RULE 117:

MOTION TO
QUASH
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 SECTION 1: At any time before
TIME TO entering his plea, the
MOVE accused may move to
quash the complaint or
TO QUASH
information.
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 Motion to Quash
- mode by which an accused assails the
validity of a criminal complaint or
information filed against him for
insufficiency on its face in point of law, or for
defects which are apparent in the face of the
information.
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 Whether or not the facts
TEST OF
alleged therein, if SUFFICIENCY
hypothetically admitted, would
establish the essential elements OF MATERIAL
of the crime defined by law. AVERMENTS
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 GR:
EXCEPTIONS:
a. The information charges
MOTION TO
no offense; QUASH MUST
b. The trial court has no
jurisdiction; BE MADE
c. The penalty or the offense BEFORE THE
has been extinguished;
d. Double jeopardy has ACCUSED
attached. ENTERS HIS
PLEA.
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 The motion to quash shall be in
writing, signed by the accused or his
SECTION 2: counsel and shall distinctly specify its
FORM AND factual and legal grounds. The court
shall consider no ground other than
CONTENTS those stated in the motion, except
lack of jurisdiction over the offense
charged.
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 SUBSTANTIAL
COMPLIANCE
Example:

State Prosecutor and There was substantial compliance by private respondent

Special Prosecutor on SSS with the rule, as it was satisfactorily explained in his
Cases in Region V v. Memorandum that his counsel orally moved to quash the
Paqueo, Jr., G.R. No. Information before the arraignment. In an Order issued,
150606 respondent Judge required private respondents counsel to
file a motion to quash within 5 days from the issuance of
the Order.
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 Grounds Alleged in the Motion to Quash:

1. Grounds stated in the motion

2. Ground of lack of jurisdiction over the
offense charged, whether or not mentioned
in the motion.
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 The accused may move to quash the
complaint or information on any of
the following grounds:
a. That the facts charged do not
SECTION 3: constitute an offense;
b. That the court trying the case has
GROUNDS no jurisdiction over the offense
charged;
c. That the court trying the case has
no jurisdiction over the person of
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the accused;
 d. That the officer who filed the information
had no authority to do so;
e. That it does not conform substantially to the
prescribed form;
f. That more than one offense is charged except
when a single punishment for various offenses

SECTION 3: is prescribed by law;

g. That the criminal action or liability has been

GROUNDS extinguished;
h. That it contains averments which, if true,
would constitute a legal excuse or justification;
and
i. That the accused has been previously
convicted or acquitted of the offense charged,
or the case against him was dismissed or
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otherwise terminated without his express

consent.
 NOTE:

Although an
information may be
defective because the
facts charged do not
constitute an offense,
the dismissal of the
case will not
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necessarily follow.
 NOTE:

Lack of jurisdiction
should be evident
from the face of the
information or
complaint to warrant a
dismissal thereof.
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 NOTE:

The absence of
preliminary
investigation does not
impair the validity of
the information or
otherwise render it
defective.
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 NOTE:

An information, when
required to be filed by
a public prosecuting
officer, cannot be filed
by another.
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 LACK OF AUTHORITY OF
THE OFFICER
Example:
The Regional State Prosecutor is
An information filed by the not included among the law
The Regional State Prosecutor
State Prosecutor with the officers authorized to approve
is not the alter ego of the
prior authority and the filing or dismissal of the
Secretary of Justice but a mere
approval of the Regional Information of the investigating
subordinate official and if ever
State Prosecutor, is null prosecutor, an information filed
the former files cases, it is by
and void. by the state prosecutor alone did
virtue of a delegated authority
not comply with the requirement
by the Secretary of Justice.
of Sec 4, Rule 112 of the
Revised Rules of Criminal
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Procedure.
 Defective Information lacks:

1. Name of the accused

2. Designation of the offense given by the statute
3. Acts or omissions complained of as constituting the
offense
4. Name of the offended party
5. Approximate date of the commission of the offense
6. Place where the offense was committed
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 EXCEPTION: GR:
CASES WITH ONE
SINGLE INFORMATION
PUNISHMENT FOR , ONE
VARIOUS OFFENSES. OFFENSE
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 COMPLE
X
CRIMES
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 Single punishment for various
offense
Special Complex Crime 3 Types
- law provides a single
penalty for two or more Complex Crime
Compound Crimes
component offenses Proper
- when a single act
- when an offense is a
constitutes two or
Examples: necessary means for
1. Robbery with homicide more grave or less
committing the other
2. Robbery with rape grave felonies
3. Kidnapping with serious
physical injuries
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 PRESCRIP
TION
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 Considerations for resolving the issue of
prescription:
1. The period of prescription for the offense
charged;
2. The time the period of prescription starts
to run; and
3. The time the prescriptive period was
interrupted (by filing of a complaint)
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 NOTE:

There is no more
distinction between
cases under the RPC
and those covered by
special laws with
respect to the
interruption of the
period of prescription.
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 DOUBLE
JEOPARDY
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 Requisites:

a. A first jeopardy attached prior to the

second;
b. The first jeopardy has been validly
terminated;
c. A second jeopardy is for the same offense
as in the first.
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 A first jeopardy attaches only:

a. After a valid indictment;

b. Before a competent court;
c. After arraignment;
d. When a valid plea has been entered; and
e. When the accused has been acquitted or
convicted, or the case dismissed or
otherwise terminated without his express
consent.
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 NOTE

If the trial terminated

before it is completed,
and it is dismissed with
the consent of the
defendant, such as when
it was the defense that
moved for the dismissal
of a criminal case, then
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double jeopardy will not

attach.
ACQUITTAL
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 FINALITY-OF-ACQUITTAL
WHAT IS - final and unappealable on the ground of
double jeopardy, whether it happens at the
ACQUITTAL? trial court level or before the CA.

*The dismissal of a case during preliminary

investigation does not constitute double
jeopardy, preliminary investigation not being
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part of trial.
 If the motion to quash is based on an
SECTION 4: alleged defect of the complaint or
information which can be cured by
AMENDMEN amendment, the court shall order that an

T OF amendment be made.
If it is based on the ground that the facts
COMPLAINT charged does not constitute an offense, the
prosecution shall be given by the court an
OR opportunity to correct the defect by
amendment. The motion shall be granted
INFORMATIO if the prosecution fails to make the

N amendment, or the complaint or

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information still suffers from the same

defect despite the amendment.
 Court action on Motion to Quash:

1. Order the amendment of the Information;

2. Sustain the Motion to Quash; or
3. Deny the Motion to Quash.
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 If the trial court finds
WHEN If the trial court finds
that there is a defect in
that there is a defect in
the information and the
DOES the information and the
defect can be cured by
defect can be cured by
AMENDME amendment, in which
amendment, the
motion to quash shall
case the court shall
NT order the prosecution
be denied and the
prosecution shall be
APPLIES? to amend the
information.
ordered to file an
amended information.
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 If the motion to quash is sustained, the
court may order that another complaint
SECTION 5: or information be filed except as provided
in section 6 of this rule. If the order is
EFFECT OF made, the accused, if in custody, shall not
be discharged unless admitted to bail. If
SUSTAINING no order is made or if having been made,

THE MOTION no new information is filed within the

time specified in the order or within such
TO QUASH further time as the court may allow for
good cause, the accused, if in custody,
shall be discharged unless he is also in
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custody of another charge.

 Effect of Denial on Motion to Quash:

The plain and speedy remedy upon denial of

an interlocutory order is to proceed to trial.
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 SECTION 6:
ORDER
SUSTAINING
THE MOTION An order sustaining the motion to quash
is not a bar to another prosecution for the
TO QUASH same offense unless the motion was based
NOT A BAR TO on the grounds specified in section 3 (g)
and (i) of this Rule.
ANOTHER
PROSECUTION
; EXCEPTION
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 Jeopardy does not attach in favor of the
accused on account of an order sustaining a
motion to quash. The complaint may not be
refiled where the dismissal was based on
extinction of criminal liability or double
jeopardy.
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 When an accused has been convicted or

SECTION 7: acquitted, or the case against him dismissed or

otherwise terminated without his express
FORMER consent by a court of competent jurisdiction,
upon a valid complaint or information or other
CONVICTION formal charge sufficient in form and substance
to sustain a conviction and after the accused
OR had pleaded to the charge, the conviction or
ACQUITTAL; acquittal of the accused or the dismissal of the
case shall be a bar to another prosecution for
DOUBLE the offense charged, or for any attempt to
commit the same or frustration thereof, or for
JEOPARDY any offense which are necessarily includes or is
necessarily included in the offense charged in
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the former complaint or information.

 ONE WHO HAS
BEEN CHARGED
EXCEPTION:
This rule of identity does not WITH AN OFFENSE
apply when the second offense CANNOT BE
was not in existence at the CHARGED AGAIN
time of the first prosecution, WITH THE SAME
for the reason that in such case
there is no possibility for the
OR IDENTICAL
accused, during the first OFFENSE THOUGH
prosecution, to be convicted THE LATTER BE
for an offense that was then LESSER OR
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inexistent.
GREATER THAN
THE FORMER.
 NO DOUBLE JEOPARDY
Where the victim died on the
day the information was filed,
The fact constituting the and the accused was arraigned
graver charge became two days after, on an
known or were discovered information for serious
only after a plea was physical injuries thru reckless
entered in the former imprudence, accused could no
complaint or information. longer be prosecuted on a
subsequent information for
homicide through reckless
imprudence
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Example:
If, however, the private offended
party failed to appear at
arraignment despite due notice,
the court may allow the accused
to enter a plea od guilty to a
lesser offense which is
necessarily included in the
offense charged with the
conformity of the trial
prosecutor alone.
 NOTE:

Appeals throw the case

open to review by the
appellate court, whether
the appeal is resolved
favorably or unfavorably
to the appellant.

FILING OF APPEAL IS
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WAIVER OF DOUBLE
JEOPARDY.
 Exceptions of Double Jeopardy:

a. Mistrial
b. Grave abuse of discretion
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 A case shall be provisionally dismissed
except with the express consent of the
accused and with notice to the offended
party.
The provisional dismissal of offenses
SECTION 8: punishable by imprisonment not
exceeding 6 years or a fine of any amount,
PROVISIONAL or both, shall become permanent 1 year
DISMISSAL after the issuance of the order without the
case having been revived. With respect to
offenses punishable by imprisonment of
more than 6 years, their provisional
dismissal shall become permanent two
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years after issuance of the order without

the case having been revived.
 Requisites for Valid Provisional Dismissal:

1. The prosecution with the express conformity of the

accused, moves for a provisional dismissal of his case; or
both the prosecution and the accused move for its
provisional dismissal;
2. The offended party is notified of the motion for a
provisional dismissal of the case;
3. The court issues an order granting the motion and
dismissing the case provisionally; and
4. The public prosecutor is served with a copy of the order
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of provisional dismissal of the case.

 Time-Bar

- a special procedural limitation qualifying the right of

the State to prosecute, making it an essence of the given
right or as an inherent part thereof, so that the lapse of
the time-bar operates to extinguish the right of the State
to prosecute the accused.

Reckoning Period: one year after service of the order of

dismissal on the public prosecutor who has control of
the prosecution without the criminal case having been
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revived.
 THE END.
THANK YOU.
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