Part I MCQs

Part II
1. The crime occurred on July 12; Complaint filed on September 16; Issue: prescription of the
crime; whether or not the complaint should be dismissed.
a.
A:
Under Art. 91 of the RPC, the period of prescription shall commence to run from the day on which the crime is
discovered by the offended party, the authorities, or their agents, and shall be interrupted by the filing of the complaint
or information, and shall commence to run again when such proceedings terminate without the accused being convicted
or acquitted, or are unjustifiably stopped for any reason not imputable
to him.

b.
2. Issue: Designation in the Information vs. Allegations in the complaint; which should prevail;
crime in the Information is Murder while, its allegations describes the crime of Homicide.
A: The accused may validly be charged with the crime of Homicide.
Allegations prevail over designation of the offense in the Information. It is not the
designation of the offense in the complaint or Information that is controlling. The facts
alleged therein and not its title determines the nature of the crime.
3. Issue: Whether the change of material dates in the complaint/Information a substantial
amendment.
A: As a rule, the complaint/information does not have to state with particularity the date of
the commission of the offense. Exceptions to this rule are the following:
1. If the date of the commission of the offense constitutes an essential element of the
offense (e.g. infanticide, abortion, bigamy);
2. When the date are essential to the defense of alibi.
(Note: I do not know the whole facts of this case. So I cannot answer with certainty
whether the change of the dates in this case can be considered as a substantial
amendment. Char! Ha!)
4. Case on duplicity of offense in an Information or complaint; effect; remedy; Accused failed to
move for its quashal
A:
The accuseds failure to move for the quashal of the Information before arraignment is
considered as a waiver of the objection and he may be found be guilty of as many
offenses as those charged and proved during the trial.
(Discussion: Duplicity of offense in an information or complaint means the joinder of
two or more separate and distinct or different offenses in one and the same information or
complaint. As a rule, a complaint or information must charge only one offense. Except

when it/they are: a. Complex crimes; special complex crimes, continuous crimes, crimes
susceptible of being committed in various modes, crimes of which another offenses is an
ingredient)
5. Case on bigamy; declaration of nullity of marriage; issue: whether there is a prejudicial question
A: no.
The subsequent filing of a civil action for declaration of nullity of a previous
marriage does not constitute a prejudicial question to a criminal case for bigamy. The
Family Code requires a prior judicial declaration of nullity of a previous marriage before
a party may remarry and that it is not for the parties, particularly the accused, to
determine the validity or invalidity of the marriage. Moreover, the provision on bigamy
penalizes the mere act of contracting a second or subsequent marriage during the
subsistence of a valid marriage.
6.

Case; dismissal of a criminal case on the ground of failure to prosecute; May the private
complainant question the decision of the court through a petition for certiorari?
A:
In dismissing criminal cases based on the right of the accused to speedy trial, courts
should carefully weigh the circumstances attending each case. They should balance the
right of the accused and the right of the State to punish people who violate its penal laws.
Both the State and the accused are entitled to due process.
Courts should do more than a mathematical computation of the number of postponements
of the scheduled hearings of the case. What offend the right of the accused to speedy trial
are unjustified postponements which prolong trial for an unreasonable length of time.
Petition for certiorari is a proper action to determine whether private respondents right to
speedy trial has been violated by the State.
Discussions:
Dismissal of a criminal case on the ground of failure to prosecute is a dismissal due to
fault of the plaintiff. It is when the plaintiff fails to prosecute his action for an
unreasonable length of time.
(Supreme Court has held that dismissal of cases on the ground of failure to prosecute is
equivalent to an acquittal that would bar further prosecution of the accused for the same
offense. It must be stressed, however, that these dismissals were predicated on the clear
right of the accused to speedy trial.
However, plaintiffs failure to appear at the trial after he has presented his evidence and
rested his case does not warrant the dismissal of the case on the ground of failure to
prosecute. It is merely a waiver of his right to cross-examine and to object to the
admissibility of evidence.)
c. Dismissal of the criminal case is final, accused acquitted of the crime charged;
A: As the dismissal of the case is with prejudice, the plaintiff may appeal the dismissal of
the criminal case.

7. Case involving a fiance; define immediate family; whether a fiance is considered an immediate
family under the RPC.
A: Immediate family, under the law, is composed of the spouse, children and parents of
the aggrieved party. Thus, a fiance is not considered a member of the immediate family
of the person involved in this case. He/she is considered as a stranger to the party under
the law, until he/she becomes the latters spouse (blabs lang )
8. a. Case on bail; Assume that you are the counsel of the accused; what will be your actions?
A:
- attend bail hearing/proceedings
- determine whether bail is a matter of right or a matter of discretion
- file bail application(?) or petition for bail if bail is discretionary
b. As the judge, what are your duties if an application for bail is filed?
A:
1. Notify the prosecutor of the hearing of the application for bail or require him to
submit his recommendation;
2. Conduct a hearing of the application for bail regardless of whether or not the
prosecution refuses to present evidence to show that the guilt of the accused is strong
for the purpose of enabling the court to exercise its sound discretion;
3. Decide whether the evidence of guilt the accused is strong based on the summary of
evidence of the prosecution;
4. If the guilt of the accused is not strong, discharge the accused upon the approval of
the bailbond. Otherwise, petition should be denied.
c. Bail application is denied; as the counsel of the accused, what should be remedy?
A: If the petition to be admitted to bail is denied by the trial court, then the
review jurisdiction of the Supreme Court can be invoked, but not without first applying to the
Court of Appeals if appropriate relief is also available therein. People v. Magallanes, 249 SCRA
212, 229 [1995]
(Discussion: Indeed, while the SC has concurrent jurisdiction with the Court of Appeals to issue
the writ of certiorari, such concurrence does not give petitioner unrestricted freedom of choice of
a forum on the matter of denial of bail.)
9. a.

Acquittal of the accused; effect on civil liability

A: In case the judgment is of acquittal, the judgment shall state whether the evidence of
the prosecution absolutely failed to prove the guilt of the accused or merely failed to
prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. In either case, the judgment shall determine if
the act or omission from which the civil liability might arise did not exist. (Sec. 2, Rule
120)
b. The following are the situations when acquittal does not extinguish the civil liabilities
of the accused:

1. Acquittal based on demurrer to evidence;

2. acquittal based on violation of the accused right to speedy trial.
Gen. Rule: The civil action for the recovery of civil liability arising from the offense
charged shall be deemed instituted with the criminal action.
Exception The civil action for the recovery of civil liability arising from the offense
charged shall be deemed not instituted with the criminal action when the offended party:
1. waives the civil action,
2. reserves the right to institute it separately, or
3. institutes the civil action prior to the criminal action.
10. a. What is preliminary investigation?
Preliminary investigation is an inquiry or proceeding to determine whether there is
sufficient ground to engender a well-founded belief that:
1.
a crime has been committed, and
2.
the respondent is probably guilty thereof, and should be held for trial.
b. What is the nature of the right to preliminary investigation?
The right to have a preliminary investigation conducted before being bound over to trial
for a criminal offense and hence formally at risk of incarceration or some other penalty, is not a
mere formal or technical right; it is a substantive right. To deny the accuseds claim to a
preliminary investigation would be to deprive him of the full measure of his right to due process.
(People vs. Carlos, 78 Phil. 535)
c. What is the basic purpose of preliminary investigation?
The purpose of a preliminary investigation is to secure the innocent against hasty,
malicious and oppressive prosecution, and to protect him from an open and public accusation of a
crime, from the trouble, expense and anxiety of a public trial, and also to protect the state from
useless and expensive trials. A preliminary investigation serves not only the purposes of the State.
More important, it is a part of the guarantees of freedom and fair play which are birthrights of all
who live in our country. It is therefore, imperative upon the fiscal or the judge as the case may be,
to relieve the accused from the pain of going through a trial once it is ascertained that the
evidence is insufficient to sustain a prima facie case or that no probable cause exists to form a
sufficient belief as to the guilt of the accused. The judge or fiscal, therefore, should not go on with
the prosecution in the hope that some credible evidence might later turn up during trial for this
would be in flagrant violation of a basic right which the courts are created to uphold. (Salonga vs.
Cruz-Pano)
d. Is preliminary investigation a judicial proceeding? No. The determination of probable cause
during a preliminary investigation is a function that belongs to the public prosecutor. It is an
executive function, the correctness of the exercise of which is matter that the trial court itself does
not and may not be compelled to pass upon.

11. Case; assume you are the apprehending officer

a. What are the duties of an apprehending officer?
The apprehending or investigating police officer must inform the person
of his or her right to remain silent, that anything he or she says can be
used against him or her, and he or she has a right to counsel before
questioning.
b. How will you protect the rights of the accused?
Ensure that the accused is informed with his or rights under the law.
12. a. Estafa case; Violation of accuseds right to speedy trial; case was sent to the archives through
the motion of Jennifer, one of the accused; case dismissed; was there a violation of speedy trial on
the part of Mary, the other accused?
Yes.
b. May the other accused, Mary, revive the case?
c. Dismissal of the case is reversed by the appellate court; may the case be revived?
d. In case it will be revived, will double jeopardy lie?
(discussion: if the dismissal is with prejudice, the case cannot be revived anymore. But if
the dismissal is without prejudice, the revival of the case is proper.)
13. Case on improvident plea; may the accused withdraw his plea?
Yes. The court may permit an improvident plea of guilty to be withdrawn at any time
before the judgment of conviction becomes final and be substituted by a plea of not
guilty.
(An improvident plea is a plea without information as to all the circumstances affecting
it. It is based upon a mistaken assumption or misleading information or advice.)
14. Case on bail cancellation; accused convicted of a crime punishable by death, reclusion perpetua
or life imprisonment
A: The bail bond shall be cancelled. The accused shall be placed in confinement pending
resolution of his appeal.
b. As the judge, how will you act on the case?
- order the cancellation of the bail bond and for accused resolution pending
resolution of his appeal
15. a. issue on reinvestigation of the case; case already filed in court; may accused file for
reinvestigation before the trial court?
Yes.
The institution of a criminal action depends upon the sound discretion of the prosecutor. But
once the case is already filed in court, the same can no longer be withdrawn or dismissed
without the tribunals approval. Should the prosecutor find it proper to conduct a
reinvestigation of the case at such stage, the permission of the court must be secured.

(After a complaint or information has already been filed in court, a motion for reinvestigation
should be addressed to the trial judge and to him alone.)
b. Whether or not granting the motion for reinvestigation filed by the accused is proper?
(Motion for reinvestigation- alleges defects or irregularities in the preliminary investigation,
requests that the findings be invalidated and that another investigation be conducted to determine
if there is probable cause.)
16. Case on Motion to dismiss; whether or not the ground for the motion to dismiss or quash is
proper.
(remember the grounds for the motion to dismiss)
17. Matters to be considered during pre-trial; Case
(I cannot understand this item )
(discussions:
Pre-trial is mandatory in all criminal cases cognizable by the Sandiganbayan, RTC, MTCs and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts.
When should it be conducted?
After arraignment and within 30 days from the date the court acquires jurisdiction over the person of the accused.
What happens during pre-trial?
The following things are considered:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

plea bargaining
stipulation of facts
marking for identification of evidence of the parties
waiver of objections to admissibility of evidence
modification of the order of trial if the accused admits the charge but interposes a lawful defense
other matters that will promote a fair and expeditious trial of the criminal and civil aspects of the case

What is the form required for the pre-trial agreement?

Any agreement or admission entered into during the pre-trial conference should be:
1.
2.
3.

in writing
signed by the accused
signed by counsel

Otherwise, it cannot be used against the accused.

What is a pre-trial order?
It is an order issued by the court after the pre-trial conference containing:
1.
2.
3.

a recital of the actions taken,

the facts stipulated, and
the evidence marked.

The pre-trial order binds the parties, limits the trial to matters not disposed of, and controls the course of the action during the trial, unless
modified by the court to prevent manifest injustice.)

18. (no answer)

19. Whether a party can challenge a denial of a motion dismiss through the filing of a petition for
certiorari.
The defendant may file a petition for certiorari or prohibition on the grounds of grave abuse of
discretion, or the courts lack or excess of jurisdiction.
( If the court denies the motion to dismiss, the defendant can proceed to file an answer within the
balance of the fifteen (15) day period to which he was entitled at the time of the serving of his motion but
not less than five (5) days in any event, computed from his receipt of the notice of denial. )

20. What are the requisites to discharge the accused as a state witness?
The following are the requisites before an accused may become a State witness:
1. there is absolute necessity for the testimony of the accused whose discharge is requested;
2. there is no other direct evidence available for the proper prosecution of the offense committed,
except the testimony of the said accused;
3. the testimony of said accused can be substantially corroborated in its material points;
4. said accused does not appear to be the most guilty; and
5. said accused has not at any time been convicted of any offense involving moral turpitude.