A.M. No. 15-06-10-SC, or the Revised Guidelines for Continuous Trial of Criminal Cases provides that: ” In criminal cases before First Level Courts (i.e. Municipal and Metropolitan Trial Courts, etc.), witness testimonies shall consist of (i) duly subscribed written statements given to law enforcement officers; or (ii) affidavits or counter-affidavits submitted during preliminary investigation; or (iii) if (i) and (ii) are not available, judicial affidavits.”
Authority to Prosecute Criminal Cases
In cases where only the civil liability is being prosecuted by a private prosecutor, the head of the prosecution office must issue in favor of the private prosecutor a written authority to try the case even in the absence of the public prosecutor. The written authority must be submitted to the court prior to the presentation of evidence by the private prosecutor in accordance with Sec. 5, Rule 110. With this authority on record, the court may set the trial in the case and in other cases tried by private prosecutors with delegated authority on separate days when the presence of the public prosecutor may be dispensed with.
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