5. Control of Prosecution

Provided:

• Authorized in writing by the Chief of the Prosecution Office or the Regional State Prosecution; and
• Subject to the approval of the Court (Rule 110, Sec. 5).

Once so authorized, private prosecutor shall continue to prosecute the case up to the end of trial unless the authority is revoked or withdrawn.

Prior to the filing of the information in court, the prosecutor has full control of the case. He decides who should be charged in court and who should be excluded from the information.

But once the case is already filed in court, the same can no longer be withdrawn or dismissed without the tribunal’s approval. Should the prosecutor find it proper to conduct a reinvestigation of the case at such stage, the permission of the Court must be secured (Crespo v. Mogul, G.R. No. L-53373, 1987)