
Originally Posted by
Juan Martinez
what case did you file, criminal or civil?
if civil case, you need to appoint a legal representative by executing a special power of attorney authorizing a person to initiate or defend a case in your behalf.
if criminal and the crime committed against you was a private crime (those that cannot be prosecuted except at the instance of the private complainant, like acts of laaciviousness, seduction, abduction), nobody can file it but you.
if criminal and the crime committed is not a private crime but public crime (one where it can be prosecuted de oficio, meaning it can initiated by the police or any officer charged with the enforcement of the law violated), you don't need a representative. all you need to do if you are the complainant is to execute a complaint - affidavit detailing what happened. please take note that private complainants in public crimes are relegated merely as witnesses for the "people of the Philippines." This is so because crimes are outrage against the state which the latter has the right to be vindicated. in the case of private crimes, the offended party is the only one who can jumpstart the prosecutory process. this is an option granted by our law for her or him to suffer the outrage in silence rather than go through the scandal of public trial.