H. Arraignment and Plea (Rule 116)

H. Arraignment and Plea (Rule 116)

> RULE 116

Arraignment and Plea

Section 1. Arraignment and plea; how made. —

(a) The accused must be arraigned before the court where the complaint or information was filed or assigned for trial. The arraignment shall be made in open court by the judge or clerk by furnishing the accused with a copy of the complaint or information, reading the same in the language or dialect known to him, and asking him whether he pleads guilty or not guilty. The prosecution may call at the trial witnesses other than those named in the complaint or information.

(b) The accused must be present at the arraignment and must personally enter his plea. Both arraignment and plea shall be made of record, but failure to do so shall not affect the validity of the proceedings.

(c) When the accused refuses to plead or makes a conditional plea, a plea of not guilty shall be entered for him. (1a)

(d) When the accused pleads guilty but presents exculpatory evidence, his plea shall be deemed withdrawn and a plea of not guilty shall be entered for him. (n)

(e) When the accused is under preventive detention, his case shall be raffled and its records transmitted to the judge to whom the case was raffled within three (3) days from the filing of the information or complaint. The accused shall be arraigned within ten (10) days from the date of the raffle. The pre-trial conference of his case shall be held within ten (10) days after arraignment. (n)

(f) The private offended party shall be required to appear at the arraignment for purposes of plea bargaining, determination of civil liability, and other matters requiring his presence. In case of failure of the offended party to appear despite due notice, the court may allow the accused to enter a plea of guilty to a lesser offense which is necessarily included in the offense charged with the conformity of the trial prosecutor alone. (cir. 1-89)

(g) Unless a shorter period is provided by special law or Supreme Court circular, the arraignment shall be held within thirty (30) days from the date the court acquires jurisdiction over the person of the accused. The time of the pendency of a motion to quash or for a bill of particulars or other causes justifying suspension of the arraignment shall be excluded in computing the period. (sec. 2, cir. 38-98)

Section 2. Plea of guilty to a lesser offense. — At arraignment, the accused, with the consent of the offended party and the prosecutor, may be allowed by the trial court to plead guilty to a lesser offense which is necessarily included in the offense charged. After arraignment but before trial, the accused may still be allowed to plead guilty to said lesser offense after withdrawing his plea of not guilty. No amendment of the complaint or information is necessary. (sec. 4, circ. 38-98)

Section 3. Plea of guilty to capital offense; reception of evidence. — When the accused pleads guilty to a capital offense, the court shall conduct a searching inquiry into the voluntariness and full comprehension of the consequences of his plea and require the prosecution to prove his guilt and the precise degree of culpability. The accused may present evidence in his behalf. (3a)

Section 4. Plea of guilty to non-capital offense; reception of evidence, discretionary. — When the accused pleads guilty to a non-capital offense, the court may receive evidence from the parties to determine the penalty to be imposed. (4)

Section 5. Withdrawal of improvident plea of guilty. — At any time before the judgment of conviction becomes final, the court may permit an improvident plea of guilty to be withdrawn and be substituted by a plea of not guilty. (5)

Section 6. Duty of court to inform accused of his right to counsel. — Before arraignment, the court shall inform the accused of his right to counsel and ask him if he desires to have one. Unless the accused is allowed to defend himself in person or has employed a counsel of his choice, the court must assign a counsel de oficio to defend him. (6a)

Section 7. Appointment of counsel de oficio. — The court, considering the gravity of the offense and the difficulty of the questions that may arise, shall appoint as counsel de oficio only such members of the bar in good standing who, by reason of their experience and ability, can competently defend the accused. But in localities where such members of the bar are not available, the court may appoint any person, resident of the province and of good repute for probity and ability, to defend the accused. (7a)

Section 8. Time for counsel de oficio to prepare for arraignment. — Whenever a counsel de oficio is appointed by the court to defend the accused at the arraignment, he shall be given a reasonable time to consult with the accused as to his plea before proceeding with the arraignment. (8)

Section 9. Bill of particulars. — The accused may, before arraignment, move for a bill of particulars to enable him properly to plead and to prepare for trial. The motion shall specify the alleged defects of the complaint or information and the details desired. (10a)

Section 10. Production or inspection of material evidence in possession of prosecution. — Upon motion of the accused showing good cause and with notice to the parties, the court, in order to prevent surprise, suppression, or alteration, may order the prosecution to produce and permit the inspection and copying or photographing of any written statement given by the complainant and other witnesses in any investigation of the offense conducted by the prosecution or other investigating officers, as well as any designated documents, papers, books, accounts, letters, photographs, objects or tangible things not otherwise privileged, which constitute or contain evidence material to any matter involved in the case and which are in the possession or under the control of the prosecution, police, or other law investigating agencies. (11a)

Section 11. Suspension of arraignment. — Upon motion by the proper party, the arraignment shall be suspended in the following cases:

(a) The accused appears to be suffering from an unsound mental condition which effective renders him unable to fully understand the charge against him and to plead intelligently thereto. In such case, the court shall order his mental examination and, if necessary, his confinement for such purpose;

(b) There exists a prejudicial question; and

(c) A petition for review of the resolution of the prosecutor is pending at either the Department of Justice, or the Office of the President; provided, that the period of suspension shall not exceed sixty (60) days counted from the filing of the petition with the reviewing office. (12a)

How Arraignment is Made

• In open court where the complaint or information has been filed or assigned for trial
• By the judge or clerk of court
• By furnishing the accused with a copy of the complaint or information
• Reading it in a language or dialect known to the accused
• Asking accused whether he pleads guilty or not guilty (Rule 116, Sec. 1).

GR: The procedural steps laid down in Section 1(a) of Rule 116 are not empty rituals that a judge can take nonchalantly. Each step constitutes an integral part of that crucial stage in criminal litigation "where the issues are joined x x x and without which the proceedings cannot advance further." Anything less than strict compliance is considered gross ignorance of the law. (Bandoy v. Jacinto, Jr., A.M. No. RTJ-14- 2399, 2014).

XPN: The court, upon personal examination of the accused, may allow a waiver of the reading of the information upon the full understanding and express consent of the accused and his or her counsel (A.M. No. 15-06-10-SC, Sec. II (8) (c)).

When Arraignment Should Be Held

• IF THE ACCUSED IS DETAINED – it shall be set within 10 days from the court’s receipt of the case;
• IF THE ACCUSED IS NOT DETAINED – it shall be set within 30 days from the date the court acquires jurisdiction over the accused (A.M. No. 15-06-10-SC, Sec. II (8) (a)).

When Arraignment is Held Within a Shorter Period:

• When an accused is under preventive detention, his case should be raffled within 3 days from filing and accused shall be arraigned within 10 days from receipt by the judge of the records of the case. (R.A. 8493 Speedy Trial Act)
• Where the complainant is about to depart from the Philippines with no definite date of return, the accused should be arraigned without delay. (R.A. 4908)
• Cases under the Dangerous Drugs Act;

Trial in absentia may be conducted only after valid arraignment (Article III, Section 14 (2) of the 1987 Constitution)

Accused must personally appear during arraignment and enter his plea (counsel cannot enter plea for accused) (Rule 116, Sec. 1 (b))

Plea Bargaining

The process whereby the accused, the offended party, and the prosecution work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case subject to court approval.

Period of Suspension of Arraignment

Suspension period shall not exceed 60 days counted from the filing of the petition for review of the resolution of the prosecutor with either the DOJ or Office of the President (Section 11 (c), Rule 116).

NOTE: According to A.M. No. 15-6-10-SC on the Guidelines for Continuous Trial of Criminal Cases in Pilot Courts, the following rules shall be observed for arraignment:

• Plea Bargaining. - If the accused desires to enter a plea of guilty to a lesser offense, plea bargaining should immediately proceed, provided that the private offended party in private crimes or the arresting officer in victimless crimes, is present to give his conformity to the plea bargaining. Thereafter, judgment shall immediately be rendered in the same proceedings.
• Plea of Guilty to the Crime Charged in the Information. – If the accused pleads guilty to the crime charged in the Information, judgment shall immediately be rendered, I except in those cases involving capital offenses.
• Where No Plea Bargaining or Plea of Guilty Takes Place. - If the accused does not enter a plea of guilty, whether to a lesser offense or the offense charged in the Information, the court shall immediately proceed with the arraignment of the accused and, thereafter, indicate the pretrial and trial dates in the Order.
• The schedule of the pre-trial and trial dates for both the prosecution and the defense should be within the periods provided in the Regular Rules/Special Rules. The trial dates may be shortened depending on the number of witnesses to be presented. In this regard, a flowchart shall be prepared by the court which shall serve as the final schedule of hearings.

Updated: In drug cases, prosecutorial opposition based merely on executive guidelines does not bar court approval of a plea bargain, and a drug dependency test is not a precondition to approval (White v. People, G.R. No. 258420, 26 February 2025; Francisco v. People, G.R. No. 254973, 29 September 2025).

A plea of “not guilty” will be entered:

• When accused so pleaded
• When he refuses to plead
• When he makes a conditional or qualified plea of guilt (Ex. Accused pleads guilty but adds “pero hindi ko sinasadya”)
• When the plea is indefinite or ambiguous
• When he pleads guilty but presents exculpatory evidence (Ex. Evidence to prove complete selfdefense) (Rule 116, Sec. 1)

Note: If the accused who pleaded guilty presents exculpatory evidence, his plea of guilty is deemed withdrawn. The judge must order the accused to plead again or at least direct that a new plea of “not guilty” be entered for him, otherwise there shall be no standing plea for the accused. This is significant because if there is no standing plea, the accused cannot invoke double jeopardy later on.

Plea Bargaining

It is the process whereby the accused, the offended party and the prosecution work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case subject to the court’s approval. (People v. Villarama, G.R. No. 99287 June 23, 1992)

It usually involves the defendant’s pleading guilty to a lesser offense or to only one or some of the counts of a multi-count indictment in return for a lighter sentence than that for the graver charge.

Only facts, and not conclusions of law alleged in the information, are admitted by a plea of guilty. (People v. De la Cruz, G.R. No. L-2204, 1948). A plea of guilty to an information alleging aggravating or qualifying circumstances will not be considered an admission of said circumstances if the evidence subsequently presented by the prosecution fails to prove the same. (People v. Comendador, G.R. No. L-38756, 1984)

It precludes the filing and prosecution of the offense originally charged in the information, except when the plea of guilty to a lesser offense is without the consent of the offended party and the prosecutor. Section 2, Rule 116 of the Rules of Court presents the basic requisites upon which plea bargaining may be made, i.e., that it should be with the consent of the offended party and the prosecutor, and that the plea of guilt should be to a lesser offense which is necessarily included in the offense charged. The rules however use word “may”, denoting an exercise of discretion upon the trial court on whether to allow the accused to make such plea. Trial courts are exhorted to keep in mind that a plea of guilty for a lighter offense than that actually charged is not supposed to be allowed as a matter of bargaining or compromise for the convenience of the accused. (Daan v Sandiganbayan, G.R. Nos. 163972-77, 2008)

Notice of Arraignment and Pre-Trial

Notice must be sent to: the accused, his/her counsel, private complainant/complaining law enforcement agent, public prosecutor and witnesses whose names appear in the Information

Duty of the Court to Appoint Counsel During Arraignment and During Trial

During arraignment, the court has an affirmative duty to inform the accused of his right to counsel and to provide him with one in case he cannot afford it. The court must act on its own volition unless the right is waived by the accused.

During trial, it is the accused who must assert his right to counsel. The court will not act unless the accused invokes his rights.

After the Plea

• Formal amendment only with leave of court, and without causing prejudice to the rights of the accused
• But when a fact supervenes which changes the nature of the crime charged in the information or upgrades it to a higher crime, in which case, there is a need for another arraignment of the accused under the amended information (Rule 110, Sec. 14).