The formal calling of an accused in open court to

answer charges in the information, as to whether he

is guilty or not guilty
• Arraignment is the means for bringing the accused
into court and informing him of the nature and
cause of the accusation against him.
• During arraignment, he is made fully aware of
possible loss of freedom or of life. He is informed
why the prosecuting arm of the State is mobilized
against him. It is necessary in order to fix the
identity of the accused, to inform him of
the charge, and to give him an opportunity to
plead.
Art. III, Sec. 14, 1987 Philippine
Constitution

(1)No person shall be held to answer for a

criminal offense without due process of
law.

(2)In all criminal prosecutions xxx to be

informed of the nature and cause of the
accusation against him xxx
RULE 116, Section 1. Arraignment and plea; how made. –
(a) The accused must be arraigned before the court where the
complaint or information was filed or assigned for trial. The
arraignment shall be made in open court by the judge or clerk by
furnishing the accused with a copy of the complaint or information,
reading the same in the language or dialect known to him, and
asking him whether he pleads guilty or not guilty. The prosecution
may call at the trial witnesses other than those named in the
complaint or information.

(b) The accused must be present at the arraignment and must

personally enter his plea. Both arraignment and plea shall be made
of record, but failure to do so shall not affect the validity of the
proceedings.

(c) When the accused refuses to plead or makes a conditional plea, a

plea of not guilty shall be entered for him.

(d) When the accused pleads guilty but presents exculpatory

evidence, his plea shall be deemed withdrawn and a plea of not
guilty shall be entered for him.
(e) When the accused is under preventive detention, his case shall
be raffled and its records transmitted to the judge to whom the
case was raffled within three (3) days from the filing of the
information or complaint. The accused shall be arraigned within ten
(10) days from the date of the raffle. The pre-trial conference of his case
shall be held within ten (10) days after arraignment.

(f) The private offended party shall be required to appear at the

arraignment for purposes of plea bargaining, determination of civil
liability, and other matters requiring his presence. In case of failure
of the offended party to appear despite due notice, the court may allow
the accused to enter a plea of guilty to a lesser offense which is
necessarily included in the offense charged with the conformity
of the trial prosecutor alone.

(g) Unless a shorter period is provided by special law or Supreme Court

circular, the arraignment shall be held within thirty (30) days from the
date the court acquires jurisdiction over the person of the
accused. The time of the pendency of a motion to quash or for a bill
or particulars or other causes justifying suspension of the
arraignment shall be excluded in computing the period.
WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF
THE REQUIREMENT UNDER SECTION 1(A) OF RULE
116?

• to protect the constitutional right of the accused to

be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation
against him
• to afford due process
• Failure to observe the rules necessarily nullifies the
arraignment.
WHO SHOULD BE PRESENT?
1. The accused
2. Offended party for purposes of plea bargaining,
determination of civil liability and other matters
requiring his presence

 Rule 116, Sec. 7. Appointment of counsel de officio. –

The court, considering the gravity of the offense and
the difficulty of the questions that may arise, shall
appoint as counsel de officio such members of the bar
in good standing who, by reason of their experience
and ability, can competently defend the accused. But
in localities where such members of the bar are not
available, the court may appoint any person, resident
of the province and of good repute for probity and
ability, to defend the accused.
1. Plea bargaining
2. Civil liability
3. Identification of accused

The accused may be allowed by the court to plea guilty

to a lesser offense which is necessarily included in the
offense charged with the conformity of the prosecutor
alone
GENERAL RULE: Thirty (30) days from the date the court acquires
jurisdiction over the person of the accused.

EXCEPTION:

When the accused is under preventive detention, his case

shall be raffled and its records transmitted to the judge to whom
the case is raffled within 3 days from the filing of the
information or complaint. The accused shall be arraigned within 10
days from the date of raffle.

NOTE: The time of pendency of a motion to quash or a bill of particulars

or other cause justifying suspension of the arraignment shall be
excluded in computing the period.
(a) When the accused so pleaded
(b) When the accused refuses to plead or makes a
conditional plea
(c) When the accused pleads guilty but presents
exculpatory evidence, his plea shall be deemed
withdrawn and a plea of not guilty shall be
entered for him
At arraignment, the accused, with the consent of the
offended party and prosecutor, may be allowed by the
trial court to plead guilty to a lesser offense which is
necessarily included in the offense charged. After
arraignment but before trial, the accused may still be
allowed to plead guilty to said lesser offense after
withdrawing his plea of not guilty. (Section 2, Rule
116)
1. The court shall conduct a searching inquiry into
the voluntariness and full comprehension of the
consequences of his plea
2. It should require the prosecution to prove his guilt
and the precise degree of culpability.
3. It should inquire whether or not the accused
wishes to present evidence in his behalf (People of
the Philippines vs. Edison Mira, G.R. No.
175324, October 10, 2007)
In People of the Philippines vs. Gumimba, G.R. No. 174056,
February 27, 2007), the court laid down guidelines to be observed by
the trial court in the proper conduct of a searching inquiry, to wit:

1. Ascertain from the accused (a) how he was brought into the
custody of the law; whether he had the assistance of a competent
counsel during the custodial and preliminary investigations; and
(c) under what conditions he was detained and interrogated
during investigations.
2. Ask the defense counsel a series of questions as to whether he
had conferred with, and completely explained to, the accused the
meaning and consequences of a plea of guilty.
3. 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 plea of guilty.
4. Inform the accused of the exact length of imprisonment or nature
of the penalty under the law and the certainty that he will serve
such sentence.
5. Inquire if the accused knows the crime with which he is
charged and to fully explain to him the elements of the
crime which is the basis of his indictment.
6. All questions posed to the accused should be in a language
known and understood by the latter.
7. The trial judge must satisfy himself that the accused, in
pleading guilty, is truly guilty. The accused must be
required to narrate the tragedy or reenact the crime or
furnish its missing details.
1. Facts not alleged in the complaint or information
2. Mere conclusion of facts
3. Where the court has no jurisdiction
4. Plea constitutes a mere admission of the material
allegations of the information but not that the
facts thus alleged constitute an offense
 Plea involuntarily made and without consent
 It would be considered if there was failure to
conduct searching inquiry, failure of prosecution
to present evidence, no rational basis between
testimony and guilt

Rule 116, Sec. 5. Withdrawal of improvident plea of

guilty.– At any time before the judgment of conviction
becomes final, the court may permit an improvident
plea of guilty to be withdrawn and be substituted by a
plea of not guilty.
People of the Philippines vs. Renato Talusan, G.R. No.
179187, July 14, 2009

• While the court has set aside conviction based on

improvident pleas of guilt in capital offenses, which
pleas had been the sole basis of the judgment, where the
trial court receives evidence to determine precisely
whether the accused erred in admitting his guilt, the
manner in which the plea is made loses legal
significance for the simple reason that the condition is
independently of the plea based on evidence proving the
commission by the accused of the offense charged
Rule 116, Sec. 11. Suspension of arraignment. – Upon
motion by the proper party, the arraignment shall be
suspended in the following:
(a) The accused appears to be suffering from an
unsound mental condition which effectively renders
him unable to fully understand the charge against
him and to plead intelligently thereto. In such case,
the court shall order his mental examination and, if
necessary, his confinement for such purpose;
(b) There exists a prejudicial question; and
(c) A petition for review of the resolution of the
prosecutor is pending at either the Department of
Justice, or the Office of the President; provided, that
the period of suspension shall not exceed sixty (60)
days counted from the filing of the petition with the
reviewing office.
Rule 118, sec. 1. Pre-trial; mandatory in criminal
cases. – In all criminal cases cognizable by the
Sandiganbayan, RTC, MeTC, MTC, MCTC, the court
shall, after arraignment and within 30 days from the
date the court acquires jurisdiction over the person of
the accused, unless a shorter period is provided for in
special laws or circulars of the Supreme Court, order
a pre-trial conference to consider the following:
a) plea bargaining;
b) stipulation of facts;
c) marking for identification of evidence of the parties;
d) waiver of objections to admissibility of evidence;
e) modification of the order of trial if the accused
admits the charge but interposes a lawful defense; and
f) such matters as will promote a fair and expeditious
trial of the criminal and civil aspects of the case.
Pre-trial is a method designed
fundamentally:

a) to promote amicable settlement

b) to avoid or simplify trials

c) to prevent last minute continuances

1. Pre-trial proper

2. ADR stage (CAM)

The court shall set the pre-trial conference within
30 days from the arraignment

During the Preliminary Conference, the Clerk of

Court shall assist the parties in reaching a
settlement of the civil aspect of the case, mark
the documents to presented as exhibits

All agreements or admissions made or entered

during Pre-Trial Conference shall be reduced in
writing and signed by the accused and counsel.

The judge shall issue a Pre-Trial Order within 10

days after the termination of Pre-Trial setting
forth the actions taken during the Pre-Trial
conference.
A procedural device used prior to trial to narrow issues to be
tried, to secure stipulations as to matters and evidence to be
heard, and to take all other steps necessary to aid in the
disposition of the case. Such conferences between opposing
attorney’s may be called at the discretion of the court. The
actions taken at the conference are made the subject of an
order which controls are the future course of the action.
 Process whereby the accused and the prosecutor in a
criminal case work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of
the case subject to court approval. It usually involves the
defendant’s pleading guilty to a lesser offense or to only one or
some of the counts of a multi-count indictment in return for a
lighter sentence than that possible for a graver charge.
 In Virgilio Bud-Atan, et al. vs People, GR No
175195, 15 September 2010, the court ruled that
aggravating and mitigating circumstances are not to
be appreciated in a plea bargain because
introduction of evidence is not necessary. Hence,
the confession of the accused cannot be appreciated
as mitigating circumstance.
Rule 118, Sec. 3. Non-appearance at pre-trial
conference. – If the counsel for the accused or the
prosecutor does not appear at the pre-trial
conference and does not offer an acceptable
excuse for his lack of cooperation, the court may
impose proper sanctions or penalties.

Note:
• Appearance of private complainant and witness
is discretionary
• Non-appearance of accused has no sanction
unless the court required him to appear
After the pre-trial conference, the court shall issue
an order reciting the actions taken, the facts
stipulated, and evidence marked. Such order shall
bind the parties, limit the trial to matters not
disposed of, and control the course of the action
during the trial, unless modified by the court to
prevent manifest injustice.
Cases to be referred to CAM:
• Crimes for payment may prevent criminal prosecutions or may
extinguished criminal liability such as violations of:
• BP 22
• SSS Law
• PAG-IBIG LAW
• Crimes against Property under Title X of the RPC where the
obligations may be civil in nature
• Crimes against honor under Title XIII of the RPC where the
liability may be civil in nature
• Libel under RA 10175
• Criminal negligence under Title XIV
• Intellectual Property Rights cases
The referral of the case for mediation to the PMC unit
shall be made only after the conduct of the arraignment
and the Pre Trial/ Preliminary Conference. The court
shall serve the order of referral to the PMC unit
immediately after the arraignment and the Pre
Trial/Preliminary Conference.
The mediation shall be terminated within a non-
extendible period of 30 calendar days from the date
of referral by the court to the PMC unit. After the
lapse of the mediation period or if mediation fails,
trial shall proceed.