Rule 120.

Judgment

Judgment
 Adjudication by the court that the accused is guilty or not guilty of the
offense charged and the imposition on him of the proper penalty and civil
liability, if any.
 Final adjudication of the case, not a resolution of an incident
 Motion to quash decision. No, not judgment but an interlocutory order

Requisites
 Must be written in the official language
 Personally, prepared directly, and signed by the judge
 Contain CLEARLY: Statement of the FACTS and the LAW upon which it is
based

Contents
 Offense
 Penalty to be imposed
 Participation of the accused – principal, accomplice, or accessory
 Aggravating or mitigating circumstances
 Civil liability of damages, if any, unless the enforcement of the civil liability by
as separate civil action has been reserved or waived.

Contents of a Judgment of Acquittal

 Evidence of the prosecution absolutely failed to prove the guilt of the accused
or merely prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt
 Act or omission from which the civil liability might arise did not exist

In Case of two or more offenses

 Courts can still render a valid judgment even if the information contains
more than one offense for as long as the accused refuses or fails to object

Variance between allegation and proof

 Offense Proved
 Offense Charged

Promulgation of Judgment
 How? Reading it in the presence of the accused and any judge of the court in
which it was rendered
 Offended party need not be present
 Accused must be present
o Except: conviction is for a light offense – pronounced in the presence
of his counsel or representative
o Judge is absent/outside of the province or city – promulgated by the
clerk of court
 o Accused is confined or detained in another province or city –
promulgated by the executive judge of the RTC having jurisdiction
over the place of confinement or detention upon request of the court
which rendered the judgment

RULE 121

Post Conviction Remedies

 Modification of Judgment – a judgment of conviction may be modified or
set aside by the court BEFORE it has become final or BEFORE an appeal has
been perfected
 Reopening of the proceedings
 Motion for New Trial
o Grounds
 Errors of law or irregularities committed during the trial
prejudicial to the substantial rights of the accused
 New and material evidence discovered
o Requisites
 Evidence was discovered AFTER trial
 Such evidence could not have been discovered and produced at
the trial even with the exercise of reasonable diligence
 It is material not merely cumulative, corroborative or
impeaching
 Evidence of such weight that it would probably change the
judgment if admitted
 Motion for Reconsideration
o Grounds
 Errors of law
 Errors of fact in the judgment, which require no further
proceedings
 Pro-forma – is a motion, merely a reiteration, taboo in civil
cases, primarily if it is in a motion for reconsideration
 Appeal from the Judgment

Modification of Judgment
 Modified
 Set aside

Three remedies the accused can avail of:

 Modification of judgment (Rule 120)
 Reopening of the proceedings (Rule 119)
 Motion for New Trial (Rule 121)
 Motion for Reconsideration
 Appeal from the judgment