Article 52p. 52

SPECIAL RULES OF PROCEDURE SUPPLEMENT TO THE RULES OF COURT

has been committed and that the arrested Or detained

person is probably guilty thereof.

SEC. 13. Presence of probable cause .- If the Inquest

Officer finds that probable

cause

exists,

he

shall

forthwith

prepare

the

corresponding

complaint/information with the recommendation that

the same be filed in court. The complaint/information

shall indicate the offense committed and the amount

of bail recommended, if bailable.

Thereafter, the record of the case, together with the

prepared complaint/information, shall be forwarded to

the City or Provincial Prosecutor for appropriate action.

The complaint/information may be filed by the Inquest

Officer himself or by any other Assistant Prosecutor to

whom

the

case may be assigned by the City or

Provincial Prosecutor.

SEC. 14. Contents of Information .- The information shall,

among others, contain:

a)

a certification by the filing Prosecutor that he is

filing

the

same

in

accordance

with

the

provisions

of

Section

7, Rule 112, Rules on

Criminal Procedure, in cases cognizable by the

Regional Trial Court;

31

b)

the full name and aliases, if any, and address of

the accused;

c)

the

place

where

the

accused

is

actually

detained;

d)

the

full

names

and

addresses

of

the

complainant and witnesses;

e)

a detailed description of the recovered items, if

any;

f)

the full name and address of the evidence

custodian;

g)

the age and date of birth of the complainant or

the accused, if eighteen (18) years of age or

below; and

h)

the full names and addresses of the parents,

custodians

or

guardians

of

the

minor

complainant or accused, as the case may be.

SEC. 15. Absence of probable cause .- If the Inquest

Officer finds no probable cause, he shall:

a)

recommend

the release of the arrested or

detained person;

32

b)

note

down

his

disposition

on

the

referral

document;

c)

prepare a brief memorandum indicating the

reasons for the action taken; and

d)

forthwith forward the record of the case to the

City or Provincial Prosecutor for appropriate

action.

If the recommendation of the Inquest Officer for the

release of the arrested or detained person is approved,

the order of release shall be served on the officer

having custody of the said detainee.

Should the City or Provincial Prosecutor disapprove the

recommendation of release, the arrested or detained

person

shall

remain

under

custody,

and

the

corresponding complaint/information shall be filed by

the City or Provincial Prosecutor or by any Assistant

Prosecutor to whom the case may be assigned.

SEC. 16. Presence at crime scene . - Whenever a dead

body is found and there is reason to believe that the

death resulted from foul play, or from the unlawful acts

or omissions of other persons and such fact has been

brought to his attention, the Inquest Officer shall:

a)

forthwith proceed to the crime scene or place

31 NPS Form No.2.

32NPS Form No.4.

of discovery of the dead person;

b)

cause an immediate autopsy to be conducted

by the appropriate medico-legal officer in the

locality or the PNP medico-legal division or the

NBI medico-legal office, as the case may be;

c)

direct

the

police

investigator to cause the

taking of photographs of the crime scene or

place of discovery of the dead body;

d)

supervise the investigation to be conducted by

the police authorities as well as the recovery of

all articles and pieces of evidence found thereat

and see to it that the same are safeguarded

and the chain of the custody thereof properly

recorded; and

e)

submit a written report of his finding to the City

or Provincial Prosecutor for appropriate action.

SEC. 17. Sandiganbayan cases .- Should any complaint

cognizable by the Sandiganbayan be referred to an

Inquest Officer for investigation, the latter shall, after

conducting

the

corresponding

inquest proceeding,

forthwith forward the complete record to the City or

Provincial Prosecutor for appropriate action.

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 said articles must be properly deposited with the

police evidence custodian and not with the police

investigator.

The

Inquest

Officer

shall

ensure

that

the

items

recovered

are

duly

safeguarded and the chain of

custody is properly recorded.

SEC. 19. Release of recovered articles .- The Inquest

Officer shall, with the prior approval of the City or

Provincial

Prosecutor

or

his

duly

authorized

representative, order the release

of recovered articles

33

to their lawful owner or possessor, subject to the

conditions that:

a)

there is a written request for their release;

34

b)

the

person

requesting

the

release

of

said

articles is shown to be the lawful owner or

possessor thereof;

c)

the requesting party undertakes under oath to

produce said articles before the court when so

required;

d)

the requesting party, if he is a material witness

to the case, affirms or reaffirms his statement

concerning the case and undertakes under

oath to appear and testify before the court

when so required;

e)

the said articles are not the instruments, or

tools in the commission of the offense charged

nor the proceeds thereof; and

f)

photographs of said articles are first taken and

duly

certified

to

by

the

police

evidence

custodian

as

accurately

representing

the

evidence in his custody.

PART IIIڈ PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION

SECTION 1. Concept of preliminary investigation

- A

preliminary investigation is an inquiry or proceeding to

determine

whether

there

is

sufficient

ground

to

engender a well founded belief that a crime cognizable

by the Regional Trial Court has been committed and

that the respondent is probably guilty thereof and

33 See NPS Form No.5.

34 See NPS Form No.6.

© Compiled By RGL

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