SUSPENSION OF ARRAIGNMENT:

The grounds for suspension of arraignment are provided under Section 11, Rule 116 of the Rules of Court, which provides:

SEC. 11. Suspension of Arraignment. – Upon motion by the proper party, the arraignment shall be suspended in the following cases: (a)    The accused appears to be suffering from an unsound mental condition which effectively renders him unable to fully understand the charge against him and to plead intelligently thereto. In such case, the court shall order his mental examination and, if necessary, his confinement for such purpose; (b)   There exists a prejudicial question; and (c) A petition for review of the resolution of the prosecutor is pending at either the Department of Justice, or the Office of the President; Provided, that the period of suspension shall not exceed sixty (60) days counted from the filing of the petition with the reviewing office.

     In Samson v. Daway, G.R. Nos. 160054-55, July 21, 2004, 434 SCRA 612, the Court explained that while the pendency of a petition for review is a ground for suspension of the arraignment, the afore-cited provision limits the deferment of the arraignment to a period of 60 days reckoned from the filing of the petition with the reviewing office.  It follows, therefore, that after the expiration of said period, the trial court is bound to arraign the accused or to deny the motion to defer arraignment.  (SPOUSES ALEXANDER TRINIDAD VS. VICTOR ANG, G.R. No. 192898, January 31, 2011, BRION, J.)