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complainant or offended party may appeal or file a petition for certiorari or mandamus, if
grave abuse amounting to excess or lack of jurisdiction is shown and the aggrieved party
has no right of appeal or given an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law.
- Garcia v. Ferro Chemicals, Inc., G.R. No. 172505, October 1, 2014, citing Mobilia
Products, Inc. v. Hajime Urnezawa, 493 Phil. 85 (2005)

Where the Court sustained the private offended party's right in a criminal case to file a
special civil action for certiorari to question the validity of the judgment of dismissal and
ruled that the Solicitor General's intervention was not necessary, the recourse of the
complainant to the Court is proper since it was brought in her own name and not in that
of the People of the Philippines. In any event, the OSG joins petitioner's cause in its
Comment, thereby fulfilling the requirement that all criminal actions shall be prosecuted
under the direction and control of the public prosecutor.
- People v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 183652, February 25, 2015, citing Dela
Rosa v. CA, 323 Phil. 596 (1996)

Section 5, Rule 110 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure states that all criminal actions
are prosecuted under the direction and control of the public prosecutor. The prosecution
of offenses is thus the concern of the government prosecutors. The purpose in
impleading the People of the Philippines as respondent in the RTC and in the CA is to
enable the public prosecutor or Solicitor General, as the case may be, to comment on
the petitions.
- Maximo v. Villapando. Jr., G.R. Nos. 214925 & 214965, April 26, 2017

RULE 112
Preliminary Investigation

SECTION 1. Preliminary investigation defined; when required. — Preliminary

investigation is an inquiry or proceeding to determine whether there is sufficient ground
to engender a well-founded belief that a crime has been committed and the respondent
is probably guilty thereof, and should be held for trial.

Except as provided in Section 6 of this Rule, a preliminary investigation is required to be

conducted before the filing of a complaint or information for an offense where the penalty
prescribed by law is at least four (4) years, two (2) months and one (1) day without
regard to the fine. (la)

Purposes of a Preliminary Investigation

A preliminary investigation is conducted before an accused is placed on trial to secure

the innocent against hasty, malicious, and oppressive prosecution; to protect him from
an open and public accusation of a crime, as well as from the trouble, expenses, and
anxiety of a public trial. It is also intended to protect the State from having to conduct
useless and expensive trials. Thus, a preliminary investigation is not a mere formal or
technical right but is a substantive right.
Ernesto Marcelo, Jr., et al. vs. Rafael R. Villordon, G.R. No. 173081, December
15, 2010

A preliminary investigation constitutes a realistic judicial appraisal of the merits of a case.

Its purpose is to determine whether (a) a crime has been committed; and (b) whether
there is a probable cause to believe that the accused is guilty thereof.
- Burgundy Realty Corp. vs. Josefa C. Reyes, et al., G,R. No. 181021, December
10, 2012

Character of Preliminary Investigation

Preliminary investigation is executive in character. It does not contemplate a judicial
function. It is essentially an inquisitorial proceeding, and often, the only means of
ascertaining who may be • reasonably charged with a crime. Prosecutors control and