ARRAIGNMENT is the formal mode and manner of “implementing the constitutional right of an accused to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him.”
In other words, it is during arraignment that an accused is given the chance to know the particular charge against him or her for the first time.
The accused must be arraigned before the court where the complaint or information was filed or assigned for trial; the accused must be present at the arraignment and must personally enter his or her plea. Both arraignment and plea shall be made of record, but failure to do so shall not affect the validity of the proceedings.
How are arraignment and plea made?
Under the Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure, 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 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.)
When the accused refuses to plead or makes a conditional plea, a plea of not guilty shall be entered for him. But when the accused pleads guilty but presents exculpatory evidence, his plea shall be deemed withdrawn and a plea of not guilty shall be entered for him.
Unless a shorter period is provided by special law or Supreme Court circular, the arraignment shall be held within 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.)
Plea bargaining
Plea bargaining in criminal cases is a process where the accused and the prosecution work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case subject to court approval. It usually involves the defendant 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. (People of the Philippines vs. Borras, G.R. No. 250295, March 15, 2021)
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. 2, Rule 116, Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure)
Suspension of arraignment
Upon motion by the proper party, the arraignment shall be suspended in the following cases: (1) The accused appears to be suffering from an unsound mental condition which effectively 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; (2) There exists a prejudicial question; and (3) A petition for review of the resolution of the prosecutor is pending at either the Department of Justice, or the Office of the President. The period of suspension shall not exceed sixty (60) days counted from the filing of the petition with the reviewing office.
