Here is my opinion to your query regarding the following matters:

A.) Whether payment of filing fees in a criminal case can be deferred until
such time the amount required is raised
B.) Whether an information may be filed without the payment of filing fees
C.)What would happen if the complainant was not able to manifest within
15 days whether or not the civil liability arising from the crime charge
would be separately prosecuted.
As to the first issue and second issue, the applicable law is Sec. 1(a) of Rule
111 which states that: Where the amount of damages, other than
actual, is specified in the complaint or information, the filing fees
shall be paid by the offended party upon the filing thereof in court.
Except as otherwise provided in these Rules, no filing fees shall be
required for actual damages. In other words the payment of docket fees
is mandatory.
A case is deemed filed only upon payment of docket fees. ( Manchester vs.
C.A., 149 SCRA 562 (1987)). However in Sun Insurance Office, Ltd. vs.
Asuncion, 170 SCRA 274 (1989) a civil case, it posits that the filing of the
initiatory pleading is not accompanied by payment of the docket
fee, the court may allow payment of the fee within a reasonable
time but in no case beyond the applicable prescriptive or
reglementary period.
I was not able to find any jurisprudence that allows filing of an information
without payment of filing fees for a private complainant.
As to the third issue, the applicable law is Sec. 20(a) of Rule 141 which staes
that:
Section 20. Other fees. The following fees shall also be collected by the
clerks of Regional Trial Courts or courts of the first level, as the case may be:
(a) In estafa cases where the offended party fails to manifest within
fifteen (15) days following the filing of the information that the civil
liability arising from the crime has been or would be separately
prosecuted:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Less than P100,000.00 P500.00

P100,000.00 or more but less than
P150,000.00 or more but less than
P200,000.00 or more but less than
P250,000.00 or more but less than

P150,000.00
P200,000.00
P250,000.00
P300,000.00

P800.00
P1,000.00
P1,500.00
P1,750.00

6. P300,000.00 or more but less than P350,000.00 P2,000.00

7. P350,000.00 or more but no more than P400,000.00 P2,250.00
8. For each P1,000.00 in excess of P400,000.00 P10.00
Verily, Section 1 of Rule 111 states that:
SECTION 1. Institution of criminal and civil actions. When a criminal action is
instituted, the civil action for the recovery of civil liability is impliedly
instituted with the criminal action, unless the offended party waives the
civil action, reserves his right to institute it separately, or institutes
the civil action prior to the criminal action.
From the provision stated it can be gleaned that failure to manifest within 15
days from notice that the civil liability arising from the crime would be
separately prosecuted would result to an implied institution of the action the
complainants right to reserve such action would be waived.
Since our case is Estafa, Payment of filing fees is required if we dont want
the civil aspect of the criminal case be prosecuted separately

Recommendation
Due to the particular circumstances of the case, I would submit that we
should manifest that the civil aspect be prosecuted separately in that way
our client would have time to raise the funds available for the filing fees.
Very truly yours,
Atty. Daryl Jacob F. Bigay