jose Gerardo T Paz and Leo Frederick Z Cruz, Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz (ACCRALAW)
7.5 Expert Testimony The Rules of Court state that “[t]he opinion of a wit- ness on a matter requiring special knowledge, skill, experience or training which he is shown to possess, may be received in evidence”. The qualification of a witness as an expert, their credibility and the evalu- ation of their testimony is left to the discretion of the trial court, whose finding thereon is not reviewable in the absence of abuse of discretion. A court may itself seek the assistance of an expert wit- ness. For example, under the Rules of Court, “expe- rienced and impartial attorneys may be invited by the Court to appear as amici curiae to help in the disposi- tion of issues submitted to it”. 7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public Please see 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings . 7.7 Level of Intervention by a Judge A judge may intervene in the manner by which a coun- sel conducts the examination of a witness or presents evidence during trial – subject to certain general guidelines – such as to: • protect the witness; • maintain order in the proceedings; • prevent delay or delaying tactics; • stop manifestly objectionable questions; • clarify any question being propounded by counsel or any answer given by a witness; and • promote the expeditious and orderly presentation of evidence in compliance with the pretrial order. Other than these, judges generally give lawyers wide latitude in the manner they conduct trial. Objections to questions propounded during the examination of a witness are immediately resolved by judges. The same is true for simple or non-litigious motions such as motions for postponement or con- tinuance. For more complex or litigious motions or applications, judges usually reserve making a decision for a later date, or require the parties to make writ- ten submissions, unless such motion or application necessitates urgent resolution.
After pretrial, the court will issue a pretrial order, which shall control the subsequent proceedings, unless modified before trial to prevent injustice. 7.3 Jury Trials in Civil Cases There are no jury trials in the Philippines. Cases are heard and decided by a judge or by a tribunal com- posed of several justices, constituting a division of a collegial court. 7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence Under the Rules of Court, evidence is admissible when it is competent and relevant. Evidence is competent when not excluded by law or the rules. An example of this is the exclusionary rule or the “fruit of the poison- ous tree” doctrine enshrined in the Constitution, which provides that any evidence obtained in violation of the right against unreasonable searches and seizures shall be inadmissible for any purpose in any proceed- ing. On the other hand, evidence is relevant when it has such a relation to the fact in issue as to induce belief in its existence or non-existence. Object evidence may be admitted into evidence when its relevance is shown, and when it has been properly identified by a witness and exhibited to the court. The same rule applies to documentary evidence, sub- ject to: • the further requirement of authentication as pro- vided under the Rules of Court; • the Rules on Electronic Evidence in the case of electronic documents; and • compliance with particular rules on admissibility, such as the original document rule and the parol evidence rule. Regarding testimonial evidence, testimonies of wit- nesses are generally admissible, as long as: • they are not disqualified from testifying; • their testimonies do not cover privileged matters; • their testimonies are relevant to the issues being litigated; and • their testimonies are matters within their personal knowledge, subject to the relevant exceptions (eg, exceptions for hearsay, testimony of experts, etc).
919 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook