CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: PRELIMNARY CONSIDERATIONS

I. DEFINITION OF TERMS IN CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

Criminal Procedure
- Is a proceeding whereby the state prosecutes a person for an act or omission punishable
by law.

Jurisdiction
- Is defined as the power of the court to hear and decide cases (Herrera v. Barreto, 25
Phil. 33) and to execute the judgment thereon. (Echegaray v. Secretary of Justice, 301
SCRA 96).

Criminal Jurisdiction
- is the authority to hear and try a particular offense and impose the punishment for it.

Venue
- is the geographical location where the case shall be instituted, heard and tried.

Pleading
- is a written statement of the respective claims and defenses of the parties submitted to the
court for appropriate judgement.

Motion
- is an application for a relief other than by a pleading. (Section 1, Rule 15)

Affidavit
- A statement of facts under oath. (Land Bank v. Crown Motor Sales Corporation, CV-
04249, December 15, 1980)

Counter-Affidavit
- An affidavit made and presented in contradiction or opposition to an affidavit which is
made the basis or support of a motion or application. (Black’s Law Dictionary)

Barangay Protection Order (BPO)

- refers to the protection order issued by the Punong Barangay, or in his absence the
Barangay Kagawad, ordering the perpetrator to desist from committing acts of violence
against the family of household members particularly women and their children under
Sections 5a and 5b of R.A. 9262.

Arrest
- is the taking of a person into cutody in order that he be bound to answer for the
commission of an offense.

Warrant of Arrest

Reference: Ferdinand A. Tan, CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: A Comprehensive Approach for the Bench
and the Bar, [2015] pp. 1-13
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: PRELIMNARY CONSIDERATIONS

- is a legal process issued by competent authority directing the arrest of a person or persons
upon grounds stated therein. It is usually directed to a regular officers of the law, but
occasionally, it is issued to a private person named in it. (4 Am. Jur. 9)

Custodial Investigation
- refers to any questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been
taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant
way.

Preliminary Investigation
- in an inquiry or proceeding to determine whether there is sufficient ground to engender a
well-founded belief that a crime has been committed and the respondent is probably
guilty thereof, and should be held for trial.

Extrajudicial Confession
- a declaration made at any time by a person, voluntarily and without compulsion or
inducement, stating or acknowledging that he has committed or participated in the
commission of a crime. (People v. Mojica, 57 OG 6813)

Corpus Delicti
- refers to the fact of the commission of the crime charged or to the body or substance of
the crime.

Inquest
- is an informal and summary investigation conducted by a public prosecutor in criminal
cases involving persons arrested and detained without the benefit of a warrant of arrest
issued by the court for the purpose of determining whether or not said persons should
remain under the custody and correspondingly be charged before the court. (Section 1
[A] Part II, 2008 Revised Manual of Prosecutors, p.44)

Search Warrant
- is an order in writing issued in the name of the People of the Philippines signed by a
judge and directed to a peace officer, commanding him to search for personal property
described therein and bring it before the court.

Probable Cause
- is defined as such facts and circumstances that would engender a well-founded belief that
a crime has been committed and that the respondent is probably guilty thereof and hould
be held for trial.

Subpoena
- is a process directed to a person requiring him to attend and testify at the hearing or trial
of an action, or at any investigation conducted by any competent authority, or the taking
of the deposition.

Criminal Complaint

Reference: Ferdinand A. Tan, CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: A Comprehensive Approach for the Bench
and the Bar, [2015] pp. 1-13
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: PRELIMNARY CONSIDERATIONS

- is a sworn written statement charging a person with an offense, subscribed by the

offended party, any peace officer, or other public officer charged with the enforcement
of the law violated.

Criminal Information
- is an accusation in writing charging a person with an offense, subscribed by the
prosecutor and filed with the court.

Amendment
- refers to the modification of a complaint or information by the public prosecutor which
changes its form or substance. The amendment is only in form if it does not affect or
alter the nature of the offense charged. (Arevalo v. Nepomuceno, 63 Phil. 627)

Prejudicial Question
- a question which arises in a case the resolution of which is a logical antecedent of the
issue involved in the same case and the cognizance of which pertain to another tribunal.
(Quiambao v. Osorio, 158 SCRA 647)

Provisional Remedy
- are writs and processes available during the pendency of the action which may be
resorted to by a litigant to preserve and protect certain rights and interests therein
pending rendition, and for purposes of the ultimate effects, of a final judgement in the
case. (Calderon v. Roxas. G.R. No. 185595, January 9, 3013)

Preliminary Attachment
- is a provisional remedy issues upon order of the court where the action is pending, to be
levied upon the property or properties of the defendant therein, the same to be held
thereafter by the sheriff as security for the satisfaction of whatever judgement might be
rendered in said action in favor of the attaching creditor against the defendant. (Virata v.
Aquino, G.R. No. L-35027, September 10, 1973.

Preliminary Injunction
- is an order granted at any stage of an action or proceeding prior to the judgement or final
order, requiring a party or a court, agency or a person to refrain from a particular act or
acts. It may also require the performance of a particular act or acts.

Replevin
- is a proceeding by which the owner or one who has a general or special property in the
think taken or detained seeks to recover possession in specie, the recovery of damages
being only incidental (Am. Jur. 6, citing the statutes lumber Co. v. Blandas, [Cca6th]
133 F. 69 LRA 238)

Support Pendete Lite

- is an amount adjudicated by the trial court during the pendency of an action for support
upon application by the plaintiff at the commencement of the proper action or at
anytime afterwards. It is the remedy recognized by the Revised Rules of Court and

Reference: Ferdinand A. Tan, CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: A Comprehensive Approach for the Bench
and the Bar, [2015] pp. 1-13
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: PRELIMNARY CONSIDERATIONS

classified as the provisional remedy rendered by the court as equity and justice may
require. (117 SCRA 929, Fundamentals of Support Pendente Lite)

Bail
- is the security given for the release of a person in custody of the law, furnished by him or
a bondsman, to guarantee his appearance before any court as required under the
conditions hereinafter specified. Bail may be given in the form of corporate surety,
property bond, cash deposit, or recognizance.

Arraignment
- is the formal mode and manner of implementing the constitutional right of the accused to
be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him. The purpose of the
arraignment is, thus, to apprise the accused of the possible loss of freedom, even of his
life, depending on the nature of the crime imputed to him, or at the very least to inform
him of why the prosecuting arm of the State in mobilized against him. (Taglay v. Judge
Trabajo Daray, G.R. No. 164258, August 22, 2012)

Plea
- is the formal answer of the defendant in common law pleading. The answer of “guilty” or
“not guilty” in an arraignment for a criminal charge.

Pre-trial Conference
- is a procedural devise used prior to a trial to narrow issues to be tried, to secure
stipulations as to matters and evidence to be heard, and to take all other steps necessary
to aid in the disposition of the case. Such conferences between opposing attorney’s may
be called at the discretion of the court. The actions taken at the conference are made the
subject of an order which controls the future course of the action.

Plea Bargaining
- the process whereby the accused and the prosecutor in a criminal case work out a
mutually satisfactory disposition of the case subject to court approval. It is usually
involves the defendant’s pleading to a lesser offense or to only one or some of the
counts of a multi-count indictment in return for a lighter sentence than that possible for
the graver charge. (Black’s Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, p. 1152)

Double Jeopardy (Res Judicata in Prison Grey)

- common law and constitutional prohibition against a second prosecution after a first trial
for the same offense. The evil sought to be avoided is double trial and double
conviction, not necessarily double punishment. (Black’s Law Dictionary, 5th Edition, p.
257)

Trial
- is a judicial process of investigating and determining the legal controversies, starting with
the production of evidence by the Plaintiff and ending with his closing arguments.
(Acosta v. People, 5 SCRA 774)

Reference: Ferdinand A. Tan, CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: A Comprehensive Approach for the Bench
and the Bar, [2015] pp. 1-13
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: PRELIMNARY CONSIDERATIONS

Demurer to Evidence
- is defined as “an objection by one of the parties in an action, to effect that the evidence
which is adversary produced is insufficient in point of law, whether true or not, to make
out a case or sustain the issue.” (Gutib v. Court of Appeals, 371 Phil.293, 300 [1999]

Offer of Evidence
- as used in Section 35 of the Rules of Court must be understood to mean presentation or
introduction of evidence. Hence, a document or article is not evidence when it is simply
marked for identification, it must be formally offered as evidence. (People v. Whipkey,
12590-CR, February 6, 1973)

Objection
- it is an argument or reasons presented against an act of the adversary party or his counsel,
or against the determination by the court in the course of the trial. (Philippine Legal
Encyclopedia, Jose Agaton Sibal, 1998 ed. Pp. 635)

Judgment
- is the final ruling by a court of competent jusrisdiction regarding the rights or other
matters submitted to it in an action or proceding. (Macahilig v. Heirs of Garcia M.
Magalit, G.R. No. 141423, November 15, 2000)

Appeal
- is defined as the elevation by an aggrieved party to any decision, order or award of a
lower body to a higher body, by means of a document which includes the assignment of
errors, memorandum or arguments in support thereof, and the reliefs prayed for.
(Technogas Philippines Manufacturing Corp. v. Clave, 088635, SP May 31, 1979)

Probation
- is a disposition under which a defendant, after conviction and sentence, is released
subject to conditions imposed by the court and to the supervision of a probation officer.

Parole
- Release from jail, prison or other confinement after actually serving part of the sentence.
A conditional release of prisoner, generally under the supervision of a parole officer,
who has served part of the term for which he was sentenced to prison. Such may be
revoked if he fails to observe the conditions provided in parole order. (Black’s Law
Dictionary, fifth Edition, p. 580.)

Pardon
- Is an act of grace proceeding from the power entrusted with the execution of the laws,
which exempts the individual on whom it is bestowed, from the punishment which the
law inflicts for a crime he has committed. It is the private through official act of the
executive magistrate delivered to the individual for whose benefit it is intended. (De
Leon v. Director of Prison, 31 Phil. 64)

Reference: Ferdinand A. Tan, CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: A Comprehensive Approach for the Bench
and the Bar, [2015] pp. 1-13
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: PRELIMNARY CONSIDERATIONS

Amnesty
- A pardon granted by executive proclamation or by statute for a specific crime or specific
crimes committed before a fixed date. The crime is usually a public offense, like
treason, sedition or rebellion. Amnesty presupposes the commission of a crime, and
when the accused maintains that he had not committed the crime, he cannot avail
himself of amnesty. (People v. Pasilan, 14 SCRA 694)

Suspension of Sentence
- The temporary or indefinite postponement by the courts of its judgement in a criminal
case. (People v. Vera, 655 Phil. 108)

Reprieve
- Is a suspension of the execution of the sentence until the time provided by law or in the
grant of the President.

Commutation of Sentence
- Refers to the lowering of the sentence imposed

Execution
- Is a remedy afforded by law for the enforcement of a judgment. Its object is to obtain
satisfaction of the judgment on which the writ is issued. It issues by order of the court a
quo, on motion of the judgment oblige, upon the finality of the judgment or order
sought to be enforced. (Cagayan de Oro Coliseum Inc v. Court of Appeals, 320 SCRA
731, 754 [1999], G.R. No. 129713, December 15, 1999)

Service of Sentence
- One of the grounds recognized by law through which criminal liability is totally
extinguished. (Philippine Legal Encyclopedia, Jose Agaton R. Sibal, Ed 1988, p. 944)

Reference: Ferdinand A. Tan, CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: A Comprehensive Approach for the Bench
and the Bar, [2015] pp. 1-13