RULE 120

JUDGMENT

SECTION 1. Judgment; definition and form.-Judgment is the 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. I be written in the official language, personally
and directly It mun prepared by the judge and signed by him and shall contain clearly and
distinctly a statement of the facts and the law upon which it is based.

A trial court's decision is brief, starkly hallow, vacuous in it content and trite in its form
where, except for the narration of the prosecution's evidence, there is nothing to indicate
the reason for the decision, no evaluation of the evidence and no reason given why if
included that said evidence proved the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.'

The trial court is mandated to set out in its decision the facts which had been proved and
its conclusions called therefrom a well as its resolutions on the issues and the factual and
legal basis for its resolution - it should not merely reproduce the respective testimonies of
witnesses of both parties and come out with its decretal conclusion."

Rule 20, Section 1 of the Rules of Court requires that after an adjudication of guilt by the
court, it should impose the proper penalty and civil liability provided by law. Judgment of
conviction should state the aggravating or mitigating circumstances attendant to the
commission of the crime, if any."

SECTION 2. Contents of the judgment. If the judgment is of conviction, it shall state (1)
the legal qualification of the se constituted by the acts committed by the accused and
gravating or mitigating circumstances which attended commission; (2) the participation of
the accused in the se, whether as principal, accomplice, or accessory after fact: (3) the
penalty imposed upon the accused; and (4) or damages caused by his wrongful act or
mission to be recovered from the accused by the offended civil liability if there is any,
unless the enforcement of the civil sability by a separate civil action has been reserved
or party waived.

In case the judgment is of acquittal, it shall state whether the evidence of the prosecution
absolutely failed to the guilt of the accused or merely failed to prove his guilt beyond
reasonable doubt. In either case, the judgment shall determine if the act or omission from
which the civil lability might arise did not exist.

A decision need not be a complete recital of the evidence presented. So long as the
factual and legal basis are clearly and distinctly set forth supporting the conclusions drawn
therefrom, the decision arrived at is valid.

It is a requirement of due process that the parties to a litigation be informed of how it was
decided, with an explanation of the factual findings and legal justification that led to the
conclusions of the
court Efficacy of decision is not necessarily impaired by the fact that its writer only took
over from a colleague who had earlier presided at the trial, unless there is clear showing
of a grave abuse of discretion in the factual findings reached by him."

SECTION 3. Judgment for two or more offenses. - When two or more offenses are
charged in a single complaint or information but the accused fails to object to it before
trial, the court may convict him of as many offenses as are charged and proved, and
impose on him the penalty for each offense,

setting out separately the findings of fact and law in offense.

Where two or more offenses are charged in a single information and the accused fails to
object to it before trial, the Court may con

him as many offenses as are charged and proved, and impose on hi the penalty for each
and every one of them setting out separately the findings of fact and law in each case.
information and that SECTION 4. Judgment in case of variance between allegation and
proof. When there is variance between the offense charged in the complaint or proved,
and the offense as charged is included in or neces sarily includes the offense proved, the
accused shall be con victed of the offense proved which is included in the offense
charged, or of the offense charged which is included in the offense proved.

An accused person cannot be convicted of a higher offense than that with which he is
charged in the complaint or information or which he is tried." SECTION 5. When an
offense includes or is included in another.

- An offense charged necessarily includes the offense proved when some of the essential
elements or ingredients of the former, as alleged in the complaint or information,
constitute the latter. And an offense charged is necessarily included in the offense proved,
when the essential ingredients of the former constitute or form part of those constituting
the latter. Where an accused has been found to have committed a lesser offense included
within the offense charged, he cannot be convicted of the lesser offense, if it has already
prescribed."

An accused, charged with willful malversation, can be validly convicted of malversation

through negligence where the evidence sustains the latter mode of committing the
offense.

Technical malversation is not included in, nor does it necessarily de the crime of
malversation of public funds charged in the SECTION 6. Promulgation of judgment. The
judgment mation, promulgated by reading it in the presence of the accused any judge of
the court in which it was rendered. However, conviction is for a light offense, the judgment
may be pronounced in the presence of his counsel or representative. When the judge is
absent or outside the province or city, the if the Judgment may be promulgated by the
clerk of court.
If the accused is confined or detained in another pro city, the judgment may be
promulgated by the exe cutive judge of the Regional Trial Court having jurisdiction vince
or over the place of confinement or detention upon request of the court which rendered
the judgment. The court promul gating the judgment shall have authority to accept the no
tice of appeal and to approve the bail bond pending appeal; provided, that if the decision
of the trial court convicting the accused changed the nature of the offense from non-
bailable bailable, the application for bail can only be filed and re solved by the appellate
court.

The proper clerk of court shall give notice to the accused personally or through his
bondsman or warden and counsel, requiring him to be present at the promulgation of the
decision. If the accused was tried in absentia because he jumped bail or escaped from
prison, the notice to him shall be served at his last known address.

In case the accused fails to appear at the scheduled date of promulgation of judgment
despite notice, the promulga tion shall be made by recording the judgment in the crimi nal
docket and serving him a copy thereof at his last known address or thru his counsel.

If the judgment is for conviction and the failure of the accused to appear was without
justifiable cause, he shall lose the remedies available in these rules against the judgment
and the court shall order his arrest. Within fifteen (15) days.

from promulgation of judgment, however, the accused, surrender and file a motion for
leave of court to avail of the remedies. He shall state the reasons for his absence at the
scheduled promulgation and if he proves that his ab was for a justifiable cause, he shall
be allowed to avail of s remedies within fifteen (15) days from notice.

(a) the filing of a mot The accused who failed to appear at the promulgation of the
judgment of conviction shall lose the remedies available under for new trial or
reconsideration (Rule 121), and (b) an appeal fro Rules of Court against the judgment the
judgment of conviction (Rule 122). However, the Rules allow the accused to regain his
standing in court in order to avail of the remedies by: (a) his surrender, and (b) his filing
of a motion for leave of court to avail of these remedies, stating therein the reasons for h
absence, within 15 days from the date of promulgation of judgment If the trial court finds
that his absence was for a justifiable cause the accused shall be allowed to avail of the
said remedies within 15 days from notice or order finding his absence justified and
allowing him the available remedies against the judgment of conviction.

Thus, petitioners' mere filing of notices of appeal through their new counsel, therein only
explaining their absence during the promulgation of judgment, cannot be considered an
act of surrender, despite the fact that said notices were filed within 15 days from 28
September 2007, the purported date when their new counsel personally secured a copy
of the judgment of conviction from the RTC. The term "surrender" under Rule 120, Section
6 of the Rules of Court contemplates an act whereby a convicted accused physically and
voluntarily submits himself to the jurisdiction the court to suffer the consequences of the
verdict against him. The filing of notices of appeal cannot suffice as a physical and
voluntary submission of petitioners to the RTC's jurisdiction. It is only upon petitioners'
valid surrender, and only after proper motion, that they can avail of the remedy of appeal.
Absent compliance with these requirements, their notices of appeal, the initiatory step to
appeal from their conviction, were properly denied due course.

Clearly, promulgation of judgment in absentia is allowed under the Rules. The Court has
previously held that such promulgations valid provided the following essential elements
are present: (a) that

the judgment be recorded in the criminal docket and that a copy thereof be served upon
the accused or counsel

There are two instances when judgment may promulgated judgment is for a light offense,
in which case, the counsel for the he even without the personal presence of the sccused:
(1) when the representative may stand for him; and (2) in cases where despite due notice
to the accused or his bondsman or warden used or a and counsel, the accused failed to
appear at the promulgation of the decision. The evident purpose of this latter exception
is to afford the offended party the opportunity to enforce the award of civil indemnity which
could not otherwise be effected if the decision cannot be pronounced on account of the
absence of the accused. The importance of the promulgation of decisions in criminal
cases, considering that a judgment or sentence does not become a judgment or sentence
in law until the same has been read or announced to the defendant or has become part
of the record of the court."

he

The delay in the promulgation of the judgments in criminal cases could be avoided by
resorting to the remedy provided in the Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 120, Section
6, which is to promulgate the decision in absentia by recording the judgment in the
criminal docket and a copy thereof served upon counsel of the accused

All accused, regardless of the gravity of the offense charged against them, must be given
notice of the promulgation of judgment and the requirement of their presence. The
presence in person of the accused at the promulgation of judgment is mandatory in all
cases except where the conviction is for a light offense.

The last paragraph of Rule 120, Section 6, allows the promul gation of judgment in
absentia to obviate the situation where judi cial process could be subverted by the
accused jumping bail.

Even if a decision rendered by a former judge was not validly promulgated, such invalidity,
per se, does not necessarily operate for the acquittal of the accused."

Oral promulgation of judgment prejudice." does not manifest bias,

SECTION 7. Modification of judgment. A judgment or conviction may, upon motion of the

accused, be modified set aside before it becomes final or before appeal is perfected
Except where the death penalty is imposed, a judgme becomes final after the lapse of the
period for perfecting a appeal, or when the sentence has been partially satisfied or served,
or when the accused has waived in writing his right to appeal, or has applied for probation.
totally

Indeed, the belated move on the part of the prosecution u have the information amended
defies procedural rules, the decision having attained finality after the accused applied for
probation and the fact that amendment is no longer allowed at that stage.

In Philippine Rabbit Bus Lines v. People, the Supreme Court affirming the finality of a
decision in a criminal case, citing the 2000 Rules on Criminal Procedure, Rule 120,
Section 7, states." judgment of conviction may, upon motion of the accused, be modified
or set aside before it becomes final or before appeal is perfected Except where the death
penalty is imposed a judgment [of conviction becomes final after the lapse of the period
for perfecting a or when the sentence has been partially or totally satisfied or served or
when the accused has waived in writing his right to appeal, or ha applied for probation."
Under the law, a judgment of conviction may, upon motion of an appeal, the accused, be
modified or set aside by the court rendering it before the judgment has become final or
appeal has been perfected." At the time the trial court rendered the "amended decision,"
it had already lost its jurisdiction over the case, the appeal having been earlier perfected.

When a decision is amended in a manner that does not affect any of the convicted
persons, there is no need to have the same repromulgated."

SECTION 8. Entry of judgment. After a judgment has 36. final, it shall be entered in
accordance with Rule

become
8/8

SECTION 9. Existing provisions governing suspension of sentence, probation and parole

not affected by this Rule. Nothing in this Rule shall affect any existing provisions in the
laws governing suspension of sentence, probation or parole.