Adaptive Leadership

[Audio] Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 110 – 127 Rules of Court by: Atty. Luis Duaso Gonzales, Ph.D., L-P-T Fellow, PPSC – dilg Council of Fellows.

[Audio] Jurisdictional Requirement Jurisdiction is defined as the authority of the court to hear, try and decide a case. A judgment rendered by a court without jurisdiction is null and void. Lack of jurisdiction is a ground for omnibus motion to dismiss..

[Audio] Kinds of Jurisdiction Jurisdiction Over the Subject Matter Conferred by law The authority to hear and try a particular offense and impose the punishment for it It cannot be conferred upon the court by the accused express waiver or otherwise..

[Audio] 2. Jurisdiction Over the Person of the Accused The person charged must have been brought to court. The authority of the court over the person charged As a rule, one who seeks an affirmative relief, such as seeking for the dismissal of the criminal case, is deemed to have submitted to the jurisdiction of the court (except on the ground that the court has no jurisdiction)..

[Audio] Requisite for the Exercise of Criminal Jurisdiction Jurisdiction over the subject matter Jurisdiction over the territory – Venue is jurisdictional. A court is bereft of jurisdiction to try an offense committed outside of its limited territory. Jurisdiction over the person of the accused.

[Audio] Manner of Acquiring Jurisdiction Over the Person of the Accused by the Court For the court to have authority over the person charged, it requires that the person charged with the offense must have been brought into its forum for trial. 1. Forcibly by warrant of arrest/ valid warrantless arrest 2. Upon voluntary submission to the court.

[Audio] When is Voluntary Submission to the Authority of the Court Deemed Proper? When seeking to dismiss the case Appears for arraignment Actively participates in trial and presents evidence for the defense Filing a motion for the determination of probable cause (prohibited motion).

[Audio] Exception on Voluntary Submission to the Authority of the Court Not all seeking affirmative relief would constitute voluntary appearance or submission 1. Making a special appearance in court by way of a motion to quash to question the jurisdiction of the court over the person of the accused is not a voluntary appearance or submission. 2. When accused files a motion to quash the warrant of arrest because it is the very legality of the court process forcing the submission of the accused that is the very issue..

[Audio] Jurisdiction of Criminal Courts Municipal Trial Courts/ Metropolitan Trial Courts/ M-C-T-C Exclusive Original Jurisdiction over: a All offenses punishable with imprisonment not exceeding six (6) years; b Offenses involving damage to property through criminal negligence; c Summary Procedure Cases: c.1 Violation of Traffic Rules and Regulations; c.2. Violation of Rental Law; c.3. BP 22 Cases;.

[Audio] c.4. Violation of Municipal or City Ordinances; c.5. All other criminal cases where the penalty prescribed by law for the offense charged is imprisonment not exceeding six (6) months or a fine not exceeding Php1000.00 or both, irrespective of other imposable penalties, accessory or otherwise, or of the civil liability arising therefrom; and c.6. Offenses involving damage to property through criminal negligence where the imposable fine does not exceed Php 10000.00. 2. Special Jurisdiction to decide application for bail in the absence of all R-T-C Judges in a province or city..

[Audio] Regional Trial Courts Exclusive Original Jurisdiction in all criminal cases not within the exclusive jurisdiction of any court, tribunal or body; Jurisdiction under specific laws: 2.1. Article 360 of the R-P-C on written defamation; 2.2. Violation of RA 9165; 2.3. Violation of Intellectual Property Rights; and 2.4. Money laundering cases except where a public officer is involved..

[Audio] Family Court Exclusive Original Jurisdiction to hear and decide criminal cases where at the time of the commission of the offense, one or more of: 1. The accused is below eighteen (18) years of age but not less than nine (9) years of age; or 2. The victim is a minor..

[Audio] Sandiganbayan As to the Offense Charged: 1. Violations of RA No. 3019, RA No. 1379, and Chapter II, Section 2, Title V-I-I--, Book 2 of the R-P-C--, Anti plunder Law, Anti money laundering Law; or 2. Pursuant to and in connection with E O Nos. 1, 2, 14 and 14-A series of 1986; or 3. Other offenses or felonies whether simple or complexed with other committed by the public officials and employees in relation to their office, which means that.

[Audio] 3.1. The office must be a constituent element of the crime; or 3.2. There is an intimate connection between the office and the offense. Note: If there is connection, Go the Sandiganbayan, if none, case must be filed in the Regular Courts. To determine which court (MTC or R-T-C--) look at the imposable penalty for the offense committed..

[Audio] As to the Offender 1. An official of the executive branch occupying the positions of Regional Director and higher, otherwise classified as SG ‘27’ and higher; or 2. Among those specifically enumerated in Sec 4(a)(1) of PD 1606, as amended, regardless of salary grade; 3. A national or local official classified as SG ‘27’ and higher; or 4. A private individual charged as co principal, accomplice or accessory with public officer or employee..

[Audio] Note: If the offender qualifies, case must be filed with the Sandiganbayan, if not, case must be filed with the regular courts (MTC or RTC). If the offense is punishable by less than six (6) years of imprisonment, case must be filed with the M-T-C otherwise, with the R-T-C-. In either case, appeal shall be brought at the Sandiganbayan..

[Audio] As to Damages Whether or not there is a damage to the Republic If there is damage to the Republic exceeding one (1) million pesos, case must be filed with the Sandiganbayan. If damage is less than one (1) million pesos, case must be filed with the R-T-C Appeal shall be brought to the Sandiganbayan..

[Audio] Court of Tax Appeals Exclusive Original Jurisdiction over all cases arising from Violations of the nirc or Tariff and Customs Code and other laws administered by the B-I-R or the B-O-C where the principal amount of taxes and fees, exclusive of charges and penalties claimed is at least one (1) million pesos..

[Audio] Lupon Tagapamayapa and Katarungang Pambarangay The Lupon of each barangay shall have authority to bring together the parties actually residing in the same city or municipality for amicable settlement of all disputes. Exception: 1. Offenses punishable by imprisonment exceeding one (1) year or a fine exceeding Php 5000.00.; and 2. Offenses where there is no private offended party..

[Audio] Rule 110 (Prosecution of Offenses) Sec 1. Institution of Criminal Actions – Criminal actions shall be instituted as follows: (a) For offenses where a preliminary investigation is required pursuant to Section 112, by filing a complaint with the proper officer for the purpose of conducting the requisite preliminary investigation. (b) For all other offenses, by filing the complaint or information directly with the M-T-C--, and M-C-T-C-, or the complaint with the Office of the Prosecutor. In Manila and other chartered cities, the complaint shall be filed with the Office of the Prosecutor unless otherwise provided in their charters..

[Audio] The institution of the criminal action shall interrupt the period of prescription of the offense charged unless otherwise provided in special laws. Sec 2. The complaint or information shall be in writing in the name of the People of the Philippines and against all persons who appear to be responsible for the offense involved. Sec 3. Complaint defined – A complaint is a sworn written statement charging a person with an offense, subscribed by the offended party, any peace officer, or other public officer charged with the enforcement of the law violated..

[Audio] Sec 4. Information defined – An information is an accusation in writing charging a person with an offense, subscribed by the prosecutor and filed with the court. Sec 5. Who must prosecute criminal actions: All criminal actions commenced by a complaint or information shall be prosecuted under the direction and control of the prosecutor. In case of heavy work schedule or in the event of lack of public prosecutor, the private prosecutor may be authorized in writing by the chief of the Prosecution Office or the Regional State Prosecutor to prosecute the case subject to the approval of the court..

[Audio] Once authorized, the private prosecutor shall continue to prosecute the case up to the end of the trial even in the absence of a public prosecutor, unless the authority is revoked or otherwise withdrawn. (As amended by A M No. 02-2 07-SC, effective May 1. 2002.) The crimes of adultery and concubinage shall not be prosecuted except upon a complaint filed by the offended spouse. The offended party cannot institute criminal prosecution without including the guilty parties, if both are alive, nor, in any case, if the offended party has consented to the offense or pardoned the offenders..

[Audio] The offenses of seduction, abduction and acts of lasciviousness shall not be prosecuted except upon a complaint filed by the offended party or her parents, grandparents or guardian, nor, in any case, if the offender has been expressly pardoned by any of them. 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. The offended party, even if a minor, has the right to initiate the prosecution of the offenses of seduction, abduction and acts of lasciviousness independently of her parents, grandparents, or guardian, unless she is incompetent or incapable of doing so..

[Audio] Where the offended party, who is a minor, fails to file complaint, her parents, grandparents, or guardian may file the same. The right to file action granted to parents, grandparents, or guardian shall be exclusive of all other persons and shall be exercised successively in the order herein provided, except as stated in the preceding paragraph. No criminal action for defamation which consists in the imputation of any of the offenses mentioned above shall be brought except at the instance of and upon complaint filed by the offended party..

[Audio] The prosecution of complaints for violation of special laws shall be governed by their provisions thereof. Sec 6. Sufficiency of Complaint or Information – A complaint or information is sufficient if it states the name of the accused; the designation of the offense given by the statute; the acts or omission complained of as constituting the offense; the name of the offended party; the approximate date of the commission of the offense; and the place where the offense is committed. When an offense is committed by more than one (1) person, all of them shall be included in the complaint or information..

[Audio] Sec 7. Name of the Accused – The complaint or information must state the name and surname of the accused or any appellation or nickname by which he has been or is known. If his name cannot be ascertained, he must be described under a fictitious name with a statement that his true name is unknown. If the true name of the accused is thereafter disclosed by him or appears in some other manner to the court, such true name shall be inserted in the complaint or information and record..

[Audio] Sec 8. Designation of the Offense – The complaint or information shall state the designation of the offense given by the statute, aver the acts or omissions constituting the offense, and specify its qualifying and aggravating circumstances. If there is no designation of the offense, reference shall be made to the section or subsection of the statute punishing it..

[Audio] Sec 9. Cause of the Accusation – The acts or omissions complained of as constituting the offense must be stated in ordinary and concise language and not necessarily in the language used in the statute but in terms sufficient to enable a person of common understanding to know what offense is being charged as well as its qualifying and aggravating circumstances and for the court to pronounce judgment..

[Audio] Sec 10. Place of the Commission of the Offense – The complaint or information is sufficient if it can be understood from its allegations that the offense was committed or some of its essential ingredients occurred at some place within the jurisdiction of the court, unless the particular place where it was committed constitutes an essential element of the offense charged or is necessary for its identification..

[Audio] Sec 11. Date of the commission of the Offense – It is not necessary to state in the complaint or information the precise date the offense was committed except when it is a material ingredient of the offense. The offense may be alleged to have been committed on a date as near as possible to the actual date of its commission..

[Audio] Sec 12. Name of the Offended Party – The complaint or information must state the name and surname of the person against whom or against whose property the offense was committed, or any appellation or nickname by which such person has been or is known. If there is no better way of identifying him, he must be described under a fictitious name..

[Audio] Sec 13. Duplicity of the Offense – A complaint or information must charge only one (1) offense, except when the law prescribes a single punishment for various offenses..

[Audio] Sec 14. Amendment or Substitution – A complaint or information may be amended, without leave of court, at any time before the accused enters his plea. After the plea and during the trial, a formal amendment may only be made with leave of court and when it can be done without causing prejudice to the rights of the accused. Any amendment before plea, which downgrades the nature of the offense charged in or excludes any accused from the complaint or information, can be made only upon motion by the prosecutor, with notice to the offended party and with leave of court..

[Audio] Sec 15. Place where action is to be instituted: (a) Subject to the existing laws, the criminal action shall be instituted and tried in the court of the municipality or territory where the offense was committed or when any of its essential ingredients occurred. (b) Where an offense is committed in a train, aircraft, or other public or private vehicle in the course of its trip, the criminal action shall be instituted and tried in the court of any municipality or territory where said train, aircraft, or other vehicle passed during its trip, including the place of departure and arrival..

[Audio] (c) Where an offense is committed on board a vessel in the course of its voyage, the criminal action shall be instituted and tried in the court of the first port of entry or of any municipality or territory where the vessel passed during such voyage, subject to the generally accepted principles of international law. (d) Crimes committed outside the Philippines but punishable under Article 2 of the R-P-C shall be cognizable by the court where the criminal action is first filed..

[Audio] Sec 16. Intervention of the offended party in criminal action – Where the civil liability is instituted in the criminal action pursuant to Rule 111, the offended party may intervene by counsel in the prosecution of the offense..

[Audio] Rule 111 (Prosecution of Civil Action) Section 1. Institution of Criminal Action and Civil Actions (a) When a criminal action is instituted, the civil action for the recovery of the civil liability arising from the offense charged shall be deemed instituted with the criminal action unless the offended party waives the civil action, reserves the right to institute it separately or institute the civil action prior to the criminal action. (b) The criminal action for Violation of Batas Pambansa Blg. 22 shall be deemed to include the corresponding civil action. No reservation to file such civil action separately shall be allowed..

[Audio] Sec 3. When civil action may proceed independently – In the cases provided in Art 32, 33, 34 and 2176 of the N-C-C--, the independent civil action may be brought by the offended party. It shall proceed independently of the criminal action and shall require only a preponderance of evidence. In no case, however, may the offended party recover damages twice for the same act or omission charged in the criminal action..

[Audio] Sec 4. Effect of death on civil actions – The death of the accused after arraignment and during the pendency of the criminal action shall extinguish the civil liability arising from the delict. However, the independent civil action instituted under Section 3 of this Rule or which thereafter instituted to enforce liability arising from other sources of obligation may be continued against the estate or legal representative of the accused after proper substitution or against said estate, as the case may be. The heirs of the accused may be substituted for the deceased without requiring the appointment of an executor or administrator and the court may appoint a guardian ad litem for the minor heirs..

[Audio] The court shall forthwith order said legal representative or representatives to appear and be substituted within a period of thirty (30) days from notice. A final judgment entered in favor of the offended party shall be enforced in the manner especially provided in these Rules for prosecuting claims against the estate of the deceased. If the accused dies before arraignment, the case shall be dismissed without prejudice to any civil action the offended party may file against the estate of the decease..

[Audio] Sec 5. Judgment in civil action not a bar – A final judgment rendered in a civil action absolving the defendant from civil liability is not a bar to a criminal action against the defendant for the same act or omission subject of the civil action..

[Audio] Rule 112 (Preliminary Investigation ) Sec 1. Preliminary investigation defined; When required – Preliminary investigation is an inquiry or proceeding to determine whether there is sufficient ground to engender a well founded belief that a crime has been committed and the respondent is probably guilty thereof, and should be held for trial. Except as provided in Section 7 of this Rule, a preliminary investigation is required to be conducted before the filing of a complaint or information for an offense where the penalty prescribed by law is at least four (4) years, two (2) months and one (1) day without regard to the fine..

[Audio] Sec 2. Officers authorized to conduct preliminary investigation – The following may conduct preliminary investigations: (a) Provincial or City Prosecutors and their assistants; (b) National and Regional State Prosecutors; and (c) Other officers as may be authorized by law. Their authority to conduct preliminary investigations shall include all crimes cognizable by the proper court in their respective territorial jurisdictions. (As amended by A M No. 05-8-26-SC, effective October 3, 2005.).

[Audio] Sec 3. Procedure – The preliminary investigation shall be conducted in the following manner: (a) The complaint shall state the address of the respondent and shall be accompanied by the affidavits of the complainant and his witnesses, as well as other supporting documents to establish probable cause. They shall be in such number of copies as there are respondents, plus two (2) copies for the official file..

[Audio] The affidavits shall be subscribed and sworn to before any prosecutor or government official authorized to administer oath, or, in their absence or unavailability, before a notary public, each of whom must certify that he personally examined affiants and that he is satisfied that they voluntarily executed and understood their affidavits. (b) Within ten (10) days after the filing of the complaint, the investigating officer shall either dismiss it if he finds no ground to continue with the investigation, or issue a subpoena to the respondent attaching to it a copy of the complaint and its supporting affidavits and documents..

[Audio] The respondent shall have the right to examine the evidence submitted by the complainant which he may not have been furnished and to copy them at his expense. If the evidence is voluminous, the complainant may be required to specify those which he intends to present against the respondent, and these shall be made available for examination or copying by the respondent at his expense. Object evidence need not be furnished a party but shall be made available for examination, copying or photographing at the expense of the requesting party..

[Audio] (c) Within ten (10) days from receipt of the subpoena with the complaint and supporting affidavits and documents, the respondent shall submit his counter affidavit and that of his witnesses and other supporting documents relied upon for his defense. The counter affidavits shall be subscribed and sworn to and certified as provided in para (a) of this section, with copies thereof furnished by him to the complainant. The respondent shall not be allowed to file a motion to dismiss in lieu of a counter affidavit..

[Audio] (d) If the respondent cannot be subpoenaed, or if subpoenaed, does not submit counter affidavit within the ten (10) day period, the investigating officer shall resolve the complaint based on the evidence presented by the complainant. (e) The investigating officer may set a hearing if there are facts and issues to be clarified from a party or a witness. The parties can be present at the hearing but without the right to examine or cross examine. They may however, submit to the investigating officer questions which may be asked to the party or witness concerned..

[Audio] The hearing shall be held within ten (10) days from submission of the counter affidavits and other documents or from the expiration of the period for their submission. It shall be terminated within five (5) days. (f) Within ten (10) days after the investigation, the investigating officer shall determine whether or not there is sufficient ground to hold the respondent on trial..