Leo Artemio A.

Puertos May 17, 2019

JMC College of Law
Civil Procedure

Court Observation

On April 15, 2019, as part of our journey of learning the law as well as the rules of court, I was fortunate
enough to have visited and observed the proceedings of Regional Trial Court Branch 44 under Judge
Melinda Alconcel – Dayanghirang. To be honest, I had never been in court before; I did not have an idea
of how court proceedings took place apart from what I used to see on television. Hence, I was really
anxious but at the same time thrilled of this chance to actually witness a court proceeding. For me, it is
quite hard to appreciate the law and the rules of court if you’re just confined in reading the provisions
and principles, but with this opportunity, I believe that it help me have a good grasp of how the rules of
court are in actual practice.

When I entered the court room, I expected it to be like the big courtrooms I see on TV, I was so wrong.
The judge sits in the center and in the presence of everyone at the front. The interpreter and
stenographer sits in front of the judge with the bar table placed directly in front of the interpreter. On
the right hand side of the Bar is the Witness box. I was also confused on why there were calendar
clippings placed on the wall but later on I was able to discover the reason for the same. I also noticed
that there were a number of people in attendance, I recalled that our classmate, which is also the
assigned sheriff of branch 44, told us that there a lot of civil cases to be heard on that day.

The first case I have heard was petition for Habeas Corpus since an alien was detained by the Bureau of
Immigration since the alien has a pending criminal case for child abuse. The second case was the lawyer
of the plaintiff in the civil case moved that the defendant will be declared in default since the latter
failed to appear three times. Thereafter, the honourable judge declared the defendant in default and
the plaintiff was allowed to present evidence ex parte. The judge also instructed the counsel of the
plaintiff to prepare the judicial affidavit of the witnesses. Being a student of the law, I was really amazed
and overjoyed on the fact that what is written in the rules is truly applied in actual practice and having
read the rules, I was able to anticipate what will happen since the defendant didn’t appear three times.

The third case was a pre-trial, under Rule 18 of the Rules of Court; the rules explicitly enumerated the
things that the court will consider during Pre- Trial. True enough, the honourable judge asked the parties
first if there was any proposal for amicable settlement and since there was none, the pre-trial
proceeded .The honourable judge asked the parties for the documentary exhibits that they will present,
the issues of the case and asked one party if they will adopt the issues raised by the other party, the
parties also offered for stipulation of facts and the honourable judge asked one party if they will admit
on the facts stipulated but in this case, the other party agreed with qualification since there are some of
the facts that they didn’t admit, hence, this will now be subjected to trial. Also, the judge asked the
parties to set reception of evidence and to submit the judicial affidavit of their witnesses. This time, they
referred to the calendar clippings placed on the wall and during that time I realized the purpose of the
same in the court. During this case, I was surprised on how fast the pre-trial was conducted but still the
rules of court were religiously followed. Thereafter, the Pre-Trial was terminated. I also noticed the
mutual respect among lawyers. During the proceedings, the counsel of the defendant voluntarily helped
in reading the documents of the counsel of the plaintiff during the stipulation of facts since the latter
was already not as young as the former. Truly, during my observation in this case, the lawyers
manifested the true meaning of the adage “ Trabaho lang wala personalan”. Though, there are times
that they were rivals or they were hostile with each other but the epitome of professionalism still
prevails.

The fourt case I observed was really exciting since the lawyers for the plaintiff were no less than the
Dean of the JMC College of Law Atty. Israelito Torreon together with Atty. Resci Rizada and for the
defendant was senior lawyer together with my Persons and Family Relations Professor Atty. Sigrid Mier.
The case was about a land dispute. A witness was presented by the counsel of the defendant, the
Judicial Affidavit was presented to him and asked him if he will admit the veracity of the Judicial
Affidavit. Thereafter, the counsel prayed that the Judicial Affidavit will be admitted and be part of the
testimony of the witness. Then the counsel for the plaintiff cross-examined the witness. During that
time, it was intense since Atty. Torreon thoroughly cross examined the witness based on his Judicial
affidavit. Also, objections were raised during cross examination that were sustained by the honourable
judge since Atty. Torreon did not ask leading questions. Under Rule 132 of the Rules of Court, during
cross examination only leading questions are allowed. Thereafter, counsel for the defendant conducted
a re-direct based on the cross examination to clarify points that was answered by the witness during
cross examination. In this particular case, though there are moments that are intense and adversarial in
nature, still, the attitude of both counsels was still respectful and professional with each other. I was
really glad since I was able to observe an actual cross examination and how passionate it was for the
counsel of both parties to defend the cause of their clients.

Overall, I had a very good learning experience. From the 4 cases that I had observed, each case offered a
different kind of wisdom that I will treasure forever. One thing that I truly appreciated was the fact that
the lawyers were all prepared and knowledgeable of their respective cases. It just shows how trained
and how dedicated the lawyers in Davao. During the conduct of the proceedings, I was imagining myself
to be lawyer conducting the cross examination. In God’s perfect time, hopefully, I will someday become
a lawyer and the dream will become a reality. In addition, The Honourable Judge was also very
competent and impartial in the conduct of the proceedings. There is really a reason why the Judges in
Davao are recognized for being brilliant and excellent judges in handling a case. I am so fortunate to
have an opportunity of a lifetime to actually witnessed a court proceeding not as a party to case but as
student of the law. It was truly inspiring and rejuvenating to be on that situation, knowing the intricacies
of how the rules of court were uniquely applied in every case is just a remarkable feeling. I know that I
am still miles away from my dream of becoming a lawyer but with the right discipline and dedication, I
believe that that dream will soon become a reality.