In brief
On 22 September 2023, the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) issued OCA Circular 335-2023, providing instructions for trial courts in instances where the prosecution seeks dismissal of criminal cases, based on the new evidentiary standard — “lack of prima facie evidence or reasonable certainty to sustain a conviction” — adopted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) earlier this year.
In more detail
The OCA has issued a fresh set of instructions to all trial court judges when resolving requests for dismissals in criminal cases. OCA Circular 335-2023 follows the DOJ’s series of circulars that modify criminal procedure in the Philippines, by introducing the “reasonable certainty of conviction” standard when pursuing criminal cases, and implementing procedures that ensure proactive involvement by prosecutors during case build-up. Our briefer on the DOJ Circulars can be found here.
Under the OCA Circular — where the prosecution seeks dismissal of criminal cases and files a Motion to Withdraw Information or Motion to Dismiss based on “lack of prima facie evidence or reasonable certainty to sustain a conviction” — trial court judges are directed to: (a) not outrightly deny such request on the ground that the court has already made a determination of probable cause; and (b) instead, carefully assess and evaluate independently the evidence so far presented by the prosecution in each case.
The circular explains that this is “to prevent the further clogging of court dockets and to uphold the rights of the accused to be relieved from going through a trial, once the court ascertains that the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction.”
Why this is relevant to you
With the issuance of OCA Circular 335-2023, parties to criminal cases may expect trial courts to be more accommodating to requests for dismissal. Parties to ongoing or prospective criminal cases may therefore need to consider re-evaluating their evidence (if a complainant) or defense (if an accused) from the perspective of the “reasonable certainty of conviction” standard.
*Authored by Quisumbing Torres, a member firm of Baker & McKenzie International, a Swiss Verein. Please contact QTInfoDesk@quisumbingtorres.com for inquiries.
