Article 49p. 49

SPECIAL RULES OF PROCEDURE SUPPLEMENT TO THE RULES OF COURT

whenever possible, -

a)

the designation given to the offense by the statute;

b)

the statement of the act or omission constituting

the same, and if there is no such designation,

reference

shall

be

made

to

the

section

or

subsection of the law punishing it.

6

SEC. 11. Cause of accusation . - The act or omission

complained of as constituting the offense shall be

stated in an ordinary and concise language without

repetition. The statement need not use the terms of the

statute defining the offense so long as a person of

common understanding is able to know what offense

was intended to be charged and to enable the court to

pronounce proper judgment.

7

SEC. 12. Place of the commission of offense. - The

complaint or information is sufficient if it states that the

crime

charged

was

committed

or

some

of

the

ingredients thereof occurred at some place within the

jurisdiction of the court, unless the particular place in

which the crime was committed is an essential element

of the crime e.g. in a prosecution for violation of the

provision of the Election Code which punishes the

carrying of a deadly weapon in a polling place, or if it is

necessary to identify the offense charged e.g., the

domicile in the offense of "violation of domicile."

8

SEC. 13. Time of commission of offense. - The precise

time of the commission of the offense shall be stated in

the complaint or information if time is a material

ingredient

of

the

offense

e.g.

,treason, infanticide.

Otherwise, it is sufficient that it be alleged that the

offense was committed at any time as near to the

actual date at which the offense was committed.

9

SEC. 14. Title of complaint or information . - The title of

the complaint or information shall be in the name of

the "People of the Philippines" as Plaintiff against all

persons who appear to be responsible for the offense

involved.

10

SEC. 15. Contents of caption of an information. - The

caption of an information shall, in addition to the name

of the Plaintiff, indicate the following:

a)

the complete names i.e., given name, maternal

name, surname, and addresses, of all the accused.

In the case of accused minors, their age shall be

indicated in the caption;

b)

the case number; and

c)

the offense charged. The denomination of the

offense and the specific law and provision violated

shall be specified.

SEC. 16. List of prosecution witnesses. - The information

shall contain the complete names and addresses of all

identified witnesses for the prosecution. In cases for

violation of B. P. Blg. 22 and estafa cases, the list of

witnesses shall include the complainant, the bank

representative with specific reference to the check and

account numbers involved and in the proper cases, the

company auditor; and in physical injuries cases, the

attending

physician

with specific reference to the

medical report and date of the incident.

SEC. 17. Number of offenses charged. - A complaint or

information shall charge only one offense so as not to

confuse the accused in his defense, except in those

cases

in

which

existing

laws

prescribe

a

single

punishment for various offenses, e.g., complex crimes

under Article 48 of the Revised Penal Code.

11

6 Sec. 8, ibid.

7 Sec. 9, ibid.

8 Sec. 10, ibid.

9 9.Sec. 11, ibid. Sec. 2, ibid.

10 Sec. 2, ibid.

11 Sec. 13, ibid; " Penalty for complex crimes. - When a single act

constitutes two or more grave or less grave felonies, or when an

offense is a necessary means for committing the other, the penalty

SEC. 18. Amendment of information or complaint. - An

information or complaint may be amended before the

accused pleads, after the accused has pleaded, and

during the trial.

Before

plea,

amendment

of

the

information

or

complaint, in substance or form, is a matter of right.

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.

At any time before judgment, if there has been a

mistake in charging the proper offense, the court shall

dismiss the original complaint or information upon the

filing of a new one charging the proper offense in

accordance with Rule 119, Section 11,

provided the

12

accused

would

not

be

placed

thereby

in

double

jeopardy. The court may also require the witnesses to

give bail for their appearance at the trial.

13

SEC. 19. Mistake in form and substance. - A mistake in

form refers to clerical errors, matters which are not

essential to the charge, and those which will not

mislead or prejudice the accused as when a defense

under the original information can be used after the

amendment

is

made

and

any

evidence

that the

accused may have would be equally applicable to the

one form as in the other.

A

mistake

in

substance

is

any

omission

or

misstatement which prevents an information from

showing

on

its

face

that

an

offense

has

been

committed, or from showing what offense is intended

to be charged.

14

SEC. 20. How Period of Prescription Computed and

Interrupted. -

For an offense penalized under the

Revised

Penal

Code,

the

period

of

prescription

commences to run from the day on which the crime is

discovered by the offended party, the authorities, or

their agents, and shall be interrupted:

a)

by the filing of the complaint with the Office of the

City/Provincial Prosecutor;

or wit the Office of the

15

Ombudsman; or

16

b)

by the filing of the complaint or information with

the court even if it is merely for purposes of

preliminary examination or investigation, or even if

the court where the complaint or information is

filed cannot try the case on its merits.

17

However, for an offense covered by the Rules on

Summary

Procedure,

the

period

of prescription is

interrupted only by the filing of the complaint or

information in court.

18

The

prescription

of

an

offense

filed

before

the

Prosecutor or Ombudsman shall commence to run

again when such proceedings terminate; while the

prescription of an offense filed in court starts to run

again when the proceedings terminate without the

accused

being

convicted

or

acquitted

or

are

for the most serious crime shall be imposed, the same to be applied

in its maximum period". (An. 48, Revised Penal Code).

12 "when mistake has teen made in charging the proper offense. -

When it becomes manifest at any time before judgment, that a

mistake has been made in charging the proper offense, and the

accused cannot be convicted of the offense charged, or of any

offense necessarily included therein, the accused shall not be

discharged, if there appears to be good cause to detain him. In such

case, the court shall commit the accused to answer for the proper

offense and dismiss the original case upon the filing of the proper

information."

13 Sec. 14, Rule 110, ibid.

14 42 C.J.S.,Sec. 240 at pp.1249-1250.

15 Sec. 1, par. 2, Rule 110, Rules on Criminal Procedure.

16 Llenes vs. Dicdican, 260 SCRA 207 (1996).

17 Ibid.

18 Ibid.

© Compiled By RGL

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