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1. General Rule: MTC and RTC courts gain jurisdiction over the offense
upon the filing of complaint by a complainant or an information by the
prosecuting officer
à Court gains jurisdiction over the person of the accused upon arrest or
surrender; such jurisdiction once gained cannot be lost even if accused
escapes (Gimenez vs. Nazareno)
Complaint Information
May be filed either with the court Filed with the court
or in the fiscal’s office generally
to commence the preliminary
investigation of the charges made
4. Cases where civil courts of equal rank are vested with concurrent
jurisdiction:
ii. Vessel
a. In RTC:
[i.e. (1) violation of traffic laws; (2) violation of rental laws; (3)
violation of municipal or city ordinances; and (4) criminal cases where
the penalty does not exceed 6 months or fine of P1000 or both,
irrespective of other imposable penalties and civil liabilities]
à Reodica vs. CA – [clarifies Zaldivia above] Under Art. 91 of the RPC, the
period of prescription shall be interrupted by the filing of the complaint
or information. It does not distinguish whether the complaint is filed for
preliminary examination or investigation only, or for an action on the
merits. Thus, the filing of the complaint even with the fiscal’s office
should suspend the running of the Statute of Limitations. The ruling
in Zaldivia is not applicable to all cases subject to the Rules on Summary
Procedure, since that particular case involved a violation of an
ordinance. Therefore, the applicable law therein was not Art. 91 of the
RPC, but Act No. 3326 (“An Act to Establish Periods of Prescription for
Violations Penalized by Special Acts and Municipal Ordinances and to
Provide when Prescription Shall Begin to Run”), §2 of which provides that
period of prescription is suspended only when judicial proceedings are
instituted against the guilty party.
8. Contents of information
à If facts do not completely allege all the elements of the crime charged,
the info may be quashed; however, the prosecution is allowed to amend
the info to include the necessary facts (People vs. Purisima)
à Information need only allege facts, not include all the evidence which
may be used to prove such facts (Balitaan vs. CFI)
f. Place of commission
à Conviction may be had even if it appears that the crime was committed
not at the place alleged, provided that the place of actual commission
was within the court’s jurisdiction and accused was not surprised by the
variance between the proof and the information
Amendment
Substitution
à If complexed with a public crime, the provincial fiscal may sign the
complaint on his own
14. Procedure
15. Remedies
a. Motion to quash
à May be filed after arraignment but before plea on the grounds provided
by the rules (generally, a flaw in the info)
b. Motion to dismiss
à May be filed after plea but before judgment on most of grounds for
motion to quash
à Defined as the joinder of separate and distinct offenses in one and the
same information/complaint
1. General Rule: The injured party may file a civil action independent of
the criminal proceeding to recover damages from the offender.
1. Waiver
2. Reservation of right to institute separate action
3. Institution of civil action prior to criminal action
à NOTE: Under SC Circular 57-97, all criminal actions for violations of BP
Blg. 22 shall be deemed to necessarily include the corresponding civil
action, and no reservation to file such civil action separately shall be
allowed or recognized.
1. The civil action involves an issue similar or intimately related to the issue
raised in the criminal action
2. The resolution of such issue will determine whether the criminal action will
proceed or not
à Requisites for a prejudicial question:
1. The civil action involves an issue similar or intimately related to the issue
raised in the criminal action: and
2. The resolution of such issue determines whether or not the criminal action
may proceed
à Petition for suspension of criminal action is to be filed at any time
before prosecution rests.
5. Remedies
6. Extinction of penal action does not carry with it extinction of the civil
unless the extinction proceeds from a declaration in a final judgment that
the fact from which the civil might arise did not exist.
à Final judgment in civil absolving defendant from civil liability not a bar
to criminal action
7. Filing fees:
à Flores vs. Sumaling – What differentiates the present rule from the
previous one is that while before, it was mandatory for the investigating
judge to issue a warrant for the arrest of the accused if he found
probable cause, the rule now is that the investigating judge’s power to
order the arrest of the accused is limited to instances in which there is a
necessity for placing him in custody “in order not to frustrate the ends of
justice.” It is therefore error for the investigating judge to order the
issuance of a warrant of arrest solely on his finding of probable cause,
without making any finding of a necessity to place the accused in
immediate custody to prevent a frustration of justice.
1. If accused waives Art. 125, RPC and asks for a preliminary investigation, with
the assistance of counsel, then the procedure for one prior to arrest is
followed
1. Inquest conducted as follows
(a) Fiscal determines the validity of the arrest
(c) Fiscal either dismisses the complaint and orders the immediate
release of the accused, OR prepares and files an information
6. Remedies
à Must be with assistance of counsel and after waiving Art. 125, RPC
à Filed within 5 days after accused learns an information against him has
been filed without a preliminary investigation
d. Appeal to DOJ
à Ordinarily, injunction will not lie but may be granted in certain cases
1. When strong-arm tactics are used for vindictive purposes (Salonga vs. Cruz-
Pano)
2. When the accused is deprived of his rights
3. When the statute on which the charge is based is null and void
4. When it will aid the administration of justice (Tatad vs. Sandiganbayan)
5. When multiplicity of suits will be avoided (Guingona vs. City Fiscal)
Rule 113 Arrest
à Not all persons detained are arrested; only those detained to answer
for an offense.
à “Invitations” are not arrests and are usually not unconstitutional, but
in some cases may be taken as commands (Babst vs. NBI); however, the
practice of issuing an “invitation” to a person who is investigated in
connection with an offense he is suspected to have committed is
considered as placing him under “custodial investigation.” (RA 7438)
b. When an offense has just been committed and the person making the
arrest has personal knowledge that the person to be arrested committed
it
à Warrantless arrest anytime for a continuing offense like rebellion,
subversion (Umil vs. Ramos)
à The continuing crime, not the crime finally charged, needs only be the
cause of the arrest (Umil vs. Ramos)
a. With warrant
v. If warrant served
b. Without warrant:
1. Person is arrested
1. Person arrested may waive right to Art. 125, RPC and ask for
preliminary investigation or inquest
à Fiscal is not judicial authority contemplated under Art. 125 (Sayo vs.
Chief of Police)
6. Remedies
à Filed with court which issued the warrant of arrest when the warrant
of arrest is fatally flawed
à Filed with court when information against the person arrested has been
filed
1. Undertaking effective upon approval and remains in force at all stages until
promulgation of judgment, unless sooner cancelled
2. Accused shall appear before court when required
3. Failure to appear despite notice to him or the bondsman will waive his right
to be present and trial shall proceed in absentia
4. Bondsman shall surrender accused for execution of judgment
à Bail applies to all persons detained, not just to those charged with the
offense (Herras vs. Teehankee)
à Court has power to prohibit person out on bail from leaving the country
(Manotoc, Jr. vs. CA)
à Bail implies delivery of the accused to the sureties who, though not
holding him prisoner, may seize him and imprison him until they can
deliver him to court (US vs. Bonoan)
(1) Where information against him was filed or where case is pending
(2) Absent (1), in another branch of the same court within the province
or city where he is held
(3) If arrested in another province, city or municipality, file with the RTC
à Evidence must be strong that the accused is guilty of the capital offense
charged, not just of any offense (Bernardez vs. Valera)
7. Recognizance
a. Upon application with the court and due notice to the fiscal
1. Case is dismissed
1. Accused is acquitted
2. Accused is convicted and surrenders for execution of judgment
12. When bail cancelled or denied: after RTC imposes imprisonment
exceeding 6 years, but not more than 20 years, and:
1. Within 30 days, produce the body or give reason for non-production AND
2. Explain satisfactorily the absence of the accused when first required to
appear
15. Remedies
1. Application for bail, when bail can be availed of as a matter of right
2. Petition for bail, when the offense charged is a capital offense
à For judge to set hearing for the determination of strength of evidence
of guilt
1. Posting bail waives the right to question any irregularity attending the arrest
of a person (Callanta vs. Villanueva). However, this does not result in
waiver of the inadmissibility of the articles seized incidentally to such
illegal arrest.
2. Accused waived the right to question any irregularity in the conduct of the
preliminary investigation when he failed to do so before entering his plea
(People vs. Dela Cerna)
3. Accused out on bail may be re-arrested if he attempts to depart from the
Philippines without prior court permission (warrantless arrest allowed).
Rule 115 Rights of Accused
a. To due process
b. Against self-incrimination
3. Double jeopardy
à No double jeopardy where the trial was a sham since there was no
competent court (Galman vs. Sandiganbayan)
c. Plea of guilty to a lesser offense without the consent of the fiscal and
the offended party
5. Remedies
1. Motion to quash
2. Motion to dismiss
à Both filed on the ground of violation of accused’s rights, thereby
ousting the court of jurisdiction
6. NOTES:
1. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process
of law.
2. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be presumed innocent until the
contrary is proved, and shall enjoy the right to be informed of the nature
and cause of the accusations against him, to have a speedy, impartial
and public trial, to meet the witnesses face to face, and to have
compulsory process to secure the attendance of witnesses and the
production of evidence in his behalf.
However, after arraignment, trial may proceed notwithstanding the
absence of the accused provided that he has been duly notified and that
his failure to appear is unjustifiable.
à Constitution, Art. III, Sec. 16
All persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their cases
before all judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies.