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1. Jurisdiction is determined by the extent of the penalty which the law imposes
, on the basis of the facts as recited in the complaint or information constitut
ive of the offense charged.
* Not determined by:
> what may be meted out to the offender after trial
> the result of the evidence that would be presented during the trial
* Jurisdiction is retained regardless of:
> whether the evidence proves a lesser offense than that charged in the informat
ion,
> the subsequent happening of events, although of a character which would have p
revented jurisdiction from attaching in the first instance.
2. General Rule: Jurisdiction of a court to try criminal action is to be determ
ined by the law at the time of the institution of the action.
* Exception: where the statute expressly provides, or is construed that it is in
tended to operate to actions pending before its enactment, in which case, the co
urt where the criminal action is pending is ousted of jurisdiction and the pendi
ng action will have to be transferred to the other tribunal which will continue
the proceeding.
3. Venue is jurisdictional.
* Thus: Action must be instituted and tried in the municipality or territory whe
re the offense has been committed or where any one of the essential ingredients
thereof took place.
4. General Rule: the question of jurisdiction may be raised at any stage of the
proceedings.
* Exception: may not be raised for the first time on appeal, where there has bee
n estoppel and laches on the party who raises the question.
RULE 110 PROSECUTION OF OFFENSES
Institution of Criminal Actions
1. For offenses which require preliminary investigation:
* By filing the complaint with the proper officer for preliminary investigation.
> Refers to a complaint-affidavit, and is different from the complaint defined i
n Section 3 of Rule 110.
> These offenses are those where the penalty prescribed by law is at least 4 yea
rs, 2 months and 1 day of imprisonment without regard to the fine.
2. For all other offenses, or for offenses which are penalized by law with lower
than at least 4 years, 2 months and 1 day without regard to the fine:
* Instituted directly with the MTC and MCTC, or the complaint is filed with the
Office of the Prosecutor.
* In Manila and other chartered cities, the complaint shall be filed with the O
ffice of the Prosecutor unless otherwise provided in their charters.
3. Take Note: A complaint for offenses cognizable by the RTC is NOT filed direct
ly with the RTC either for purposes of preliminary investigation or for commence
ment of the criminal prosecution.
4. The institution of the criminal action interrupts the running of the period o
f prescription of the offense charged
* Unless: otherwise provided in special laws.
* Act No. 3323 governs the prescriptive periods of violations of special laws, o
r offenses other than those penalized under the Revised Penal Code.
5. The filing of a complaint for purposes of preliminary investigation starts th
e prosecution process.
The complaint or information
1. Requisites:
* in writing
* in the name of the People of the Philippines
* Against all persons who appear to be responsible for the offense involved.
2. Who is the real offended party? The People of the Philippines, but since the
crime is also an outrage against the offended party, he is entitled to intervene
in its prosecution in cases where the civil action is impliedly instituted ther
ein.
Complaint
1. Definition: A complaint is a sworn written statement charging a person with a
n offense, subscribed by the offended party, any peace officer, or other public
officer charged with the enforcement of the law violated.
2. The complaint as defined under Section 3 is different from the complaint file
d with the Prosecutor s Office.
3. The complaint filed with the Prosecutor s Office, from which the latter may ini
tiate a preliminary investigation, refers to:
* any written complaint
* filed by an offended party or not
* not necessarily under oath, except in 2 instances:
> complaint for commission of an offense which cannot be prosecuted de officio o
r is private in nature
> where the law requires that it is to be started by a complaint sworn to by the
offended party, or when it pertains to those which need to be enforced by speci
fied public officers.
4. Under the Rule on Summary Procedure:
* a complaint may be directly filed in the MTC, provided that in Metro Manila an
d in chartered cities, the criminal action may only be commenced by the filing o
f information, which means by the prosecutor, except when the offense cannot be
prosecuted de officio as in private crimes.
Information
1. Definition: An accusation in writing a person with an offense, subscribed by
the prosecutor and filed with the court.
2. How is an Information different from a Complaint? Unlike a complaint, which r
equires that it be under oath and is filed either in the MTC or with the provinc
ial/city prosecutor s office, the information does not have to be under oath and i
s always filed in court. All that is required is that it be subscribed or signe
d by the fiscal or prosecutor, which is an indispensable requirement.
Who must prosecute criminal actions
1. May a criminal prosecution be restrained by injunction?
* General Rule: No.
* Reason: Public interest requires that criminal acts be immediately investigate
d and prosecuted for the protection of society.
* Exceptions:
> where injunction is justified by the necessity to afford protection to the con
stitutional rights of the accused
> when necessary for the orderly administration of justice or to avoid oppressio
n or multiplicity of actions
> when there is a prejudicial question which is sub judice
> when the acts of the officer are without or in excess of authority
> where the prosecution is under an invalid law, ordinance or regulation
> when double jeopardy is clearly apparent
> where the court has no jurisdiction over the offense
> where it is a case of persecution rather than prosecution
> where the charges are manifestly false and motivated by the lust for vengeance
> when there is clearly no prima facie case against the accused and the motion t
o quash on that ground has been denied
> preliminary injunction has been issued by the Supreme Court to prevent the thr
eatened unlawful arrest of petitioners.
2. Prior to the filing of the information in court, the prosecutor has full cont
rol of the case. He decides who should be charged in court and who should be ex
cluded from the information.
* However: His decision on the matter is subject to review by:
> the Secretary of Justice who exercises supervision and control over his actio
ns and who may sustain, modify or set aside his resolution on the matter
> in appropriate cases, by the courts when he acts with grave abuse of discretio
n amounting to lack of jurisdiction.
3. Private Prosecutor Participation:
* May a public prosecutor allow a private prosecutor to actively handle the cond
uct of the trial? Yes, where the civil action arising from the crime is deemed i
nstituted in the criminal action.
* Public Prosecutor must be present during the proceedings and must take over th
e conduct of the trial from the private prosecutor at any time the cause of the
prosecution may be adversely affected.
> Thus, where the prosecutor has turned over the active conduct of the trial to
the private prosecutor who presented testimonial evidence even when the public p
rosecutor was absent during the trial, the evidence presented could not be consi
dered valid evidence of the People.
> However: this rule applies only to courts which are provided by law with prose
cutors, and not to municipal courts which have no trial prosecutors, in which ca
se the evidence presented by the private prosecutor can be considered as evidenc
e for the People.
*However, under an amendment made by the SC effective May 1, 2002, Rule
110 Section 5 now provides that All criminal actions either commenced by complain
t or by information shall be prosecuted under the direction and control of a pub
lic prosecutor. In case of heavy work schedule of the public prosecutor or in th
e event of lack of public prosecutors, the private prosecutor may be authorized
in writing by the Chief of the Prosecution Office or the Regional State Prosecut
or to prosecute the case subject to the approval of the court. Once so authorize
d to prosecute the criminal action, the private prosecutor shall continue to pro
secute the case up to the end even in the absence of a public prosecutor, unless
the authority is revoked or otherwise withdrawn."
4. General Rule: In appeals, the Sol. Gen. has control. He may abandon or disco
ntinue the prosecution of the case in the exercise of his sound discretion and m
ay even recommend the acquittal of an accused when he believes that the evidence
does not warrant his conviction.
* Exception: provided for in RA 8249 which states in part that in all cases eleva
ted to the Sandiganbayan and from the SB to the SC, the Office of the Ombudsman,
through its special prosecutor, shall represent the People of the Philippines,
except in cases filed pursuant to EO Nos. 1, 2, 14 and 14-A, issued in 1986.
5. When it is said that the requirement of Art. 344 of RPC is jurisdictional, wh
at is meant is that it is the complaint that starts the prosecutory proceeding.
It is not the complaint which confers jurisdiction on the court to try the case
.
6. Once the complaint is filed, does death of the complainant in a crime of adul
tery extinguish the criminal liability of the accused? No. The participation of
the offended party in private crimes is essential not for the maintenance of th
e criminal action but solely for the initiation thereof. Any pardon given by th
e complainant or her death after the filing of the complaint would not deprive t
he court of the jurisdiction to try the case.
7. The desistance of complainant:
* Does not bar the People from prosecuting the criminal action
* But: it does operate as a waiver of the right to pursue civil indemnity.
Sufficiency of complaint or information
1. A complaint is sufficient if it states:
* the name of the accused
* the designation of the offense by a statute
* the acts or omission complained of as constituting the offense
* the name of the offended party
* the approximate time of the commission of the offense
* the place where the offense was committed.
2. Purpose: to safeguard the constitutional right of an accused to be informed o
f the nature and cause of the accusation against him.
Name of the accused
1. If name is known: the name and surname of the accused or any appellation or n
ickname by which he has been or is known.
2. If name cannot be ascertained: a fictitious name with a statement that his tr
ue name is unknown.
* If true name thereafter disclosed: such true name shall be inserted in the com
plaint or information and record.
3. While one or more persons, along with specified and named accused, may be sue
d as John Does, an information against all accused described as John Does is void, a
nd an arrest warrant against them is also void.
Designation of the offense
1. In case of a conflict between the designation of the crime and the recital of
facts constituting the offense, the latter prevails over the former.
2. The real question is not, did he commit a crime given in the law some technic
al and specific name, but did he perform the acts alleged in the body of the inf
ormation. If he did, it is of no consequence to him, either as a matter of proc
edure or of substantive right, how the law denominates the crime.
Cause of accusation
1. If one or more elements of the offense have not been alleged in the informati
on, the accused cannot be convicted of the offense charged, even if the missing
elements have been proved during the trial.
* Even the accused s entering a plea of guilty to such defective information will
not cure the defect, nor justify his conviction of the offense charged.
2. Important: The new rule requires that the qualifying and aggravating circumst
ances be alleged in the information.
3. Where the law alleged to have been violated:
* prohibits generally acts therein defined
* is intended to apply to all persons indiscriminately,
* but prescribes certain limitations or exceptions from its violation
the information is sufficient if it alleges facts which the offender did as cons
tituting a violation of law, without explicitly negating the exception, as the e
xception is a matter of defense which the accused has to prove.
4. Where the law alleged to have been violated
* applies only to specific classes of persons and special conditions
* the exemptions from its violation are so incorporated in the language defining
the crime that the ingredients of the offense cannot be accurately and clearly
set forth if the exemption is omitted,
the information must show that the accused does not fall within the exemptions.
5. Where what is alleged in the information is a complex crime and the evidence
fails to support the charge as to one of the component offenses, the defendant c
an only be convicted of the offense proven.
Place of commission of the offense
May conviction be had even if it appears that the crime was committed not at the
place alleged in the information? Yes, provided the place of actual commission
was within the jurisdiction of the court.
* Unless: the particular place of commission is an essential element of the offe
nse charged.
Date of the commission of the offense
What is the determinative factor in the resolution of the question involving a v
ariance between the allegation and proof in respect of the date of the crime? Th
e element of surprise on the part of the accused and his inability to defend him
self properly.
Name of the offended party
To constitute larceny, robbery, embezzlement, obtaining money by false pretenses
, malicious mischief, etc., the property obtained must be that of another person
, and indictment for such offense must name the owner and a variance in this res
pect between the indictment and the proof will be fatal.
Duplicity of the offense
1. Waiver:
* When the accused fails, before arraignment, to move for the quashal of the inf
ormation which charges 2 or more offenses, he thereby waives the objection and m
ay be found guilty of as many offenses as those charged and proved during the tr
ial.
2. Where the law with respect to an offense may be committed in any of the diffe
rent modes provided by law, the indictment in the information is sufficient if t
he offense is alleged to have been committed in one, two or more modes specified
therein. The various ways of committing the offense should be considered as a
description of only one offense and the information cannot be dismissed on the g
round of multifariousness.
3. Exceptions to the rule on duplicity: continuous crimes and complex crimes
Amendment or substitution
1. Before the accused enters his plea, the prosecutor may:
* upgrade the offense
* allege qualifying and aggravating circumstances or
* change the offense charged
without leave of court, provided there is evidence thereon which has been presen
ted during the preliminary investigation.
2. However, prosecutor cannot:
* downgrade the offense charged
* exclude from the information a co-accused
without filing a motion to that effect, with notice to the offended party, and s
ubject to the approval of the court. The court shall state the reasons in resol
ving the motion and copies thereof furnished all parties, especially the offende
d party.
3. Technically, paragraph 2 of Section 14 does not refer to amendment, but to su
bstitution of the complaint or information by a new one. If the substitution is
made before the accused enters his plea, the question of double jeopardy does n
ot arise. If the filing of new information is done after the plea and before ju
dgment on the ground that there has been a mistake in charging the proper offens
e, the filing thereof may only be allowed if it will not place the accused twice
in jeopardy.
4. Test as to whether a defendant is prejudiced by an amendment:
* whether a defense under the information as it originally stood would be availa
ble after the amendment is made, and
* whether any evidence defendant might have would be equally applicable to the
information in the new form as in the other.
5. General Rule: after arraignment, the prosecutor may no longer amend the infor
mation which changes the nature of the crime, as it will prejudice the substanti
al rights of the accused.
* Exception: when a fact supervenes which changes the nature of the crime charge
d in the information or upgrades it to a higher crime, the prosecutor, with leav
e of court, may amend the information to allege such supervening fact and upgrad
e the crime charged to the higher crime brought about by such supervening fact.
* However: if the supervening event which changes the nature of the crime to a m
ore serious one occurred after the accused has been convicted, which makes the a
mendment of the information no longer the remedy of the prosecution, the prosecu
tion can and should charge the accused for such more serious crime, without plac
ing the accused in double jeopardy, there being no identity of the offense charg
ed in the first information and in the second one.
6. Section 14 applies only to original case and not to appealed case.
Place where action is to be instituted
1. Venue in criminal case is jurisdictional, being an essential element of juris
diction.
2. General Rule: Penal laws are territorial; hence Philippine courts have no jur
isdiction over crimes committed outside the Philippines.
* Exceptions: those provided in Article 2 of the Revised Penal Code. Those who c
ommit any of the crimes contemplated therein can be tried by Philippine courts.
Intervention of the offended party in criminal action
1. Where the offended party withdrew a reservation to file a separate civil acti
on, the private prosecutor may still intervene in the prosecution of the crimina
l case, by conducting the examination of witnesses under the control of the pros
ecutor.
* However: once the offended party has filed a separate civil action arising fro
m the crime, he may not withdraw such civil case in order to intervene in the cr
iminal prosecution. He loses the right to intervene. He no longer has any stan
ding in the criminal case, except to be a prosecution witness.
2. Where a criminal action has been provisionally dismissed upon motion of the p
rosecutor, can the case be revived upon motion of the offended party? No, becaus
e the offended party or complaining witness cannot act for the prosecutor.