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MANUAL
FOR
PROSECUTORS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAG
E
FOREWORD
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
PART I. PROSECUTION OF OFFENSES
Sec. 1. Criminal Action 1
Sec. 2. How and Where Commenced 1
Sec. 3. Complaint 1
Sec. 4. Offended Party, Defined 1
Sec. 5. Information 1
Sec. 6. Sufficiency of complaint or information. 2
Sec. 7. Other Essential Matters to be alleged in
Complaint or Information 2
Sec. 8. Additional Contents of a Complaint 2
Sec. 9. Name of Accused 2
Sec. 10. Designation of Offense 2
Sec.11. Cause of Accusation 3
Sec. 12. Place of the Commission of Offense 3
Sec. 13. Time of Commission of Offense 3
Sec. 14. Title of Complaint or Information ..3
Sec. 15. Contents of Caption of an Information 3
Sec. 16. List of Prosecution Witnesses ..3
Sec. 17. Number of Offenses Charged 4
Sec. 18. Amendment of Information or Complaint . 4
Sec. 19. Mistake in Form and Substance 4
Sec. 20. How Period of Prescription Computed
and Interrupted 4
29
Sec. 53. Information/Complaint 29
29
Sec. 54. Documents to be Attached to Informationi
Complaint 30
30
Sec. 55. Promulgation of Resolution 30
30
Sec. 56. Motion for Reconsideration 30
30
Sec. 57. Inhibition 30
30
Sec. 58. Period to Resolve Cases Under Preliminary
Investigation 31
31
PART V. BAIL
Sec. 1. Bail Defined 38
Sec. 2. Nature of Right to Bail 38
Sec. 3. Non-Bailable Offense 38
Sec. 4. Criteria in Recommending Amount of Bail 38
Sec. 5. Burden of Proof in Bail Application 38
Sec. 6. Recognizance 39
Sec. 7. Bail, When not Required; Reduced Bail or Recognizance 39
Sec. 8. Notice of Application for Bail to Prosecutor 39
Sec. 9. Cancellation of Bail Bond 39
Sec. 10.Arrest of Accused Out on Bail 39
Sec. 11.No Bail After Final Judgment, Exception 39
Sec. 12.Rules in Computing the Bail to be Recommended 40
Sec. 13.Petition for Bail in a Continuous Trial 41
APPENDICES
denciary documents) 71
FOREWORD
TEOFISTO 1 GUINGONA, JR
Secretary
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
RAMON J. LIWAG
Undersecretary
Chairman, Committee created under
Department Order No.153, series of 1996
NOTE
After plea and during trial, amendment may be made only with
leave of court and only as to matters of form wherein the same can be
done without prejudice to the rights of the accused.
22
Prescription shall not run when the offender is absent from the
country.
a) if he is confined in a hospital;
b) if he is detained in a place under maximum security;
c) if production of the detained person will involve security
risks; or
d) if the presence of the detained person is not feasible by
reason of age, health, sex and other similar factors.
SEC. 8. Initial duty of Inquest Officer. - The Inquest Officer shall first
determine if the arrest of the detained person was made in accordance
with paragraphs
(a) and (b) of Section 5, Rule 113 of the 1985 Rules on Criminal
Procedure, as amended, which provide that arrests without a warrant may
be effected:
For this purpose, the Inquest Officer may summarily examine the
arresting officers on the circumstances surrounding the arrest or
apprehension of the detained person.
proper.- Where the detained person does not opt for a or otherwise
refuses to execute the required waiver, the proceed with the inquest by
examining the sworn the complainant and the witnesses and other
supporting
SEC. 18. Recovered articles.- The Inquest Officer shall see to it that
all articles recovered by the police at the time of the arrest or
apprehension of the detained person are physically inventoried, checked
and accounted for with the issuance of corresponding receipts by the
police officer/investigator concerned.
The Inquest Officer shall ensure that the items recovered are duly
safeguarded and the chain of custody is properly recorded.
a) the full and complete names and exact home, office or postal
addresses of the complainant and his witnesses;
b) The full and complete name and exact home, office or postal
address of the respondent;
c) The offense charged and the place and exact date and time
of its commission; and
d) Whether or not there exists a related case and, if so, the
docket number of said case and the name of the
Investigating Prosecutor thereof.
SEC. 13. Initial/ action on the Complaint.- Within ten (10) days after the
filing of the complaint, the Investigating Prosecutor shall either dismiss the same
if he finds no ground to continue with the inquiry, or issue a subpoena to the
respondent, attaching thereto a copy of the complaint together with the affidavits
of witnesses and other supporting documents.
9
At the said or any other setting, the respondent shall have the right
to examine all other evidence submitted by the complainant.
indicate the:
SEC. 39. Case number. - The number of a case shall indicate the
year and month; it was filed and its entry number in the log book of the
office, e.g. 97 (year)-A(month)-024(entry number).
SEC. 47. Records of the case. - The investigating fiscal shall forward
his resolution, together with the complete records of the case, to the
Provincial or City Prosecutor or Chief State Prosecutor concerned within
five (5) days from the date of his resolution.
a) the full name and aliases, if any, and address of the accused;
b) the age and date of birth of the complainant or the accused, if
eighteen (18) years of age or below;
c) the full names and addresses of the parents, custodian or
guardian of the minor complainant or accused, as the case
may be;
d) the place where the accused is actually detained;
e) the full names and addresses of the complainant and
witnesses;
f) a detailed description of the recovered items, if any;
g) the full name and address of the evidence custodian; and
h) the bail recommended, if the charge is bailable.
a) personal service;
b) registered mail with return card to the complainant, and by
ordinary mail to the respondent, if the resolution is for the
dismissal of the complaint; or
c) registered mail with return card to the respondent, and by
ordinary mail to the complainant, if the resolution is for the
indictment of the respondent.
In all instances, the total period (from the date of assignment to the
time of actual resolution) that may be consumed in the conduct of the
formal preliminary investigation shall not exceed the periods prescribed
herein.
The petitioner shall append to his petition copies of the material and
pertinent affidavits/sworn statements (including their translations, if any,
duly certified by the city/provincial prosecutor) and evidence submitted in
the preliminary investigation by both parties and the questioned
resolution.
SEC. 10. Effect of filing of petition. - A petition for review, motion for
reconsideration/reinvestigation from a resolution finding probable cause
shall not hold the filing of the information in court.
PART V. BAIL
9
SECTION 1. Bail defined. - Bail is the security given for the release of
a person in custody of the law, furnished by him or a bondsman,
conditioned upon his appearance before any court as required under the
conditions hereinafter specified. Bail may be given in the form of corporate
surety, property bond, cash deposit, or recognizance.
follows:
9
SEC. 13. Petition for bail in a continuous trial. - In case a petition for
bail is filed by the accused and the court orders a continuous trial of the
case, the public prosecutor shall be prepared with his principal witnesses.
Where there are several accused and one or two filed a petition to bail, the
trial prosecutor shall, before the presentation of his first witness, manifest
in open court that the evidence to be presented in the hearing of the
petition for bail shall be adopted as its evidence-in-chief.
PART VI. ARREST
The prosecutor shall enter into a pre-trial only when the accused
and counsel agree and upon order of the court.
During the pre-trial process, the prosecutor shall bear in mind that
he has to prove his case beyond a reasonable doubt and that every act or
incident should be proved by the testimony of qualified and competent
witnesses.
After the pre-trial conference, the prosecutor shall ensure that any
agreement or admission made or entered therein is in writing and signed
by the accused and his counsel.
SEC. 13. Order of trial.- Upon receipt of the notice of trial, the
prosecutor shall review the record of the case for trial and complete his
preparation therefore bearing in mind that trial, once commenced, may
continue from day to day until terminated, and that trial shall proceed in
the following order pursuant to Sec. 3, Rule 119 of the Rules of Criminal
Procedure: