Section 13. Duplicity of the offense. — A complaint or information must charge but one offense, except when the law prescribes a single punishment for various offenses.


● Duplicity of charges simply means a single complaint or information charges more than one offense. There is duplicity (or multiplicity) of charges when a single Information charges more than one offense. (Loney vs. People, G.R. No. 152644, February 10, 2006)

Exception:  

When  the  law  provides  only  one  punishment  for  the various offenses.

1. Complex and compound crimes
2. Special Complex crimes
3. Continuous crimes or delicto continuado
4. Crimes of which another offense is an ingredient


Reason for the rule:

● The Rules prohibit the filing of such Information to avoid confusing the accused in preparing his defense (Loney vs. People, G.R. No. 152644, February 10, 2006)

● The prohibition of filing an information with multiple offenses is predicated in the protection of the constitutional right of the accused to be properly informed of the nature and cause of the accusation. (People v. XXX, G.R. No. 240750, June 21, 2021)


Remedy

● If two or more offenses are alleged in the information, the remedy of the accused is to file a motion to quash as provided in Section 3(f),16 Rule 117 of the 2000 Rules on Criminal Procedure. The failure to object to the information before the arraignment would result in a waiver to challenge the procedural infirmity. As in this case, the accused-appellant failed to file a motion to quash the Information. Thus, the CA correctly convicted him for Statutory Rape and Rape by sexual assault.

Further, the accused-appellant could also file a motion for bill of particulars, if he felt that the allegations in the information are vague, to enable him to properly plead and prepare for trial. Unfortunately, the accused-appellant did not avail of these procedural remedies. On the contrary, he actively participated in the trial. Hence, he is estopped to challenge the defective information. (People v. XXX, G.R. No. 240750, June 21, 2021)



Effect of failure to object

● If the accused fails to object before arraignment, he is deemed to have waived the defect in the Information, and he may be convicted of as many offenses as are charged and proved during trial. (Rule 120, Sec. 3, Rules of Court)

● An accused, who fails to object prior to arraignment to a duplicitous information, may be found guilty of any or all of the crimes alleged therein and duly proven during the trial, for the allegation of the elements of such component crimes in the said information has satisfied the constitutional guarantee that an accused be informed of the nature of the offense with which he or she is being charged.  Verily, a duplicitous information is valid since such defect may be waived and the accused, because of such waiver, could be convicted of as many offenses as those charged in the information and proved during trial. (Dimayacyac vs. People, G.R. No. 136264, May 28, 2004)