Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Legados v. de Guzman, 170 SCRA 357 (1989) MTC has exclusive original
jurisdiction over all offenses where the penalty imposable does not exceed 4
years and 2 months (now 6 years) regardless of other imposable penalties
and civil liability arising from such offense. Hence, the inferior courts have
jurisdiction for simple seduction, even if the accused might be required to
support the offspring from the crime.
1. violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Bribery under the
RPC, forfeiture of properties unlawfully acquired by public officers,
where one or more of the accused are officials occupying the following
positions in the government, whether in a permanent, acting or interim
capacity, at the time of the commission of the offense:
1. Officials of the executive branch occupying the positions of
regional director and higher, otherwise classified as Grade ’27′
and higher, specifically including:
4) Philippine army and air force colonels, naval captains, and all officers
of higher rank;
6) City and provincial prosecutors and their assistants, and officials and
prosecutors in the Office of the Ombudsman and special prosecutor;
The institution of the criminal action shall interrupt the period of prescription
of the offense charged unless otherwise provided in special laws
Exceptions:
Complaint Information
Sworn statement Need not be sworn
Signed by the offended party, peaceSigned by the prosecutor [Abela v.
officer, or public officer charged with theGolez, 131 SCRA 12]
enforcement of the law violated
1. adultery
2. concubinage
3. seduction
4. abduction
5. acts of lasciviousness
6. defamation which consists in the imputation of private offenses
Note that rape is no longer a private offense. It may now be prosecuted even
without the initiation of the victim or her relatives.
a) her parents
b) grandparents, or
c) guardian
1. If the offended party dies or becomes incapacitated before she can file
the complaint, and she has no known parents, grandparents or
guardian, the State shall initiate the criminal action in her behalf.
2. the offender has not been expressly pardoned by any of them
3. defamation which consists in the imputation of private offenses – upon
complaint filed by the offended party
Note in private offenses, the State can possibly file a case independent of
the offended parties only in seduction, abduction and acts of lasciviousness.
In adultery, concubinage, and defamation, the State can not file a case
without a complaint by the offended party.
1. Either
1. designation of the offense given by the statute, or
2. if there is no designation, reference to the section or subsection
of the statute punishing it
3. aver the acts or omissions constituting the offense
4. specify its qualifying and aggravating circumstances.
GR: Allegation that the offense was committed or some of its essential
ingredients occurred at some place within the jurisdiction of the court is
sufficient.
Amendments
1) the court shall dismiss the original case upon the filing of a new one
charging the proper offense
The court may require the witnesses to give bail for their appearance at the
trial.
In criminal procedure, venue is jurisdictional. In civil procedure, venue is
procedural and may be waived.
Venue
Where the civil action has been filed separately and trial thereof has not yet
commenced
3) the consolidated criminal and civil actions shall be tried and decided
jointly.
when accused was lawfully arrested without a warrant (Sec. 7, Rule 112)
An arrest is made by
1. The head of the office to whom the warrant of arrest was delivered for
execution shall cause the warrant to be executed within 10 days from
its receipt.
2. Within 10 days after the expiration of the period, the officer to whom it
was assigned for execution shall make a report to the judge who
issued the warrant.
1. If warrant was executed
1) the officer executing the warrant should arrest the accused and deliver
him to the nearest police station or jail without unnecessary delay.
2) No violence or unnecessary force shall be used in making an arrest.
4) arrest may be made on any day and at any time of the day or night.
1. If there was failure to execute the warrant – the officer to whom it was
assigned for execution shall state the reasons therefore in his report
Bail – the security given for the release of a person in custody of the law,
furnished by him or a bondsman, to guarantee his appearance before any
court
Bail may be given in the form of corporate surety, property bond, cash
deposit, or recognizance
All kinds of bail are subject to the following conditions:
(a) The undertaking shall be effective upon approval, and unless cancelled,
shall remain in force at all stages of the case until promulgation of the
judgment of the Regional Trial Court, irrespective of whether the case was
originally filed in or appealed to it;
(b) The accused shall appear before the proper courts whenever required by
the court or these Rules;
(c) The failure of the accused to appear at the trial without justification and
despite due notice shall be deemed a waiver of his right to be present
thereat. In such case, the trial may proceed in absentia; and
(d) The bondsman shall surrender the accused to the court for execution of
the final judgment.
The original papers shall state the full name and address of the accused, the
amount of the undertaking and the conditions required by this section.
Photographs (passport size) taken within the last six (6) months showing the
face, left and right profiles of the accused must be attached to the bail.
Should the court grant the application, the accused may be allowed to
continue on provisional liberty during the pendency of the appeal under the
same bail subject to the consent of the bondsman.
If the penalty imposed by the trial court is imprisonment exceeding six (6)
years, the accused shall be denied bail, or his bail shall be cancelled upon a
showing by the prosecution, with notice to the accused, of the following or
other similar circumstances:
(c) That he committed the offense while under probation, parole, or under
conditional pardon;
(d) That the circumstances of his case indicate the probability of flight if
released on bail; or
(e) That there is undue risk that he may commit another crime during the
pendency of the appeal.
1) deceased,
3) unavailable, or
1. Before arraignment
1. the court shall inform the accused of his right to counsel and ask
him if he desires to have one. The court must assign a counsel
de oficio to defend him unless the accused (Sec. 6)
1. shall require the prosecution to prove his guilt and the precise degree
of culpability
2. allow the accused to present evidence in his behalf.
When the accused pleads guilty to a non-capital offense, the court may
receive evidence from the parties to determine the penalty to be imposed.
Note that the new rules now require the civil case be filed before the criminal
case in order for a prejudicial question to exist.
2) abduction or
The motion to quash shall be granted if the prosecution fails to make the
amendment, or the complaint or information still suffers from the same
defect despite the amendment.
GR: If the motion to quash is sustained, the court may order that
another complaint or information be filed
b) such further time as the court may allow for good cause
1) dismissed or
2) otherwise terminated
1. the graver offense developed due to supervening facts arising from the
same act or omission constituting the former charge;
2. the facts constituting the graver charge became known or were
discovered only after a plea was entered in the former complaint or
information; or
3. the plea of guilty to the lesser offense was made without the consent
of the prosecutor and of the offended party, except when the offended
party fails to appear at the arraignment, in which case the consent of
the prosecutor alone is enough [Sec 1(f) of Rule 116]
GR: The failure of the accused to assert any ground of a motion to quash
before he pleads to the complaint or information, either because he did not
file a motion to quash or failed to allege the same in said motion, shall be
deemed a waiver of any objections
Exceptions:
After a plea of not guilty is entered, the accused shall have at least fifteen
(15) days to prepare for trial. The trial shall commence within thirty (30) days
from receipt of the pre-trial order.
1. unavailability – his whereabouts are known but his presence for trial
cannot be obtained by due diligence.
2. resulting from the mental incompetence or physical inability of the
accused to stand trial.
3. from the date the charge was dismissed upon motion of the
prosecution, to the date the time limitation would commence to run as
to a subsequent charge had there been no previous charge
4. A reasonable period of delay when the accused is joined for trial with a
co-accused
1. over whom the court has not acquired jurisdiction, or
2. as to whom the time for trial has not run and no motion for
separate trial has been granted.
3. resulting from a continuance granted by any court on the ground
that the ends of justice served by taking such action outweigh
the best interest of the public and the accused in a speedy trial
1. motu proprio, or
2. on motion of
2) the prosecution
Trial schedule
1. after consultation with the prosecutor and defense counsel, the court
shall set the case for continuous trial on a weekly or other short-term
trial calendar at the earliest possible time so as to ensure speedy trial.
2. In no case shall the entire trial period exceed 180 days from the first
day of trial, except as otherwise authorized by the Supreme Court.
3. Trial once commenced shall continue from day to day as far as
practicable until terminated. It may be postponed for a reasonable
period of time for good cause.
4. The time limitations provided under this section and the preceding
section shall not apply where special laws or circulars of the Supreme
Court provide for a shorter period of trial.
Failure of the accused to move for dismissal prior to trial shall constitute a
waiver of such ground to dismiss.
Order of trial (When the accused admits the act or omission charged in the
complaint or information but interposes a lawful defense, the order of trial
may be modified)
Judgment – the adjudication by the court that the accused is guilty or not
guilty of the offense charged and the imposition on him of the proper penalty
and civil liability, if any.
Form of judgment
1. If of conviction
1. the legal qualification of the offense constituted by the acts
committed by the accused and the aggravating or mitigating
circumstances which attended its commission
2. the participation of the accused in the offense, whether as
principal, accomplice, or accessory
3. the penalty imposed upon the accused; and
4. the civil liability or damages caused by his wrongful act or
omission to be recovered from the accused by the offended
party, if there is any, unless the enforcement of the civil liability
by a separate civil action has been reserved or waived.
5. If of acquittal
1. whether the evidence of the prosecution
1. In either case, the judgment shall determine if the act or omission from
which the civil liability might arise did not exist.
Notwithstanding perfection of the appeal, the RTC and the inferior courts
may allow the appellant to withdraw his appeal before the record has been
forwarded by the clerk of court to the proper appellate court, in which case
the judgment shall become final.
The RTC may also, in its discretion, allow the appellant from the judgment of
an inferior court to withdraw his appeal, provided a motion to that effect is
filed before rendition of the judgment in the case on appeal, in which case
the judgment of the court of origin shall become final and the case shall be
remanded to the latter court for execution of the judgment.
1. if the criminal action has already been filed, the application shall only
be made in the court where the criminal action is pending.
2. any court within whose territorial jurisdiction a crime was committed.
3. For compelling reasons stated in the application, any court within the
judicial region
1. where the crime was committed, if the place of the commission
of the crime is known, or
2. where the warrant shall be enforced.
Requisites for issuing search warrant – A search warrant shall not issue
except upon
1. probable cause
2. in connection with one specific offense
3. determined personally by the judge
4. after examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant and the
witness he may produce, and
5. particularly describing the place to be searched and the things to be
seized
A search warrant shall be valid for 10 days from its date. Thereafter, it shall
be void.
Categories
• Announcements
• Arts and Culture
• Bar Exams 2005
• Bar Exams 2006
• Bar Exams 2007
• Bar Exams 2008
• Bar Exams 2009
• Bar Exams 2010
• Bar Trivia
o Bar Matters
• Cases
• Causes
• Civil Law
• Commentary
• Criminal Law
• Elections 2010
• Environmental Laws
• Images
• International Law
• Labor and Social Legislation
• Law Schools
• Law Studies
• Laws and Issuances
• Legal Ethics
• Memorabilia
• Mercantile Law
• Persons & Family Relations
• Political Law
• Remedial Law
• Reviewers
o Phrases
• Speeches
• Taxation
• Torts & Damages
• Transportation Laws
• Uncategorized