What Orders and Cases Are Appealable
- Section 1 provides that only resolutions of the Chief of State Prosecutor/Regional State Prosecutor/Provincial or City Prosecutor dismissing a criminal complaint may be appealed to the Secretary of Justice, except as otherwise provided in Section 4.
- Appeals from resolutions of provincial/city prosecutors where the penalty prescribed for the offense charged does not exceed prision correccional, regardless of the imposable fine, must be made to the Regional State Prosecutors, who shall resolve the appeals with finality (Section 1).
- Appeals governed by Department Order No. 318 (August 28, 1991) as amended by D.O. No. 34 (February 4, 1992), D.O. No. 223 (August 11, 1992), and D.O. No. 45 (February 2, 1993) must also be governed by these rules (Section 1).
Time to File and Tolling Rules
- Section 2 requires that the appeal must be filed within 15 days from receipt of the questioned resolution by the party or his counsel.
- The 15-day period is interrupted only by the filing of a motion for reconsideration within 10 days from receipt of the resolution.
- After the motion for reconsideration is denied, the 15-day period continues to run from the time the resolution denying the motion is received by the movant or his counsel (Section 2).
Appeal Verification, Content, and Service
- Section 3 requires the appeal to be verified by the appellant.
- The appeal must state and contain: (a) the date of receipt of the appealed resolution; date of filing of the motion for reconsideration if any; and date of receipt of the resolution on the motion for reconsideration (Section 3(a)).
- The appeal must include the names and addresses of the parties, the investigation slip number (I.S. No.) and/or criminal case number, and the title of the case (Section 3(b)-(c)), and must state the venue of the preliminary investigation (Section 3(d)).
- The appeal must contain a clear and concise statement of the facts, the assignment of errors, and the legal basis for taking the appeal (Section 3(e)).
- When there is a finding of probable cause, the appeal must state that the appellant has filed in court a motion to defer further proceedings (Section 3(f)).
- The appeal must be supported by proof of service of a copy on the adverse party or counsel and on the prosecutor by personal delivery or registered mail, evidenced by registry receipts and affidavit of mailing (Section 3(g)).
- The appellant must annex copies of the material and pertinent affidavits/sworn statements and evidence submitted in the preliminary investigation and the resolution appealed from (Section 3).
- The prosecutor must inform the Department of the action of the court on the motion to defer further proceedings (Section 3).
Non-Appealable Probable Cause Resolutions
- Section 4 prohibits appeals from a resolution of the Chief State Prosecutor/Regional State Prosecutor/Provincial or City Prosecutor finding probable cause, except upon showing of manifest error or grave abuse of discretion.
- Even with a showing of manifest error or grave abuse of discretion, no appeal is entertained if the appellant had already been arraigned (Section 4).
- If the appellant is arraigned during the pendency of the appeal, the appeal is dismissed motu proprio by the Secretary of Justice (Section 4).
- A reinvestigation/motion for reinvestigation from a resolution finding probable cause does not hold the filing of the information in court (Section 4).
Answer, Withdrawal, Reinvestigation
- Answering period: Section 5 requires the appellee to file a verified answer within a non-extendible 15-day period from receipt of a copy of the appeal.
- The verified answer must indicate the date the copy of the appeal was received and must include proof of service of the answer to the appellant (Section 5).
- If no answer is filed, the case is resolved on the basis of the appeal (Section 5).
- Withdrawal: Under Section 6, the appellant may withdraw the appeal at any time before it is finally resolved, even if the appeal has already been perfected; the appealed resolution then stands as though no appeal has been taken.
- Motion for reinvestigation: Under Section 7, after the appeal is perfected and before resolution, the appellant may file a motion for reinvestigation based on newly discovered new and material evidence that appellant could not have discovered with reasonable diligence during the preliminary investigation and that, if produced and admitted, would probably change the resolution.
- Where reinvestigation occurs: Under Section 8, if reinvestigation is granted, it takes place in the Office of the Prosecutor from which the appeal was taken.
Secretary’s Powers and Grounds for Dismissal
- Under Section 9, the Secretary of Justice may reverse, affirm, or modify the appealed resolution.
- The Secretary of Justice may dismiss the appeal outright motu proprio or on motion of the appellee on any of the following grounds (Section 9):
- the offense has prescribed (Section 9(a));
- there is no showing of any reversible error (Section 9(b));
- the procedure or requirements prescribed in these rules have not been complied with (Section 9(c));
- the appealed resolution is interlocutory in nature, except when it suspends proceedings based on the alleged existence of a prejudicial question (Section 9(d));
- other legal or factual grounds warrant dismissal (Section 9(e)).
Reconsideration Limitations
- Section 10 allows the aggrieved party to file a motion for reconsideration within a non-extendible 10-day period from receipt of the resolution on the appeal.
- The motion for reconsideration must furnish copies to the adverse party or counsel and to the Prosecutor (Section 10).
- No second motion for reconsideration may be entertained (Section 10).
Supersession and Effectivity
- Section 11 provides that these rules supersede Department Circular No. 7 dated 25 January 1990.
- Section 12 provides that effectivity occurs on August 1, 1993 after publication in a newspaper of general circulation.