Atty. Romulo P.

Atencia
http://www.catanduanestribune.com/article/1QFD

When an accused ischarged in court of having committed an offense, the accusation

against him isentitled “Information”. Have you ever wondered why it has such title, and
not“Accusation” or “Complaint”?
The reason is in theconstitution. The constitution guarantees that in all criminal
prosecutions,the accused shall be “informed of the nature and cause of the
accusationagainst him”. (Article III, Section 14 [2]). So, the accusation filed in courtis in
compliance with the constitutional mandate that the accused be informed.Thus, the title
“Information”.
The constitutionalright to be informed signifies that an accused should be given the
necessarydata as to why he is being proceeded against. He should not be left in
theunenviable state of speculating why he is made the object of a prosecution. Theact
or conduct imputed to him must be described with sufficient particularityso that he would
be in a position to defend himself properly. If it were notso, then there is an element of
unfairness. Due process is in fact denied him.
The constitutionalright of an accused to be informed requires that "the information
shouldstate the facts and the circumstances constituting the crime charged in such
away that a person of common understanding may easily comprehend and be
informedof what it is about." The facts constituting the criminal charge must be allegedin
positive terms and not by way of recital. Every material fact and essentialelement of the
offense charged must be stated with precision and certainty inthe information, in simple
and understandable language, in sufficient detail toenable the accused to prepare his
defense.
The noble object ofwritten accusations cannot be overemphasized. This was explained,
thus: “The object of this written accusations was –first, to furnish the accused with such
a description of the charge against himas will enable him to make his defense, and
second, to avail himself of hisconviction or acquittal for protection against a further
prosecution for thesame cause, and third, to inform the court of the facts alleged so that
it maydecide whether they are sufficient in law to support a conviction if one shouldbe
had.  In order that this requirementmay be satisfied, facts must be stated, not
conclusions of law  Every crime is made up of certain acts andintent these must be set
forth in the complaint with reasonable particularityof time, place, names (plaintiff and
defendant) and circumstances.  In short, the complaint must contain aspecific allegation
of every fact and circumstance necessary to constitute thecrime charged.”
It is essential that theaccused be informed of the facts that are imputed to him as “he is
presumed tohave no independent knowledge of the facts that constitute the
offense.”(Francisco The Revised Rules of Court Criminal Procedure, p. 77, cited
inBalitaan vs. Court of First Instance of Batangas, 115 SCRA 739 [1982]).
Doctrinally, thismeans that every element of the offense must be alleged in the
information. Asto how the offense charged be stated in the information, the Rules of
Courtmandates that: “The acts or omissions complained of as constituting the
offensemust be stated in ordinary and concise language without repetition
notnecessarily in the terms of the statute defining the offense, but in such formas is
sufficient to enable a person of common understanding to know whatoffense is intended
to be charged, and enable the court to pronounce properjudgment.”
This requirement isso strict that the Supreme Court ruled in a case that conviction of an
accusedon the finding that he had raped the complainant while she was unconscious
orotherwise deprived of reason — and not through force and intimidation, whichwas the
method alleged — would have violated his right to be informed of thenature and cause
of the accusation against him. The Supreme Court explainedthat convicting the accused
of a ground not alleged while he is concentratinghis defense against the ground alleged
would plainly be unfair and underhanded.
If the facts allegedin the information do not constitute an offense within the terms of the
law onwhich the accusation is based, or if the facts alleged may all be true and yetdo
not constitute an offense, the information is insufficient. In such anevent, the information
may be quashed, or the case dismissed, on the groundthat the facts alleged therein do
not constitute an offense.  A motion to quash an Information is the modeby which an
accused assails the validity of a criminal complaint or Informationfiled against him for
insufficiency on its face in point of law, or for defectswhich are apparent in the face of
the Information.
It has been said that"the test for the correctness of this ground is the sufficiency of
theaverments in the information, that is, whether the facts alleged, ifhypothetically
admitted, constitute the elements of the offense, and mattersnot appearing in the
information will not be considered. So, as a generalproposition, a motion to quash on
the ground that the allegations of theinformation do not constitute the offense charged,
or any offense for thatmatter, should be resolved on the basis alone of said allegations
whose truthand veracity are hypothetically admitted. However, as held in the case of
People vs. Navarro, 75 Phil. 516,additional facts not alleged in the information, but
admitted or not denied bythe prosecution may be invoked in support of the motion to
quash.
Facedwith an information charging a manifestly non-existent crime, the duty of thatcourt
is to throw it out or at the very least and where possible, make itconform with the law.
 

 An information is an accusation in writing charging a person with an offense,

subscribed by the prosecutor and filed with the court. The contents of an information are
the following:
 a. Name of the accused;
b. Designation of offense;
c. Statement of the of the acts or omissions complained;
d. Name of the offended party;
e. Approximate time and date of the commission of the crime; and
f. Aggravating circumstance.

The constitutional right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation
entitles the defendant to insist that the indictment apprise him of the crime charged with
such reasonable certainty that he can make his defense and protect himself after
judgment against another prosecution on the same charge. 214 No indictment is sufficient
if it does not allege all of the ingredients that constitute the crime. Where the language
of a statute is, according to the natural import of the words, fully descriptive of the
offense, it is sufficient if the indictment follows the statutory phraseology, 215 but where
the elements of the crime have to be ascertained by reference to the common law or to
other statutes, it is not sufficient to set forth the offense in the words of the statute. The
facts necessary to bring the case within the statutory definition must also be
alleged.216 If an offense cannot be accurately and clearly described without an allegation
that the accused is not within an exception contained in the statutes, an indictment that
does not contain such allegation is defective. 217 Despite the omission of obscene
particulars, an indictment in general language is good if the unlawful conduct is
described so as reasonably to inform the accused of the nature of the charge sought to
be established against him.218 The Constitution does not require the government to
furnish a copy of the indictment to an accused. 219 The right to notice of accusation is so
fundamental a part of procedural due process that the states are required to observe
it.220
https://law.justia.com/constitution/us/amendment-06/09-notice-of-accusation.html