Motion for Bill of Particulars

PLEADINGS in civil cases must contain “in a methodical and logical form, a plain, concise and direct statement of the ultimate facts, including the evidence on which the party pleading relies for his claim or defense” (Section 1, Rule 8, 2019 Rules of Civil Procedure).

The purpose of this provision is to make the parties’ litigants aware of the facts in controversy and the issues sought to be resolved by the courts.

In criminal cases, “[a] complaint or information is sufficient if it states the name of the accused; the designation of the offense given by the statute; the acts or omissions complained of as constituting the offense; the name of the offended party; the approximate date of the commission of the offense; and the place where the offense was committed” (Section 6, Rule 110, Rules of Criminal Procedure).

The requirement of sufficiency of information goes back to the constitutional right of the accused “to be informed of the nature and cause of accusation against him” (Section 14 [2], Article III, 1987 Constitution).

It is the duty of the State in indicting the accused to apprise him or her of the crime allegedly committed, its elements, the manner of its commission, and the jurisdiction of the court to hear, try, and decide the case.

There are instances, however, in both civil and criminal cases, when the drafting of the complaint or information is defective or vague.

If or if the facts charged do not constitute an offense, the court shall order an amendment of the information instead of quashing it

In such a situation, before responding to a pleading or before the accused is arraigned, a party may file a motion for a bill of particulars identifying the defects in the subject pleading and the details desired. (see Section 1, Rule 12 and Section 9, Rule 116).

To be clear, in civil cases, the Motion for Bill of Particulars points out the defects and the details desired in a Complaint before the filing of an Answer, in an Answer before the filing of a Reply, or in a Reply before the filing of a Rejoinder. This is in contrast to a Bill of Particulars that is submitted by a party whose pleading is being complained about after the court orders the submission of the details requested.

The “purpose of a bill of particulars [is] to amplify or limit a pleading, specify more minutely and particularly a claim or defense set up and pleaded in general terms, [and to] give information, not contained in the pleading, to the opposite party and the court as to the precise nature, character, scope, and extent of the cause of action or defense relied on by the pleader…”(Virata v. Sandiganbayan et al., G.R. 106527, April 6, 1993 citing Tan v. Sandiganbayan).

Put simply, its purpose it to “apprise the opposite party of the case which he has to meet, to the end that the proof at the trial may be limited to the matters specified, and in order that surprise at, and needless preparation for, the trial may be avoided, and that the opposite party may be aided in framing his answering pleading and preparing for trial” (G.R. 106527, April 6, 1993).

“It is not the office of a bill of particulars to supply material allegations necessary to the validity of a pleading, or to change a cause of action or defense stated in the pleading, or to state a cause of action or defense other than the one stated… [nor] to set forth the pleader’s theory of his cause of action or a rule of evidence on which he intends to rely, or to furnish evidential information…” (G.R. 106527, April 6, 1993).

It must be noted that in the 2019 amendment to the Rules on Civil Procedure, every pleading stating a party’s claims or defenses shall state the names of witnesses, summary of the