It is a motionfiled by the accusedthrough his

counsel which if granted will result to the dismissal

of the case.
COMPARED TO NOLLE PROSEQUI is initiated by
the
prosecutor.
It is a dismissal of the 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
exercise of its judicial jurisdiction.
 Before entering his
plea,
the accused may move
to quash the complaint
or information.
BASIS: defect on the
information
which is evident on its face not on
lack of probable cause.
Dismissal and the information
filed
must be invalidated.
The motion to quash must be in writing,
signed by the accused or his counsel and
shal be distinctly specify its factual and legal
grounds.
The court shal consider no grounds other
than those stated in the motion EXCEPT
lack of jurisdiction over the offense charged.
1. The facts charged do not constitute an offense;
2. The court trying the case has no jurisdiction over the
offense charged;
3. The court trying the case has no jurisdiction over the
person accused;
4. The officer who filed the information had no authority
to do so;
5. It does not conform substantial y to the prescribed
form;
6.More than 1 offense is charged except when a
single punishment for various offense is prescribed by
law;
7. The criminal action or liability has been extinguished;
8. It contains averments which, if true, would constitute a
legal excuse or justification;
9.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.
The test is whether the facts alleged in the
information are deemed hypothetically admitted, and
matters not alleged may not be looked into, except
those which are admitted in the records by the
prosecution.
Whether the DEFENSES in the motion to quash are
indubitable, the motion should be denied and the
defenses threshed out during the trial.
Where the facts are incomplete and do not convey all
the elements of the crime, the quashing of the
accusation is in order.
 GENERAL RULE: Motion to Quash on the ground that
the facts alleged in the information do not
constitute an offense, the court may not consider
facts not alleged therein admits EXCEPT on
additional facts not alleged in the information,
including facts which are matters of defense, but
admitted or not denied by the prosecution, may be
invoked in the motion to quash, even if the
ground alleged is that the facts therein stated do
not constitute an offense. (PP vs Dela Rosa, PP vs
Navarro)
1. The averments in the
information,
as hypothetically admitted;
2. Facts admitted by the
prosecution; 3.Indubitable facts
1.Where they are facts already admitted by the
prosecution;
2.Where they are undisputed facts apparent from
the records of the preliminary investigation and not
denied or admitted by the prosecutor
3.Where they are undisputed or undeniable facts
that destroy the prima facie truth accorded to
allegations of the information;
1. The law defines the offense and its penalty and the
jurisdiction of the court. Hence, inquiry should be made
as to whether the court has jurisdiction over the
information/case filed therein;
2. In criminal prosecution, venue or the place where the
action is filed is jurisdictional;
3. The condition precedent required by law have not
been compiled with. For instance: in private crimes, the
complaint of the offended party is necessary to confer
upon trial court the authority to try the case.
Jurisdiction of the court in criminal cases is acquired
by the arrest of the accused or by his voluntary
appearance in court.
It allows him to be arraigned without questioning
the legality of his arrest, the court acquired
jurisdiction over the person and the illegality of the
arrest is waived, as the legality of arrest affects only
the jurisdiction of the court over the person of the
accused.
If the accusedbelieves that the arrest, with
or without warrant is il egal, he should
move to quash theinformationon such
ground, along with other grounds
otherwise such other grounds wil be
deemed waived if not included in the motion to
quash, EXCEPT no offense charged, lack of
jurisdiction over the offense, prescription
of the offense or liability or double jeopardy.
ORDINARILY, the information is signed by the
prosecutor, with the prior approval of his superior.
There are time when the Secretary of Justice
would designated a SPECIAL PROSECUTOR to
conduct the preliminary investigation and signs the
information.
IF SPECIAL PROSECUTOR so designated is
disqualified, the information filed by him may be
challenged on the ground that he has no authority
to do so.
This defect cannot be cured by silence,
acquiescence, or even by express consent.
It has been held that ONLY a prosecutor, not
the Ombudsman, can sign the information
filed in the regular courts, the prosecutory
power of the Ombudsman being limited to
offenses cognizable by the Sandiganbayan in its
original jurisdiction.
Election offenses may ONLY be prosecuted
by the Commission on Elections, usual y by
its legal officer and its deputized
prosecutors.
If the information for an election offense is
filed and signed by a prosecutor, who has
not been duly deputized, the information
may be quashed on such ground.
 Sec. 6 Rule 110 provides that complaint or
the information is sufficient if it
states the:
1. name of the accused,
2. the designation of the offense by the statute,
3. the acts or omission constituting the offense,
4. the name of the offended party,
5. the approximate time of the commission of the
offense, and
6. the place wherein the offense was committed.
Where the al egation as to the time
of the commission of the offense
is so indefinite as to prejudice the
defense, a motion to quash the
information may be granted and
the case be dismissed.
Sec. 13, Rule 110 requires that the
complaint or information must
charge but one offense EXCEPT
only in those cases in which
existing laws prescribe a single
punishment for various offenses.
When each of two offenses
committed
is punishable by two different laws,
they cannot be charged in one
information as a complex
crime BUT must be
regarded as two separate
information.
IF the accused fails to object and goes to
trial
under the information which contains
more than one offense, GENERAL RULE:
he waives the objection and he should be
sentenced for as many offenses as
alleged in the information and proved
during trial.
The statute of limitation is granted by
the
State, “sur endering by act of grace its
right to prosecute, and declaring the
offense to be no longer the subject of
prosecution.”
Protection from prosecution under a
statute
of limitation is a substantive right.
 The criminal liability is totally extinguished in any of the fol
owing:
1. Death of the convict as to personal penalties and as to
pecuniary
penalties- liability therefor is extinguished;
2. Service of sentence;
3. Amnesty (an official pardon for people who have been
convicted of political offenses) which completely
extinguishes the penalty and all its effects;
4. Absolute pardon
5. Prescription of crime;
6. Prescription of the penalty
7.Pardon by the offended party in
private
crimes prior to the filing of the
complaint;
The marriage of the offended woman,
as
provided in Art. 344 of the RPC.
It is the termination of the right or
power to prosecute or punished the
offender after the lapse of certain
definite period from the commission of
the offense, or if this not known, from
the day of its discovery and the
beginning of judicial proceeding for
the investigation
and punishment.
1. Crimes punishable by reclusion perpetua, death and
life imprisonment– 20 years;
2. Punishable by afflictive penalty—15 years;
3. Libel or other similar crimes—1 year;
4. Oral defamation and slander---6 months;
5. Light offenses—2 months (punishable only when they
have been consummated, e.g. conspiracy)
Penalty fixed by law: compound one, the highest penalty
shall be made.
It commence to run from the day on which
the crime is discovered by the offended
party, the authorities, or their agents and
shal be INTERRUPTED by filing of the
complaint or information and shal run again
when proceedings terminate without the
accused being convicted or acquitted, or are
unjustifiably stopped for any reason not
imputed by him.
 When the law speaks of year, months days or nights, it
shal be understood that the:
1. years --365 days;
2. Months—30 days;
3. Days—24 hours;
4. Night—from sunset to sunrise
If months are designated by their name, they shall
be computed by the number of days which they
respectively have.
An offense is a continuing one perpetrated over a
span of time.
The period of its prescription is counted from the latest
to the last act constituting the series of acts continuing
the single crime.
AS A RULE: continuing or continues crimes does not
run until last act has ceased.
For it to exist, there must be plurality of acts
performed separately during a period of time.
It does not run when the offender is
absent in the Philippines.
Thus, the prescriptive period of the
offense committed by the person who
goes abroad to hide from justice does
not run, until he comes back to the
Philippines.
SPECIAL LAW: prescriptive
periods
which are governed by Act No.
3326 can only be interrupted by
filing of the complaint or information
in the proper
court, and not offic of the
in e
prosecutor th Office of the
e
or
Ombudsman. the
It refers to the offense after its
commission
but before the filing of complaint in
court, while consent refers to the
offense prior thereto.
THE OFFENSES ARE: abduction, rape,
seduction, and acts of lasciviousness
refers to the filing of criminal complaint in
court.
PARDON GIVEN AFTER FILING of the criminal
complaint in court does not prohibit the
continuance of the prosecution of the offense
EXCEPT being married between the offender
and the offended party.
INVOLVING MINORS: the pardon to 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.
Amnesty completely extinguishes
the penalty and al its effects.
Amnesty by Proclamation of the
President with the concurrence of
Congress is a public act of which
t h e c o u rt s h ou l d take ju di c i a l
notice.
GRANTED TO: classes of person or
communities who may be guilty of
political offenses, generally BEFORE
or AFTER the institution of the
criminal
prosecution and sometimes
after
conviction.
PARDON is granted by the President as such
is a private act which must be pleaded and
proved by the person pardoned because
the court take no judicial notice
while AMNESTY by
Proclamation of the President with the
concurrence of Congress is a public act of
which the court should take judicial notice.
PARDON looks forward where the
accused has been convicted, that is, it
abolishes or forgives the rights to hold
public office, the right to suffrage,
UNLESS such be EXPRESSLY restored by
the terms of the pardon, and it no way
exempts the culprit from payment of the
civil indemnity upon him by the
sentence.
If such acts or circumstances
are
averred in the complaint such
averment, s if true wil render
the accused free and harmless
from criminal liability.
This is the last ground specified in
Sec. 3,
for motion to quash is that the
accused has been previously
convicted or acquitted of the offense
charged, or the case against him
was dismissed or other terminated
without his express consent.
 REQUISITES:
1.First jeopardy must have attached prior to
the second;
2.First jeopardy must have been validly
terminated;
3.The second jeopardy must be for the offense
charged in the first information or is an
attempt to commit the same or a frustration
thereof.
 In determining when the first jeopardy may be said to have
attached, it is necessary to prove the existence of the
following:
1. A court of competent jurisdiction
2. Valid complaint or information
3. Arraignment
4. Valid plea
5. Defendant was acquitted or convicted or the case was
dismissed or otherwise terminated without the express
consent of accused.
GENERALLY SPEAKING: grounds which
are
NOT specifically mentioned as grounds
for motion to quash may not be raised to
dismiss the complaint or information.
AS A RULE: a motion to quash should
be based on a defect in the information
which is evident on its face.
Non-inclusion of other persons who appear
to be responsible for the crime charged is
not one of the grounds under Sec. 3. Rule
117 which a motion to quash the
information may be filed.
Neither is the dropping of the charge
against a co-accused a ground to quash the
information against the remaining accused.
1. If no warrant of arrest has been issued by the court,
the accused may file a MOTION TO DEFER
ARRAIGNMENT and for the determination of probable
cause on the ground that that there is insufficient
evidence to prove probable cause.
2. Before arraignment, the accused may move for the
REINVESTIGATION of the case if there is no probable
cause to warrant the filing of the information (if the
court denies: may elevate the issue by filing a
PETITION FOR CERTIORARI
–Avila vs Sandiganbayan)
3. If the accused has been arrested, with or
without warrant, he may file MOTION TO QUASH
the arrest or to RECALL the same, on the ground
that the same has been illegally made or that
there is no probable cause.
4. The accused may file MOTION FO
R DETERMINATION OF THE
PROBABLE CAUSE deferment of the
issuance of a warrant of arrest.
Contentious motions in criminal cases must comply
with the requirements that they be set for hearing at s
specified date with prior notice to the adverse party or
the prosecutor at least three days before the hearing, the
notice should be addressed to the adverse counsel and
proof of service of the motion upon the adverse party or
prosecutor at least three days prior to such hearing.
Such hearing is merely PRO FORMA, purpose is to
enable the court to determine whether the adverse
party agrees or objects such motion.
Failure of the prosecutor conducting the
preliminary investigation to furnish the accused
with the copy of his resolution for the filing of
the information , as to deprive the accused the
opportunity to file a MOTION FOR
RECONSIDERATION thereof, is not a ground
for motion to quash—granting such motion
constitute GRAVE ABUSE OF DISCRETION
AMOUNTING TO LACK OF JURISDICTION.
If the alleged defect of the complaint or information
can be cured, the court shal order that an amendment of
information be made.
An accused even after he has entered his plea, may stil
move to quash the information on the ground that it
does not charge an offense.
IF DISMISSED: prosecution may not be permitted to
correct the information because the accused has
already pleaded and allow such amendments may
place the accused in twice in jeopardy.
If motion to quash is sustained, the court may order
that another information be filed, EXCEPT as provided
in Sec.6 of this rule.
IF MADE: the accused (if in custody) shal not be
discharged unless admitted to bail.
IF NO ORDER/NO NEW INFORMATION FILED:
(withinthe
time specified) the court may allow for good cause,
the accused (if in custody) shal be discharge UNLESS
he is also in custody of another case)
1. Amend the information to
correct the defects thereof if
the trial court makes
an order to that effect, in
accordance with Sec. 5 of Rule 117
and thereafter prosecute the
accused on the basis of
the amended information.
2. If the prosecution does not agree
with the order of quashal of
information, it may appeal therefrom
to the appellate court.
Appeal will not place the accused in
double jeopardy because he has not
yet been arraigned.
3. If the facts alleged in the information which
has been quashed because it does not al
eged al the elements of the offense, but the
facts so al eged constitute another offense
under the specific statute, the prosecution can
file a complaint for such specific offense where
dismissal is made prior to arraignment of the
accused and a motion to quash.
 USUAL COURSE: proceed to trial, and in case of
conviction, to appeal therefrom and assign as an error
the denial of the motion to quash.
NOTE: it has been held that an order denying a
motion to quash is interlocutory and therefore not
appealable, nor can it be the subject of a petition for
certiorari. THEREFORE, the accused should proceed to
trial of the case, if convicted, raise the same question
in his motion to quash before the appellate court.
GENERAL RULE: denial of a motion to quash may
not ordinarily be challenge by a petition for
certiorari and prohibition, as the usual remedy
therefrom is to go to trial and appeal in case of
conviction.
EXCEPTION: the PETITION FOR CERTIORARI and
PROHIBITION may be AVAILED of where the
information or complaint is patently defective or
the offense charged therein has been indisputably
shown to have already prescribed.
 IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING INSTANCES:
1. There is necessityto afford protection to the
constitutional rights of the accused;
2. Necessary for the orderly administration of justice or to
avoid
oppression or multiplicity of actions;
3. There is prejudicial question which is sub judice;
4. The acts of the officer are without or in excess of authority
5. The prosecution is under an invalid law, ordinance
or regulation;
6. When double jeopardy is clearly apparent;
7. The court has no jurisdiction over the offense;
8. It is a case of persecution rather than prosecution;
9. The charge are manifestly false and motivated by the
lust for
vengeance;
10. There is clearly no prima facie case against the
accused;
11. To avoid multiplicity of action.
 The conviction of the accused shal not bar
to another prosecution for an offense which
necessarily includes the offense charged in
former complaint or information UNDER ANY
OF THE FOLLOWING:
1. Graver offense developed due to the
supervening facts arising from the same act
or omission constituting the former charged;
2.The facts constituting the graver charge became known
or were discovered only after the filing of the former
complaint or information;
3. The plea of guilt to the lesser offense was made
without the consent of the fiscal and the offended party
except as provided in Sec. 1(f)of Rule 116.
In any of the foregoing cases where accused satisfies or
serves in whole or in part the judgment, he shal be
credited with same in the event of conviction for the
graver offense.
 2 CATEGORIES:
1.Same offense
2.Same act
Double jeopardy exist only where the identity is
between the earlier and the subsequent offense
charged.
If an additional fact is required in one and not
with the
other, there is no double jeopardy.
The law seeks to prevent offense
which
though different from one another
are
nonetheless each by a
constituted
common set or elem overlapp
technical ents. ing
sets of
 The acts constitute in to information are so related to
each other in time and space as to be reasonably
regarded as having been taken on same place on the
same occasion and where those acts have been
moved by one and the same, or continuing, intent or
voluntary design or negligence such acts may be
appropriately characterized as an integral whose
capable of giving rise to penal liability under different
legal enactments (municipal ordinances and
national statute).
A case cannot be provisionally
dismissed
except with the express consent of
the accused and with notice to
the offended party and the
prosecutor.
Prior notice to the offended party
is to give him the opportunity to
be heard on the matter.