CF 2

Arraignment Order

Original – Court, 1st Copy – Prosecutor, 2nd Copy – Accused, Other copies as needed
Enter information in block letters in all parts of the Form except when reserved for Court use, which shall be
completed by the Clerk.

For Court Use Only

(Judicial Region)

METC/MTCC/MTC/MCTC Case No.

RTC
(Municipality/City/Province)

BRANCH

People of the Philippines , v.

,
Accused.

ATTORNEY OR PARTY WITHOUT ATTORNEY

Name
Firm Name
Address
Email Address
Tel./Cel./Fax Nos.
PTR No. Date/Place of Issuance
Roll No. Date/Place of Issuance
IBP No. Lifetime Date/Chapter
MCLE Compliance Exemption No.

Other Compliances

Attorney for
Prosecution: Public Prosecutor Private Prosecutor
Defense: Public Attorney Private Counsel
Other

ORDER OF ARRAIGNMENT

I.
Appearances

At today’s setting, accused was in court

assisted by counsel de parte, Atty. .
unassisted by counsel and after informing the accused of his/her right
to counsel of choice, s/he agreed to be assisted by the Public
Attorney's Office Atty. as counsel de officio. The Public
Attorney's Office, subject to qualification requirements, Atty.
is hereby appointed as counsel de officio for the accused in this case.

The private complainant is likewise present.

The private complainant is absent, despite notice. S/he is directed
to show cause and explain such absence within three (3) days from receipt
hereof.
The private complainant is absent and the court cannot ascertain whether
s/he is notified.

II.
Amendment of Information/s

The Information/s is/are ordered amended to reflect:

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full and correct name of the accused private complainant as

. (write full and correct name)
others (please indicate)

III.
Arraignment

After the Information/s was/were read to the accused, assisted by

counsel, in , a language/dialect known to and understood by him/her/them,
accused entered a plea/pleas of “Not Guilty” to the offense/s charged.

After the accused waived the public reading of the Information/s,

s/he/they entered a plea/pleas of “Not Guilty” to the offense/s charged.1

IV.
Stipulations

The public prosecutor and the defense counsel, with the understanding and
consent of the accused, stipulated on:
the identity of the accused as the same person charged in the
Information/s who entered a plea of "Not Guilty" in this/these case/s and
whenever his/her name is mentioned in this/these proceedings, it shall refer to
him/her and no other.
the court’s jurisdiction over the offense.
the venue.

V.
Plea Bargain Agreement and Sentence

The prosecution and the defense, with the express understanding and
consent of the accused, agreed on a plea bargain to the lesser offense of
under Article of the Revised Penal Code, which is necessarily included in
the offense originally charged.

Pursuant to the plea bargain agreement between the prosecution and the
defense, the accused , assisted by counsel, was re-arraigned on the lesser
offense of under Article of the Revised Penal Code
(cite applicable law), in , a language/dialect known to and understood by
him/her, and accused entered a plea of "Guilty".

Accordingly, the Court hereby finds the accused guilty beyond

reasonable doubt, by reason of his/her own admission, of the lesser offense of
under Article of the Revised Penal Code (cite applicable
law), and the Court hereby sentences him/her to suffer the indeterminate
straight penalty of:

imprisonment of .The accused shall be credited with the period of any

preventive detention, pursuant to Article 29 of the Revised Penal Code.

1
Under the Guidelines for Litigation in Quezon City Courts

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fine of P .
cost of suit.
no cost is adjudged.

VI.
Referral to Mediation and JDR

As the offense charged is a mediatable offense, this/these case/s is/are

referred to the Philippine Mediation Center unit for mediation proceedings on
at . The assigned Mediator is directed to submit a report to this Court
on the results of the mediation within thirty (30) days from receipt of the case/s.

Should mediation fail, set the case for Judicial Dispute Resolution before the
undersigned on at .

Mediation and Judicial Dispute Resolution are mandatory parts of pre-trial

and strictly confidential. Non-appearance thereat shall merit the same sanctions as
non-appearance at pre-trial.

VII.
Preliminary Conference and Pre-Trial Proper

As the offense is not mediatable, the parties are directed to appear before the
Branch Clerk of Court for preliminary conference on at . Parties are
required to bring all their evidence and be ready to mark and/or compare the
originals or certified true copies thereof with photocopies.

Pre-trial proper shall be conducted by the undersigned on at .

SO ORDERED.

Judge Date

Conformity to Stipulations/Plea Bargaining:

Public Prosecutor Accused

Defense Counsel

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COPY FURNISHED

Person’s Name Method Place Served Date

Served
Personal Service
Trial Prosecutor Courier Service
Facsimile, Email,
SMS
Personal Service
Counsel for Accused Courier Service
Facsimile, Email,
SMS
Personal Service
Private Complainant Courier Service
Facsimile, Email,
SMS
Personal Service
Accused Courier Service
Facsimile, Email,
SMS
Personal Service
Courier Service
Facsimile, Email,
SMS
Personal Service
Courier Service
Facsimile, Email,
SMS

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS

Amended Information
A complaint or information may be amended, in form or in substance, without leave of court, at
any time before the accused enters his plea. After the plea and during the trial, a formal
amendment may only be made with leave of court and when it can be done without causing
prejudice to the rights of the accused.

However, any amendment before plea, which downgrades the nature of the offense charged in or
excludes any accused from the complaint or information, can be made only upon motion by the
prosecutor, with notice to the offended party and with leave of court. The court shall state its
reasons in resolving the motion and copies of its order shall be furnished all parties, especially
the offended party.

If it appears at any time before judgment that a mistake has been made in charging the proper
offense, the court shall dismiss the original complaint or information upon the filing of a new
one charging the proper offense in accordance with section 19, Rule 119, provided the accused
shall not be placed in double jeopardy. The court may require the witnesses to give bail for their
appearance at the trial. (Section 14, Rule 110, ROC)

Arraignment and Plea, how made

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.

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.

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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. (Section 1(a), (b), (f), Rule 116, ROC)

Plea 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. (Section 2, Rule 116, ROC)

Pre-Trial mandatory in Criminal Cases

In all criminal cases cognizable by the Sandiganbayan, Regional Trial Court, Metropolitan Trial
Court, Municipal Trial Court in Cities, Municipal Trial Court and Municipal Circuit Trial Court,
the court shall after arraignment and within thirty (30) days from the date the court acquires
jurisdiction over the person of the accused, unless a shorter period is provided for in special laws
or circulars of the Supreme Court, order a pre-trial conference to consider the following:
(a) plea bargaining;
(b) stipulation of facts;
(c) marking for identification of evidence of the parties;
(d) waiver of objections to admissibility of evidence;
(e) modification of the order of trial if the accused admits the charge but interposes a lawful
defense; and
(f) such other matters as will promote a fair and expeditious trial of the criminal and civil
aspects of the case. (Section 1, Rule 118, ROC)

Preliminary Conference before BCC

A.M. 03-01-09-SC

CAM and JDR

The following cases shall be referred to Court-Annexed Mediation (CAM) and be the subject of
Judicial Dispute Resolution (JDR) proceedings:
1) All civil cases and the civil liability of criminal cases covered by the Rule on Summary
Procedure, including the civil liability for violation of B.P. 22, except those which by law
may not be compromised;
2) Special proceedings for the settlement of estates;
3) All civil and criminal cases filed with a certificate to file action issued by thePunong
Barangay or the Pangkat ng Tagapagkasundo under the RevisedKatarungang Pambarangay
Law
4) The civil aspect of Quasi-Offenses under Title 14 of the Revised Penal Code;
5) The civil aspect of less grave felonies punishable by correctional penalties not exceeding 6
years imprisonment, where the offended party is a private person;
6) The civil aspect of estafa, theft and libel;
7) All civil cases and probate proceedings, testate and intestate, brought on appeal from the
exclusive and original jurisdiction granted to the first level courts under Section 33, par. (1)
of the Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980;
8) All cases of forcible entry and unlawful detainer brought on appeal from the exclusive and
original jurisdiction granted to the first level courts under Section 33, par. (2) of the
Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980;
9) All civil cases involving title to or possession of real property or an interest therein brought
on appeal from the exclusive and original jurisdiction granted to the first level courts under
Section 33, par.(3) of the Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980; 13 and
10) All habeas corpus cases decided by the first level courts in the absence of the Regional Trial
Court judge, that are brought up on appeal from the special jurisdiction granted to the first
level courts under Section 35 of the Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980.
[Consolidated and Revised Guidelines to Implement the Expanded Coverage of Courtannexed
Mediation (CAM) and Judicial Dispute Resolution (JDR), A.M. No. 11-1-6-SC-PHILJA]

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