Chapter 7
Offer of Evidence and Trial Objections
C. OFFER AND OBJECTION
Section 34. Offer of evidence. — The court shall consider no evidence which has not been
formally offered. The purpose for which the evidence is offered must be specified. (35)
Section 35. When to make offer. — As regards the testimony of a witness, the offer must be
made at the time the witness is called to testify.
Documentary and object evidence shall be offered after the presentation of a party's
testimonial evidence. Such offer shall be done orally unless allowed by the court to be done
in writing. (n)
Section 36. Objection. — Objection to evidence offered orally must be made immediately
after the offer is made.
Objection to a question propounded in the course of the oral examination of a witness shall
be made as soon as the grounds therefor shall become reasonably apparent.
An offer of evidence in writing shall be objected to within three (3) days after notice of the
unless a different period is allowed by the court.
In any case, the grounds for the objections must be specified. (36a)
Section 37. When repetition of objection unnecessary. — When it becomes reasonably
apparent in the course of the examination of a witness that the question being propounded
are of the same class as those to which objection has been made, whether such objection
was sustained or overruled, it shall not be necessary to repeat the objection, it being
sufficient for the adverse party to record his continuing objection to such class of questions.
(37a)
Section 38. Ruling. — The ruling of the court must be given immediately after the objection
is made, unless the court desires to take a reasonable time to inform itself on the question
presented; but the ruling shall always be made during the trial and at such time as will give
the party against whom it is made an opportunity to meet the situation presented by the
ruling.
The reason for sustaining or overruling an objection need not be stated. However, if the
objection is based on two or more grounds, a ruling sustaining the objection on one or some
of them must specify the ground or grounds relied upon. (38a)
Section 39. Striking out answer. — Should a witness answer the question before the
adverse party had the opportunity to voice fully its objection to the same, and such objection
is found to be meritorious, the court shall sustain the objection and order the answer given to
be stricken off the record.
On proper motion, the court may also order the striking out of answers which are
incompetent, irrelevant, or otherwise improper. (n)
Section 40. Tender of excluded evidence. — If documents or things offered in evidence are
excluded by the court, the offeror may have the same attached to or made part of the record.
If the evidence excluded is oral, the offeror may state for the record the name and other
personal circumstances of the witness and the substance of the proposed testimony. (n)
The court shall consider no evidence which has not been formally offered
Offer of evidence is necessary because it is the duty of the court to rest its
findings of fact and judgment and strictly upon the evidence offered by the
parties
Marking of a document is not formal offer
