Sec.

37 Dying Declaration- The declaration of a

dying person, made under the consciousness of
Q>What if he said “ I do not know, the one who
an impending death, may be received in any
stabbed me.”
case wherein his death is the subject of the
inquiry as evidence of the cause and
circumstances of such death.
Dying declaration which exculpate or exonerate
1. +9Declaration an accused; may be introduced by him and are
admissible in his favor.
2. Dying person

3. Under Consciousness of impending

death “Dying Declaration are admissible in favor of the
accused as well as against him”
4. Maybe received in ANY CASE

5. Death is subject of the inquiry

6. As evidence of the cause and

surrounding circumstances of such death The declaration made must relate to the death
of the declarant.

“A DYING PERSON CANNOT LIE”

ELEMENTS OF DYING DECLARATION:

Basis: Necessity and Trustworthiness

Necessity because witness cannot take the
witness stand.
Trustworthiness because noticed of falsehood is
silenced.
1. The declaration concerns the cause and the
surrounding circumstances of the declarant’s
death.
2. It is made when death appears to be
imminent and the declarant is under
consciousness of impending death.
3. The declarant would have competent to
testify he or she survived.

4. The dying declaration is offered in a case in

which the subject inquiry involves the
Applicable cases: declarant’s death.

1. Any case wherein the death is subject of

the inquiry.

Courts have to apply to dying declarations

same rules in court.

Impending Death

-Made by the defendant “If witness is incompetent under the rules if he

Not Next week, not Next month
But VERY SOON OR NOW conciousness of
impending death
were to appear in court, he would also
incompetent as dying declarant.
Example: Insanity

To be admissible
RES GESTAE- Spontaneous statements made
immediately prior to, while a STARTLING
OCCURENCE is taking place or IMMEDIATELY
The time statement was made he was
after such occurrence.
in dying condition and have given up hope
of surviving.

Exemption to the Hearsay rule.


Sec. 42 Part of Res Gestae- statements made by
a person while a startling occurrence is taking
place or immediately prior or subsequent
thereto with respect to the circumstances
thereof, maybe given in evidence as part of Res
Gestae. So also, statements accompanying an
equivocal act material to the issue, and giving it
a legal significance, may be received as part of
the res gestae.
Parts of Res Gestae:
A. Spontaneous Statements
B. Verbal Acts
A. Spontaneous Statements ( spontaneous
exclamations or exited utterances), to be
admitted in evidence, must have the following
characteristics;
a. There is a starling occurrence taking
place;
b. A statement was made while the event
is taking place, or immediately prior to, or
subsequent thereto;
c. The statement was made before the
declarant made had the time to contrive or
devise falsehood.
d. The statement relates to the
circumstances of the startling event or
occurrences, or the statements must concern
the occurrences in question and its immediate
attending circumstances.
Basis of Admissibility
1. The admissibility of a spontaneous
statement is anchored on the theory that the
statement was uttered under circumstances
where the OPPORTUNITY TO FABRICATE is
ABESENT.
2. The justification for the excited
utterances exception is that a spontaneous
declaration of an individual who has recently
SUFFERED an OVERPOWERING and SHOCKING
EXPERIENCE is likely TRUTHFUL.
“it is almost impossible to lie in EXCITED
STATE.”
3. The statement and the event cannot be
taken separately.
B. Verbal Acts
It is the statement contemporaneous with
the act that identifies or indicated the character,
purpose, motive of the act.
To be admissible, the following REQUISITES
must be present:
1. the principal act to be characterized
must be equivocal;
2. The equivocal act must be material to
the issue;
3. The statement must accompany the
equivocal act; and
4. The statement gives a legal significance
to the equivocal act.
“Sec. 43. Entries in the course of business.
Entries made at, or near the time of the
transactions to which they refer, or by a person
deceased, or unable to testify, who was in a
position to know the facts therein stated, may
be received as prima facie evidence, if such
person made entries in his professional capacity
or in the performance of duty and in the
ordinary or regular course of business or duty.”
- another exception tho hearsay rule.
Requisites:
A. The person who made the entry must
be dead or unable to testify.
B. The entries were made at or near the
time of the transactions to which they refer;
C. The entrant was in a position to know
the facts stated in the entries;
D. The entries were made in his
professional capacity or in the performance of a
duty, whether legal, contractual, moral; or
religious; and
E. The entries were made in the ordinary
or regular course of business or duty.

“Sec. 43 Declaration against interest.- the
declaration made by a person deceased or
unable to testify, against the interest of the
declarant, if the fact asserted in the declaration
was at the time it was made so far contrary to
the declarant’s own iterest, that a reasonable
man in his position would not have made the
declaration uless he believed it to be true, may
be received in evidence against himself or
successors in interest and against third
persons.”
“Sec 39. Act or declaration about pedigree- the
act or declaration of a person deceased, or
unable to testify, in respect to the pedigree of
another person related to him by birth or
marriage, may be received in evidence where it
could occurred before the controversy, and the
relationship between the two person is shown
by evidence other than such declaration. The
word “pedigree” includes relationship, family
and ganealogy, birth, marriage, death and
dates when and the places where these facts
occurred, and the names of the relatives. It
embraces also facts of family history intimately
connected with pedigree.
Requisites:
1. The declarant is dead, or unable to testify;
2. The declarant is related by birth or marriage
to the person whose pedigree is in issue;
3. The declaration was made before the
controversy; and
4. The relationship between the two person is
shown by evidence other than such act of
declaration.
“Sec. 40. Family reputation or tradition
regarding pedigree.- The reputation or tradition
existing in a family previous to the controversy,
in respect to the pedigree of any one of its
members, may be received in evidence if the
witness testifying thereon be also a member of
the family, either by consanguinity or affinity.
Entries in the family bibles or other family books
or charts, engraving on rings, family portraits
and the like, may be received as evidence of
pedigree.”
Requisites:
1. a statement by a member of the family
either by consanguinity or affinity;
2. The statement is about the reputation
or tradition of the family respect to the
pedigree of any member of the family
3. The reputation or tradition is more
existing previous to the controversy.
“Sec. 41 Common Reputation- Common
reputation existing previous to the controversy,
respecting facts of public or general interest
more than thirty years old, or respecting
marriage of moral character, may be given in
evidence. Monuments and inscriptions in public
places may be received as evidence of common
reputation.”
“Sec. 44. Entries on Official record.- entries in
official records made in the performance of his
duty by a public officer of the Philippines, or by
a person on the performance of a duty
specifically enjoined by law are PRIMA FACIE
evidence of the facts therein stated.”
A. The entry was made by a public officer
or by another person specially enjoined by law
to do so;
B. It was made by the public officer, or by
such other person in the performance of a duty
specially enjoined by law; and
C. The public officer or other person had
sufficient knowledge of the facts by him and her
stated, which must have been acquired by the
public officer or other person personally or
through official information.
“Sec. 45. Commercial lists and the like.-
Evidence of the statements of matters of
interest to persons engaged in an occupation
contained in a list, register, periodical or other
published compilation is admissible as tending
to prove the truth of any relevant matter so
stated if that compilation is published for use by
persons engaged in that occupation and is
generally used and relied upon by them
therein.”
“Sec. 46. Learned Treaties.- A published treatise,
periodical or pamphlet on a subject history, law,
science, or art is admissible as tending to prove
the truth of a matter stated therein if the court
takes judicial notice , or a witness expert in the
subject testifies, that the writer of the
statement in the treatise, periodical or
“Sec. 49. Opinion of Expert Witness.- the
pamphlet is recognized in his profession or
opinion of a witness on a matter requiring
calling as expert in the subject.”
special knowledge, skill, experience or training
which he is shown to possess, may be received
in evidence”

“Sec. 47. Testimony or deposition at a former

proceeding.- The testimony or deposition of a
witness deceased or unable to testify, given in a
former case or proceeding, judicial or
administrative, involving the same parties and
subject matter, may be given in evidence
against the adverse party who had the
opportunity to cross-examine him.”
“Sec. 50. Opinion of Ordinary Witness.-
The opinion of a witness for which proper basis
is given may received in evidence regarding-
A. The identity of a person about whom he
has adequate knowledge;
B. A handwriting with which he has
sufficient familiarity;and

C. The mental sanity of a person with who

Requisites:
is sufficiently acquainted.

A. The witness is dead or unable to testify.

The witness may also testify on his
B. His testimony or deposition was given in impressions of the emotion, behavior, condition
a former case or proceeding, judicial or or appearance of a person,”
administrative, between the sane parties or
those representing the same interests;
GENERAL RULE- OPINION of a witness is
C. The former case involved the sane
INADMISSIBLE.
subject as that in the present case, although
different cause of action; Basis of inadmissibility- Lack of personal
knowledge
D. The issue testified to by the witness in
the former trial is the same issue involved in the
present case; and
EXEPTION-
E. The adverse party had an opportunity to
cross-examine the witness in the former case.
1. Opinion of expert witness

Reason- Requiring Special knowledge, skill,

experience which he is shown to possess, it may
EXEPTION TO HEARSAY RULE IN A CHILD ABUSE be received in evidence.
CASES.
2. Opinion of Ordinary Witness

Reason- the testimony may be admitted in

General Rule: a child hearsay statement is NOT
admissible because the facts testified to are not
within his personal knowledge. May be
admitted in evidence in ANY CRIMINAL or
NON-CRIMINAL PROCEEDING.
evidence in any of the following matters:
A. The identity of a person about whom he
has adequate knowledge;
B. A handwriting with which he has
sufficient familiarity;and

C. The mental sanity of a person with who

EXEPTION: Admissible if the testimony is offered
in a child abuse cases and the statement made
by the child Is one describing any act of child
abuse.
is sufficiently acquainted.
D. The impressions of the witness of the
emotion, behavior, condition or appearance of a
person.

OPINION EVIDENCE
CHARACTER EVIDENCE
“Sec. 48. General Rule- The opinion of the
witness is not admissible, except as indicated in
the following sections”
 Character is the aggregate of the moral
qualities which belong to and distinguish
attributes.
Character evidence as a rule is NOT
ADMISSIBLE.Character is generally IRRELEVANT
in determining the controversy because the
evidence of a persons character or trait is not
admissible to prove that a person acted in
conformity with such character or trait in a
particular occasion.
3. The good or bad moral character of
the offended party may be proved if it
tends to establish in any reasonable
degree the PROBABILITY AND
IMPROBABILITY of the offense charged.”
In one rape case, where it was
established that the alleged victim
was morally loose and apparently
uncaring about her chastity, the court
found conviction of the accused
doubtful.

“Sec. 51. Character Evidence not generally

admissible; exceptions.- NUMBER 3 is not APPLICANBLE TO CHILD
SEXUAL ABUSE CASES.
A. In criminal cases:

1. X X X
In CIVIL CASES, evidence of the moral
2. Unless in rebuttal, the prosecution
character of a party is admissible only when
may not be prove his bad moral character
PERTINENT TO THE ISSUE OF CHARACTER
which is pertinent to the moral trait
involved in the case.
involved in the offense charged.”

EVIDENCE OF GOOD CHARACTER OF THE

Prosecution is forbidden to initiate
WITNESS
evidence of the BAD MORAL character of
the accused.

Evidence of the good character of the

witness is not admissible until such character
Exception;
has been impeached.
ONLY IN REBUTTAL.

“Sec. 51. Character Evidence not generally

admissible; exceptions.-

A. In criminal Cases;

1. The accused may prove his good

moral character which is pertinent to the
moral trait involved in the offense
charged.”

The accused may prove his good

moral character which is MUST
PERTINENT TO THE MORAL TRAIT
INVOLVED IN THE OFFENSE charged.

This strengthens the presumption of

innocence and where good character and
reputation are established, an inference arises
that the accused did not commit the crime
charged.

“Sec. 51. Character Evidence not generally

admissible; exceptions.-

A. In criminal cases:

1. X X X

2. X X X