Escolar Documentos
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Cultura Documentos
213847|
Aug. 18, 2015| J. Bersamin
TOPIC:
FACTS: The Office of the Ombudsman charged
Respondent Enrile and several others with plunder
in the Sandiganbayan in connection with their
purported involvement in the diversion and misuse
of appropriations under the PDAF. Respondent
sought to post bail which was heard by the graft
court after his arrest.
Enrile argued, on his motions, that he should be
allowed to post bail because: (a) the Prosecution had
not yet established that the evidence of his guilt was
strong; (b) although he was charged with plunder,
the penalty as to him would only be reclusion
temporal, not reclusion perpetua; and (c) he was not
a flight risk, and his age and physical condition must
further be seriously considered.
The Sandiganbayan eventually denied Respondents
motions, resolving that: (1) the propriety of granting
bail is hinged on whether there is strong evidence of
guilt, which the prosecution is given the opportunity
to establish; (2) the presence of mitigating
circumstance/s is not taken into consideration in the
granting of bail as it is a matter pertinent in the
imposition of the proper penalty; and (3) the fact of
being not a flight risk, of old age and physical
condition are to be appreciated by the court only
when the prosecution is accorded said opportunity to
present evidence.
Thus, Respondent filed the instant petition for
certiorari asserting his right to provisional liberty.
ISSUE: W/N the Accused JPE, who is accused of
plunder, a capital offense punishable by reclusion
perpetua, may be released on bail.
HELD: The Resolutions of the Sandiganbayan
denying the motions interposed by the Accused
Enrile for the purpose of posting bail are set aside,
and the Accused is provisionally released upon
posting the cash bond of PhP1,000,000.00.
RATIO: On the nature and purpose of bail. The
concept of bail originates from the cardinal principle
of due process and is in line with presumption of
innocence observed in criminal. It was not
conceived to prevent the accused from committing
additional crimes. [Its] purpose is to guarantee the
appearance of the accused at the trial, or whenever
so required by the trial court. The amount of bail
should be high enough to assure the presence of the
accused when so required, but it should be no higher
than is reasonably calculated to fulfill this purpose.
Thus, bail acts as a reconciling mechanism to
accommodate both the accuseds interest in his
provisional liberty before or during the trial, and the
societys interest in assuring the accuseds presence
at trial.
Bail as a matter of right or of discretion. Procedure.
The general rule is that any person, before being
convicted of any criminal offense, shall be bailable,
unless he is charged with a capital offense, or with
an offense punishable with reclusion perpetua or life
imprisonment, and the evidence of his guilt is
strong. Hence, from the moment he is placed under
arrest, or is detained or restrained by the officers of
the law, he can claim the guarantee of his
provisional liberty and he retains his right to bail
unless he is charged with a capital offense, or with