SC: Photocopies may be used as evidence

Photocopies of original documents can be admitted as evidence as long as there is no question regarding the original document’s authenticity or fairness in using the copy, the Supreme Court has ruled.

In a decision affirming a Court of Appeals ruling finding a man guilty of murder, the High Tribunal adverted to Rule 130, Section 4(c) of the 2019 Revised Rules on Evidence, which took effect in 2020. 

The SC said that under the rule, a duplicate is admissible as the original unless there is a genuine question about the original’s authenticity, or it would be unfair to use the duplicate.

The Court said this applied to both paper-based and electronic documents.

“This approach reflects the practical realities of document usage and storage in the modern world, where duplicates are often indistinguishable from originals and can be more accessible,” the SC said, citing the 2024 National Court Rules Committee of the United States.

The SC issued this remark after it affirmed the conviction of an individual for murder in a case where the use of a photocopy of a death certificate was key evidence.

Witnesses testified during the trial that the man shot the victim in the head outside a cockpit in Cebu City. The victim’s wife also testified that he was already dead when she found him at the hospital. 

The prosecution also presented a photocopy of the victim’s death certificate, which indicated that he died from gunshot wounds.

After his conviction for homicide by the trial court and for murder by the CA, the man argued before the SC that the prosecution failed to prove that the crime was committed because the original death certificate was not presented. 

He said that a photocopy, without comparison to the original for authentication, should not have been admitted as evidence.

The SC said that while a photocopy may be admissible, its weight or value depends on how well it corroborates or supports other available evidence.

In this case, the photocopy of the death certificate, combined with the testimonies of Vega’s wife and other eyewitnesses, sufficiently established that Vega died from gunshot wounds and that Lastimosa was responsible. –NB, GMA Integrated News