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RULE 128 RULE 130

GENERAL PROVISIONS RULES OF ADMISSIBILITY

Section 1. Evidence defined. Evidence is the means, sanctioned by these Rules, of

ascertaining in a judicial proceeding the truth respecting a matter of fact. (1) A. OBJECT (REAL) EVIDENCE

Section 2. Scope. – The rules of evidence shall be the same in all courts and in all trials and Section 1. Object as evidence. – Objects as evidence are those addressed to the senses of the
hearings, except as otherwise provided by law or these Rules. (2) court. When an object is relevant to the fact in issue, it may be exhibited to, examined or
viewed by the court. (1)
Section 3. Admissibility of evidence. Evidence is admissible when it is relevant to the issue
and not excluded by the Constitution, the law or these Rules. (3a) B. DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE

Section 4. Relevancy; collateral matters. – Evidence must have such a relation to the fact in Section 2. Documentary evidence. – Documents as evidence consist of writings, recordings,
issue as to induce belief in its existence or non-existence. Evidence on collateral matters photographs or any material containing (LWSNFS) letters, words, sounds, numbers, figures,
shall not be allowed, except when it tends in any reasonable degree to establish the symbols, or their equivalent, or other modes of written expression offered as proof of their
probability or improbability of the fact in issue. (4) contents. Photographs include still pictures, drawings, stored images, x-ray films, motion
pictures or videos. (2a)

RULE 129 1. Original Document Rule

WHAT NEED NOT BE PROVED
Section 3. Original document must be produced; exceptions. – When the subject of inquiry
Section 1. Judicial notice, when mandatory. A court shall take judicial notice, without the is the contents of a document, writing, recording, photograph or other record, no evidence is
introduction of evidence, of the existence and territorial extent of states, their political admissible other than the original document itself, except in the following cases:
history, forms of government and symbols of nationality, the law of nations, the admiralty
and maritime courts of the world and their seals, the political constitution and history of the a. When the original is lost or destroyed, or cannot be produced in court, without bad
Philippines, official acts of the legislative, executive and judicial departments of the National faith on the part of the offeror;
Government of the Philippines, the laws of nature, the measure of time, and the b. When the original is in the custody or under the control of the party against whom
geographical divisions. ETF-LAP-OLMG the evidence is offered, and the latter fails to produce it after reasonable notice, or
the original cannot be obtained by local judicial processes or procedures;
Section 2. Judicial notice, when discretionary. A court may take judicial notice of matters c. When the original consists of numerous accounts or other documents which cannot
which are of public knowledge, or are capable of unquestionable demonstration, or ought to be examined in court without great loss of time and the fact sought to be established
be known to judges because of their judicial functions. (2) from them is only the general result of the whole;
d. When the original is a public record in the custody of a public officer or is recorded
Section 3. Judicial notice, when hearing necessary. – During the pre-trial and the trial, the in a public office; and
court, motu proprio or upon motion, shall hear the parties on the propriety of taking judicial e. When the original is not closely-related to a controlling issue. (3a)
notice of any matter.
Section 4. Original of document. –
Before judgment or on appeal, the court, motu proprio or upon motion, may take judicial
notice of any matter and shall hear the parties thereon if such matter is decisive of a material a. An “original” of a document is the document itself or any counterpart intended to have
issue in the case. (3a) the same effect by a person executing or issuing it. An “original” of a photograph
includes the negative or any print therefrom. If data is stored in a computer or similar
Section 4. Judicial admissions. – An admission, oral or written, made by the party in the device, any printout or other output readable by sight or other means, shown to reflect
course of the proceedings in the same case, does not require proof. The admission may be the data accurately, is an “original.”
contradicted only by showing that it was made through palpable mistake or that the imputed
admission was not, in fact, made. (4a) b. A “duplicate” is a counterpart produced by the same impression as the original, or from
the same matrix, or by means of photography, including enlargements and miniatures,
or by mechanical or electronic re-recording, or by chemical reproduction, or by other
equivalent techniques which accurately reproduce the original
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c. A duplicate is admissible to the same extent as an original unless (1) a genuine

question is raised as to the authenticity of the original, or (2) in the circumstances, it
is unjust or inequitable to admit the duplicate in lieu of the original. (4a)

2. Secondary Evidence

Section 5. When original document is unavailable. – When the original document has been
lost or destroyed, or cannot be produced in court, the offeror, upon proof of its execution or
existence and the cause of its unavailability without bad faith on his or her part, may prove
its contents by a copy, or by recital of its contents in some authentic document, or by the
testimony of witnesses in the order stated. (5a)

Section 6. When original document is in adverse party’s custody or control. – If the

document is in the custody or under the control of the adverse party, he or she must have
reasonable notice to produce it. If after such notice and after satisfactory proof of its
existence, he or she fails to produce the document, secondary evidence may be presented as
in the case of its loss. (6a)

Section 7. Summaries. – When the contents of documents, records, photographs, or

numerous accounts are voluminous and cannot be examined in court without great loss of
time, and the fact sought to be established is only the general result of the whole, the
contents of such evidence may be presented in the form of a chart, summary, or calculation.

The originals shall be available for examination or copying, or both, by the adverse party at a
reasonable time and place. The court may order that they be produced in court. (n)

Section 8. Evidence admissible when original document is a public record. – When the
original of a document is in the custody of a public officer or is recorded in a public office, its
contents may be proved by a certified copy issued by the public officer in custody thereof. (7)

Section 9. Party who calls for document not bound to offer it. – A party who calls for the
production of a document and inspects the same is not obliged to offer it as evidence. (8)