NOTES IN CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

Part 3
PUP COLLEGE OF LAW
2ND SEM SY 2019-2020
Prof: Pros. Ma. Julpha P. Maningas

RULE 116- ARRAIGNMENT AND PLEA

Sec. 1, R 116 -Arraignment and Plea; how made.

1. The accused must be arraigned before the court where the complaint or information has
been filed or assigned for trial..
2. The accused must be present at the arraignment and must personally enter his plea. Both
arraignment and plea shall be made of record, but a failure to do so shall not affect the
validity of the proceedings.
3. When the accused refuses to plead, or makes a conditional plea of guilty, a plea of not
guilty shall be entered for him.
4. When the accused pleads guilty but presents exculpatory evidence, his plea shall be
deemed withdrawn and a plea of not guilty shall be entred for him
5. When the accused is under preventive detention, his case shall be raffled and its records
transmitted to the judge to whom the case was raffled within 3 days from the filing of the
information or complaint. The accused shall be arraigned within 10 days from the date of
the raffle. The pre-trial conference of his case shall be held within 10 days after
arraignment.
6. The private offended party shall be required to appear at the arraignment for purposes of
plead bargaining, determination of civil liability and other matters requiring his presence.
In case of failure of the offended to appear despite due notice, the court may allow the
accused to enter a plea of guilty to a lesser offense which is necessarily included in the
offense charged with the conformity of the trial prosecutor alone (Circular 1-89)
7. Unless a shorter period is provided by special law or Supreme Court Circular, the
arraignment shall be held within 30 days from date the court acquires jurisdiction over
the person of the accused. The time of the pendency of a motion to quash or for a bill of
particulars or other causes justifying suspension of the arraignment shall be excluded in
computing the period.

Note 1 – Issues which accused may raise before plea-

1. Has the accused been legally arrested with or without warrant? If he has been illegally
arrested or the arrest warrant has been illegally issued, he should move to quash or to
recall the warrant for entering a plea without questioning the legality of the arrest will
amount to a waiver thereof.
2. Was the accused accorded the right to a preliminary investigation? If there has been no PI
or if there is an incomplete one, counsel for the accused should, if he so desires, ask the
court that the accused be accorded a preliminary investigation, or a re-investigation in
case he has not been accorded the opportunity to file a motion for reconsideration of the
resolution of the prosecutor finding probable cause or if there is new evidence to warrant
a re-investigation.
3. Is the complaint or information vaguely worded, such that there is need for a bill of
particulars to enable him to properly plead and to prepare for trial?
4. Is the complaint or information quashable on any or some of the grounds for motion to
quash pursuant to Rule117?

Sec. 2 R116 – PLEA OF GUILTY TO LESSER OFFENSE

Note 2 – Plea bargaining in criminal case is the process whereby the accused, the offended party
and prosecution work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case subject to court
approval.
The plea bargaining may also include amending the information by alleging more
mitigating circumstances in the information and allowing the accused to plead guilty thereto, as
this will lighten the penalty, depending on the number of mitigating circumstances.

Note 3 – Plea of guilty to lesser offense after prosecution has presented evidence - After the
prosecution has rested its case, a change of plea to a lesser offense may be granted but the judge,
with the approval of the prosecutor and the offended party and only when the prosecution does
not have sufficient evidence to establish the guilt of the crime charged. The judge cannot on its
own grant the change of plea (People vs. Villarama 210 SCRA 246).

Note 4 – The trial court, in the exercise of its discretion, may allow the accused to withdraw his
plea of guilty to not guilty. Similarly, before judgment of conviction upon a plea of guilty
becomes final, the trial court may still allow the accused to withdraw his plea of guilty and to
enter a non-guilty plea.

Sec. 3, R 116 – plea of guilty to capital offense; reception of evidence required.

Note 5 – When the accused pleads guilty to a capital offense, the above provision upomoses on
the judge the following duties: a) to conduct a searching inquiry into the voluntariness and fll
comprehension of the conseuqeunces of the accused’s plea; b) to require the prosecution. To
prove the guilt of the accused and the precise degree of his cupability; c) to inquire whether or
not the accused wishes to present evidence on his behalf and allow him to do so if he so desires.

Sec. 4, R 116- Plea of guilty to non-capital offense

When the accused pleads guilty to anon-capital offense, the court may receive evidence from the
parties to determine the penalty to be imposed.

Note 6 – The general rule is that a plea of guilty does not merely join the issues of the complaint
or information, but amounts to an admission of guilty and of the material facts alleged in the
complaint or information and in this sense takes the place of the trial itself.
Exception – Where the accused pleaded guilty to an information which did not allege all
the elements of the crime charged, a plea of guilty to such information does not warrant the
conviction of the accused. Also, where the accused enters a plea of guilty to an information
which charges a capital offense, in which case Sec. 3, R 116 requires that the court shall conduct
searching inquiry into the voluntariness and full comprehension of his plea and shall require the
prosecution to prove his guilty and the precise degree of culpability.

Note 7 – Effect of plea of guilty to information that charges no offense – it will not warrant
conviction of the accused.

Sec.5, R 116 – WITHDRAWAL OF GUILTY TO NOT GUILTY

Sec. 5 allows the trial court to permit the accused to withdraw or change his plea of guilty
to not guilty at any time before the judgment of conviction becomes final. The effect of change
is the setting aside of the judgment of conviction and the re-opening of the case for new trial.

Sec. 9, R 116 – BILL OF PARTICULARS

Accused may, before arraignment, move for bill of particulars to enable him to properly
plead and prepare for trial. The motion shall specify the alleged defects of the complaint or
information and the details desired.

Note 8 – The purpose of bill of particulars is to enable the party to prepare his responsive
pleading; to amplify or limit a pleading, specify more and particularly a claim or defense set up
and pleaded in general terms, give information not contained in the pleading, to the opposite
party and the court as to the precise nature, character, scope and extent of the cause of action or
defense relied on by the pleader, and apprise the opposite party of the case which he has to meet,
to the end that the proof at the trial may be limited to matter specified, in order to avoid surprise
the trial.

Sec. 10, R 116 -Production or inspection of material evidence in possession of

prosecution –

Note 9, R 116 – The accused may thus move for production or inspection of material evidence in
the possession of the prosecution. It authorizes the defense to inspect, photograph any evidence
of the prosecution in its possession after obtaining the permission of the court.

Sec. 11, R 116 – Suspension of arraignment

Note 10 – Insanity as a ground to suspend arraignment; where the physical and outward
manifestations of the accused at the time of arraignment indicated substantial demonstration of a
mental disorder which the trial court had observed and counsel for accused had called the
attention of the court to such fact, the court should suspend the arraignment and require that the
accused be examined by a government physician to determine his fitness to stand trial.

Note 11 – PREJUDICIAL QUESTION as a ground to suspend arraignment.

Note 12 – The filing and pendency of PETITION FOR REVIEW filed with the DOJ from the
resolution of the investigating prosecutor, or from the resolution of the DOJ itself to the Office of
the President. The accused should file such motion to suspend and to secure a ruling on his
petition for review within 60 days from the filing of the petition.

RULE 117 – MOTION TO QUASH

Sec. 1, R 117- Time to move to quash – At any time before entering his plea, the accused
may move to quash the complaint or information.

Note 13 – QUASHAL OF INFORMATION VS. NOLLE PROSEQUI

A MOTION TO QUASH is initiated and filed by the accused while a nolle prosequi is
initiated by the prosecutor. Further, a nolle prosequi is a dismissal of the criminal case by the
government before the accused is placed on trial and before he is called to plead, with the
approval of the court in the exercise of its judicial discretion. Nolle Prosequi partakes of the
nature of a nonuser or discontinuance in a civil sit and leaves the matter in the same condition in
which it was before the commencement of the prosecution.

Sec.2, R117 – Form and contents of Motion to Quash

Sec. 3, R 117 – Grounds for a Motion to Quash

1) That the facts charged do not constitute an offense;
2) That the court trying the case has no jurisdiction over the offense charged;
3) That the court trying the case has no jurisdiction over the person of the accused;
4) That the officer who filed the information had not authority to do so;
5) That it does not conform substantially to the prescribed form;
6) That more than one offense is charged except when a single punishment for various
offenses is prescribed by law;
7) That the criminal action or liability has been extinguished;
8) That it contains averments which, if true, would constitute a legal excuse or
justification; and
9) That the accused has been previously convicted or acquitted of the offense charged,
or the case against him was dismissed or otherwise terminated without his express
consent.
Note 14 – Prescription of continuing crime – An offense is a continuing one perpetrated over a
span of time. The period of its prescription is counted from the lasts tor last act constituting the
series of acts continuing the single crime.

Note 15 – The period of prescription does not run when the offender is absent from the
Philippines.

Note 16 – Pardon in private crimes before the filing of the complaint in court refers to the
offenses of seduction, abduction, rape or acts of lasciviousness. If it involves a minor, the
pardon t be effective as to prevent prosecution of the accused must be given by both parents and
the offended party, one or the other not being sufficient.

Note 16 – Amnesty as ground for motion to quash – when the criminal action or liability has
been extinguished, as amnesty completely extinguishes the penalty and all its effects.

Note 17 – Double jeopardy – Requisites: a) a first jeopardy must have attached prior to the
second; 2) the first jeopardy must have been validly terminated and 3) the second jeopardy must
be for the same offense charged in the first information, or is an attempt to commit the same or a
frustration thereof.

Note 18 – Requisites of first jeopardy – a) court of competent jurisdiction; b) valid complaint or

information; c) arraignment; d) valid plea and e) the defendant was acquitted or convicted or
the case was dismissed or otherwise terminated without the express consent of the accused.

Sec. 4, R 117 Amendment of complaint or information

If the motion to quash is based on an alleged defect in the complaint or information which can be
cured by amendment, the court shall order that an amendment be made.
If it is based on the ground that the facts charged do not constitute an offense, the
prosecution shall be given by the court an opportunity to correct the defect by amendment. The
motion shall be granted if the prosecution fails to make the amendment, or the complaint or
information still suffers from the same despite the amendment.

Sec. 5, R 117 – Effect of sustaining motion to quash

Note 19 – If the motion to quash is granted, the court may order that another information be
filed, except as provided in section 6 of this rule.

Sec. 6, R 117 – Order sustaining the motion to quash not a bar to another prosecution;
exception –

An order sustaining the motion to quash is not a bar to another prosecution for the same
offense unless the motion was based on the grounds specified in Sec. 3 (g) and (i) of this Rule.

Note 20 – Remedies or prosecution where motion to quash is granted –

a) The prosecution may amend the information correct the defects thereof if the trial
court makes an order to that effect, in accordance with Sec. 5 R118 and thereafter
prosecute the accused on the basis of the amended information.

b) If the prosecution does not agree with the order of quashal of the information, it may
appeal therefrom to the appellate court.

c) If the facts alleged in the information which has been quashed because it does not
allege all the elements of the offense, but the facts so alleged constitute another
offense under a specific statute, the prosecution can file a complaint for such specific
offense where dismissal is made prior to arraignment of the accused and on a motion
to quash.
Note 21 – Remedies of accused where motion to quash is denied –

a) Proceed with the trial, and if he is convicted, he may appeal with the appellate court
and thereby assign as error the denial of his motion to quash; the order denying the
said motion to quash is interlocutory