Dear Atty. Joji,

I have decided to file a case against a former client who didn’t pay me for a bulk order of custom uniforms. We signed a written contract months ago, but I lost the original during a recent office move. All I have left is a photocopy I scanned before boxing things up. Now the client is denying the agreement ever existed. Can I still use the photocopy in court?

Lorna

Dear Lorna,

According to A.M. No. 19-08-15-SC, or the 2019 Revised Rules on Evidence, documentary evidence includes writings, recordings, photographs, or any material that contains letters, figures, or symbols offered as proof of their contents. Furthermore, Section 4 of Rule 130 defines a “duplicate” as a counterpart produced by the same impression as the original, or through methods such as photography, mechanical or electronic re-recording, or other equivalent techniques that accurately reproduce the original document.

The law now explicitly provides that a duplicate is admissible to the same extent as an original, unless a genuine question is raised as to the authenticity of the original, or if circumstances make it unjust or inequitable to admit the duplicate in place of the original.

In the recent case of People vs Lastimosa, G.R. No. 265758, 3 February 2025, the Supreme Court held:

“A photocopy, being a duplicate, is admissible to the same extent as the original absent any genuine question as to the authenticity of the original or a showing that it is unjust or inequitable to admit the duplicate in lieu of the original.”

Thus, it is now well-established in case law that a duplicate, such as a photocopy, is admissible in court to the same extent as the original, provided there is no genuine dispute regarding the authenticity of the original and that admitting the duplicate would not be unjust or inequitable.

However, if there is a legitimate challenge to the authenticity of the original document, or if it would be unjust or inequitable to accept the duplicate in place of the original, the photocopy may still be admissible. In such cases, the photocopy would be considered secondary evidence, and its admission would be contingent on the offeror explaining why the original cannot be presented in court.

Hope this helps.

Atty. Joji Alonso