Jessa D.

Mangadlao April 15, 2019

1. The remedy when an intended star witness is unwilling to testify is found under Section
14, Rule 119 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure which states, to wit:

“Section 14. Bail to secure appearance of material witness. — When the court is satisfied,
upon proof or oath, that a material witness will not testify when required, it may, upon
motion of either party, order the witness to post bail in such sum as may be deemed
proper. Upon refusal to post bail, the court shall commit him to prison until he complies
or is legally discharged after his testimony has been taken.”

2. If the witness is 5 years old or under, his or her testimony will be governed by the Rule on
Examination of a Child Witness under RA 7610. Such rule is intended to allow children to
give reliable and complete evidence, minimize trauma to children, encourage children to
testify in legal proceedings, and facilitate the ascertainment of truth.

Under Section 8 of said Rule, the examination of a child witness presented in a hearing or
any proceeding shall be done in open court. Unless the witness is incapacitated to speak,
or the question calls for a different mode of answer, the answers of the witness shall be
given orally. The party who presents a child witness or the guardian ad litem of such child
witness may, however, move the court to allow him to testify in the manner provided in
the Rule.

When a child does not understand the English or Filipino language or is unable to
communicate in said languages due to his developmental level, fear, shyness, disability,
or other similar reason, an interpreter whom the child can understand and who
understands the child may be appointed by the court, motu proprio or upon motion, to
interpret for the child. (Sec.9)

Also, the court may, motu proprio or upon motion, appoint a facilitator if it determines
that the child is unable to understand or respond to questions asked. The facilitator may
be a child psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker, guidance counselor, teacher, religious
leader, parent, or relative. (Sec 10)

When a child testifies, the court may order the exclusion from the courtroom of all
persons, including members of the press, who do not have a direct interest in the case.
Such an order may be made to protect the right to privacy of the child or if the court
determines on the record that requiring the child to testify in open court would cause
psychological harm to him, hinder the ascertainment of truth, or result in his inability to
 effectively communicate due to embarrassment, fear, or timidity. In making its order, the
court shall consider the developmental level of the child, the nature of the crime, the
nature of his testimony regarding the crime, his relationship to the accused and to
persons attending the trial, his desires, and the interests of his parents or legal guardian.
The court may, motu proprio, exclude the public from the courtroom if the evidence to
be produced during trial is of such character as to be offensive to decency or public
morals. The court may also, on motion of the accused, exclude the public from trial,
except court personnel and the counsel of the parties. (Sec 23). The prosecutor, counsel
or the guardian ad litem may apply for an order that the testimony of the child be taken
in a room outside the courtroom and be televised to the courtroom by live-link television.
(Sec 25)

Lastly, in an examination of a child witness, leading questions are allowed.

3. During a cross-examination, it is best to test the bringer of facts and test the facts
presented. Listen to the entire answer of the witness but do not allow such witness to
repeat, clarify or explain his or her point. However, if the witness tries to explain, the
counsel may let him or her explain because it may be a door for gateway mistakes. As
such, even if the witness appears to be truthful in his or her statements, a good counsel
would know how to use it in his advantage.

Moreover, if the adverse party’s witness is truthful as to his statements, use the same to
your advantage. In other words, use the witness to verify everything important about
your case that he or she won't disagree with. So even if you can't make headway where
he or she disagrees with you, you bolster the rest of your case and leave the judge with
the impression that this witness is good for you, not bad.

Lastly, make sure that the judge understands every important point before the witness
leaves the stand. Make a summary of those statements that are favorable to your side.

4. If an own witness is lying or unwilling during direct examination, Section 12 of Rule 132
of the Rules of Court may be applied, to wit:

‘’Section 12. Party may not impeach his own witness. — Except with respect to
witnesses referred to in paragraphs (d) and (e) of Section 10, the party producing a witness
is not allowed to impeach his credibility.

A witness may be considered as unwilling or hostile only if so declared by the court upon
adequate showing of his adverse interest, unjustified reluctance to testify, or his having
misled the party into calling him to the witness stand.
 The unwilling or hostile witness so declared, or the witness who is an adverse party, may
be impeached by the party presenting him in all respects as if he had been called by the
adverse party, except by evidence of his bad character. He may also be impeached and
cross-examined by the adverse party, but such cross-examination must only be on the
subject matter of his examination-in-chief. (6a, 7a)’’

Hence, when you have called a witness and are performing direct examination of this
witness (because you believed they would testify as a favorable witness) but they start
changing their story and are not cooperating, you may request permission to treat the
witness as an adverse witness (aka 'hostile'). This situation would allow the counsel to
cross examine the witness.

5. A person is a proper witness for your case if he or she can enhance your points or defense
and can build your client’s case. He or she must know or must hold information which are
relevant or material to the case. Moreover, a witness must be credible. As such, he must
not possess any grounds for disqualification as a witness under the Rules of Court.

Also, a good witness explains their experience in a way that a judge can understand, relate
to and visualize. His or her testimonies must be clear, concise and straight to the point.

6. The necessary witnesses of A could be as follows:

a. A himself to testify as to his personal knowledge of the existence of the loan and how
it went about. Moreover, A should present the check as documentary evidence to
prove the existence of the loan.

b. Any person who was present at the time of the execution of the contract of loan.

7. A. The following are the documents necessary to prove A, B and C's claim:

I. Original Certificate of birth of A, B and C to prove as to their filiation to their father.

II. Any documents bearing the signature of their father to prove that they were
recognized by the father before the latter's demise
III. Any photographs showing a picture of the children with their father.
IV. DNA certification showing the results of the paternity tests of A, B and C

B. The following are the persons necessary to prove A, B and C's claim:

I. A, B and C can testify as to their personal relationship with their father.

 II. Expert witness to explain the contents of the DNA test presented
III. The mother of A B and C to testify as to the illegitimacy of the children
IV. Any person who came to know the relationship of the father with the children.

8. The Ten Commandments are somehow still relevant until today's practice. Although, it is
my personal opinion that not every point in the Ten Commandments are still applicable.
To improve the said list, a lawyer cross-examining a witness must not always be brief. His
questions must be proportionate to the established facts. Moreover, it is not
recommended that leading questions be asked although it is accepted during cross-
examination. Also, if the witness tries to explain his or her answer, the counsel may allow
such because during narration, the witness may be bound to make gateway mistakes
which is good for the counsel cross-examining.

9. If an opposing keeps on objection based on groundless or sham grounds, I will raise the
matter to the judge and I will let the latter decide as to the proper sanction for the
opposing lawyer.
However, if it is the judge who keeps on allowing said groundless objections to be
sustained, I will raise a motion to inhibit the Judge from the case based on apparent bias
and partiality.

10. During Cross-examination, a good counsel must start first with the preliminaries. He or
must greet first the Judge of course, the witness. It is also best if the counsel will ask the
witness if it is okay for the latter to be asked questions nonetheless. He must also appear
to be confident but not too much and should appear to be humble before the Judge at
the same time.
During Cross-Examination Proper, here are the things that is best to be done by the cross-
examining counsel:
I. The counsel must test the bringer of facts and must test the facts presented;
II. The counsel must make sure that his questions have limited narrow answers;
III. A good counsel listens to the entire answer of the witness;
IV. He must not quarrel with the witness;
V. He must not chase cheap points during cross-examination;
VI. He must make sure that the Judge understands every important point before the
witness leaves the stand;
VII. Make a summary of those statements that are favorable to your side; and
VIII. The counsel must anticipate the redirect examination questions.