RULE 127

PROVISIONAL REMEDIES IN CRIMINAL CASES

1. Provisional remedy is one provided for present need or for the occasion that is one adopted to meet a
particular exigency;

2. The following are the provisional remedies under the Rules of Court:

 Attachment (Rule 57)

 Injunction (Rule 58)

 Receivership (Rule 59)

 Delivery of personal property or Replevin(Rule 60) and

 Support Pendente Lite (Rule 61)

3. Purpose of provisional remedies

 Provisional remedies are applied pending litigation, to secure the judgment or preserve
the status quo

 If provisional remedies are applied to after judgment, it is in order to preserve or dispose

of the subject matter.

4. Although civil action is suspended until final judgment in the criminal case, the court is not deprived of
its authority to issue preliminary and auxiliary writs which do not go into the merits of the case.

 Preliminary writs and auxiliary writs referred to are those such as the ff:

 Preliminary injunction

 Attachment

 Appointment of receiver

 Fixing amounts of bonds

5. Attachment is a remedy afforded to the offended party to have the property of the accused
attached as security for the satisfaction of any judgment that may be recovered from the
accused

 This remedy is available in the following cases:

 When action for recovery is on a cause of action arising from law, contract, quasi-
contract, delict, or quasi-delict and accused is about to abscond from the Philippines;

 When the criminal action is based on a claim for money or property embezzled or
fraudulently misapplied or converted to the use of the accused who is a public officer,
or any officer of a corporation, or an attorney, factor, broker, agent, or clerk, in the
course of his employment as such, or by any person in a fiduciary capacity, or for a
willful violation of duty;
  When the accused has concealed, removed or disposed of his property or is about to
do so;

 When action is against a party guilty of fraud in contracting the debt upon which
action is brought, or in the performance of incurred obligation;

 When action is against a party who removed or disposed of his property or is about to
do so, with intent to defraud his creditors; and

 When the accused resides outside the Philippines

 This may be filed at the commencement of a criminal action or at any time before entry of
judgment as security for the satisfaction of any judgment that may be recovered in the
aforementioned cases.

6. Public prosecutor has the authority to apply for preliminary attachment as may be necessary to
protect the interest of the offended party