Pangandaman, Isnihayah October 10, 2016

LM401 Prosec. Agar

Court Visit Reaction Paper

Together with my blockmates, we went to Manila Regional Trial Court to observe

court proceedings. I got a chance to watch two court trials.

The first trial is in Regional Trial Court Branch 41 which heard civil proceedings.
It mostly consists of exhibiting the evidences presented by both parties. There were also
cases wherein the court wasn’t able to trial the case because motions haven’t been
received yet thru personal mail. We’ve also witnessed a cross examination where the
witness was asked several questions and was also asked to identify the evidences. The
most interesting part is a case of intestate succession where the deceased didn’t left a
will and her illegitimate daughter is demanding her own inheritance. The legitimate
daughter tried to offer the illegitimate daughter P2, 000,000 but she rejected it. She’s
demanding an amount of P8, 000,000. The second court we went to is a family court. It
is the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 5. All cases in relation to crimes against a
child or minor goes to this Honourable Court. There were cases that the accused was
given a provisional dismissal. The accused will be freed but if the complainant filed
again the case would be revived without double jeopardy. We’ve also observed how to
apply for reduction of bail. The Honourable Court always takes into consideration
several factors like the lifestyle of the accused. Lastly, some cases involved rape and
unjust vexation. Truthfully, it made me emotional. The accused were arraigned in
Filipino language. All of them pleaded not guilty. It was really sad and aggravating how
you cannot see any remorse in their eyes. It also broke my heart when I saw the victim
crying in the corner .After the arraignment, the Court preceded to pre-trial where witness
identified the accused and was also asked some questions.

I am really honoured to have the opportunity to be able to watch the court

proceeding. The judge and the prosecutor together with other lawyers really do have a
lot of case to handle. Hopefully, I’ll be able to trial a case in the future.