SECOND DIVISION

A.M. No. RTJ-96-1335 March 5, 1997

INOCENCIO BASCO, complainant,

vs.
JUDGE LEO M. RAPATALO, Regional Trial Court, Branch 32, Agoo, La
Union, respondent.

R E S O L U T I O N

ROMERO, J.:

In a sworn letter-complaint dated August 14, 1995, complainant

Inocencio Basco charged respondent Judge Leo M. Rapatalo of RTC,
Branch 32, Agoo, La Union with gross ignorance or willful
disregard of established rule of law for granting bail to an
accused in a murder case (Criminal Case No. 2927) without
receiving evidence and conducting a hearing.

Complainant, who is the father of the victim, alleged that an

information for murder was filed against a certain Roger
Morente, one of three accused. The accused Morente filed a
petition for bail. The hearing for said petition was set for May
31, 1995 by petitioner but was not heard since the respondent
Judge was then on leave. It was reset to June 8, 1995 but on
said date, respondent Judge reset it to June 22, 1995. The
hearing for June 22, 1995, however, did not materialize.
Instead, the accused was arraigned and trial was set. Again, the
petition for bail was not heard on said date as the
prosecution's witnesses in connection with said petition were
not notified. Another attempt was made to reset the hearing to
July 17, 1995.

In the meantime, complainant allegedly saw the accused in

Rosario, La Union on July 3, 1995. He later learned that the
accused was out on bail despite the fact that the petition had
not been heard at all. Upon investigation, complainant
discovered that bail had been granted and a release order dated
June 29, 1995 1 was issued on the basis of a marginal note 2 dated
June 22, 1995, at the bottom of the bail petition by Assistant
Prosecutor Manuel Oliva which stated: "No objection:
P80,000.00," signed and approved by the assistant prosecutor and
eventually by respondent Judge. Note that there was already a
release order dated June 29, 1995 on the basis of the marginal
note of the Assistant Prosecutor dated June 22, 1995 (when the
hearing of the petition for bail was aborted and instead
arraignment took place) when another hearing was scheduled for
July 17, 1995.

In his comment dated October 16, 1995, respondent Judge alleged

that he granted the petition based on the prosecutor's option
not to oppose the petition as well as the latter's
recommendation setting the bailbond in the amount of P80,000.00.
He averred that when the prosecution chose not to oppose the
petition for bail, he had the discretion on whether to approve
it or not. He further declared that when he approved the
petition, he had a right to presume that the prosecutor knew
what he was doing since he was more familiar with the case,
having conducted the preliminary investigation. Furthermore, the
private prosecutor was not around at the time the public
prosecutor recommended bail.

Respondent Judge stated that in any case, the bailbond posted by

accused was cancelled and a warrant for his arrest was issued on
account of complainant's motion for reconsideration. The
Assistant Provincial Prosecutor apparently conformed to and
approved the motion for reconsideration. 3 To date, accused is
confined at the La Union Provincial Jail.

A better understanding of bail as an aspect of criminal

procedure entails appreciating its nature and purposes. "Bail"
is the security required by the court and given by the accused
to ensure that the accused appears before the proper court at
the scheduled time and place to answer the charges brought
against him or her. In theory, the only function of bail is to
ensure the appearance of the defendant at the time set for
trial. The sole purpose of confining the accused
in jail before conviction, it has been observed, is to assure
his presence at the trial. 4 In other words, if the denial of
bail is authorized in capital offenses, it is only in theory
that the proof being strong, the defendant would flee, if he has
the opportunity, rather than face the verdict of the court.
Hence the exception to the fundamental right to be bailed should
be applied in direct ratio to the extent of probability of
evasion of the prosecution. 5 In practice, bail has also been
used to prevent the release of an accused who might otherwise be
dangerous to society or whom the judges might not want to
release." 6
It is in view of the abovementioned practical function of bail
that it is not a matter of right in cases where the person is
charged with a capital offense punishable by death, reclusion
perpetua or life imprisonment. Article 114, section 7 of the
Rules of Court, as amended, states, "No person" charged with a
capital offense, or an offense punishable by reclusion perpetua
or life imprisonment when the evidence of guilt is strong, shall
be admitted to bail regardless of the stage of the criminal
action."

When the grant of bail is discretionary, the prosecution has the

burden of showing that the evidence of guilt against the accused
is strong. However, the determination of whether or not the
evidence of guilt is strong, being a matter of judicial
discretion, remains with the judge. "This discretion by the very
nature of things, may rightly be exercised only after the
evidence is submitted to the court at the hearing. Since the
discretion is directed to the weight of the evidence and since
evidence cannot properly be weighed if not duly exhibited or
produced before the court, 7 it is obvious that a proper exercise
of judicial discretion requires that the evidence of guilt be
submitted to the court, the petitioner having the right of cross
examination and to introduce his own evidence in rebuttal." 8

To be sure, the discretion of the trial court, "is not absolute

nor beyond control. It must be sound, and exercised within
reasonable bounds. Judicial discretion, by its very nature
involves the exercise of the judge's individual opinion and the
law has wisely provided that its exercise be guided by well-
known rules which, while allowing the judge rational latitude
for the operation of his own individual views, prevent them from
getting out of control. An uncontrolled or uncontrollable
discretion on the part of a judge is a misnomer. It is a
fallacy. Lord Mansfield, speaking of the discretion to be
exercised in granting or denying bail said: "But discretion when
applied to a court of justice, means sound discretion guided by
law. It must be governed by rule, not by humour; it must not be
arbitrary, vague and fanciful; but legal and regular." 9

Consequently, in the application for bail of a person charged

with a capital offense punishable by death, reclusion perpetua
or life imprisonment, a hearing, whether summary or otherwise in
the discretion of the court, must actually be conducted to
determine whether or not the evidence of guilt against the
accused is strong. "A summary hearing means such brief and
speedy method of receiving and considering the evidence of guilt
as is practicable and consistent with the purpose of hearing
which is merely to determine the weight of evidence for the
purposes of bail. On such hearing, the court does not sit to try
the merits or to enter into any nice inquiry as to the weight
that ought to be allowed to the evidence for or against the
accused, nor will it speculate on the outcome of the trial or on
what further evidence may be therein offered and admitted. The
course of inquiry may be left to the discretion of the court
which may confine itself to receiving such evidence as has
reference to substantial matters, avoiding unnecessary
thoroughness in the examination and cross examination." 10 If a
party is denied the opportunity to be heard, there would be a
violation of procedural due process.

That it is mandatory for the judge to require a hearing in a

petition for bail is emphasized in the following cases:

(1) People v. Sola decided in 1981. 11 In this case

seven separate informations for murder were filed
against the accused Sola and 18 other persons. After
preliminary investigation. the municipal trial court
issued warrants for their arrest. However without
giving the prosecution the opportunity to prove that
the evidence of guilt against the accused is strong,
the court granted them the right to post bail for
their temporary release. Citing People v San Diego, 12
we held: "We are of the considered opinion that
whether the motion for bail of a defendant who is in
custody for a capital offense be resolved in a summary
proceeding or in the course of a regular trial, the
prosecution must be given an opportunity to present,
within a reasonable time, all the evidence that it may
desire to introduce before the court should resolve
the motion for bail. If, as in the criminal case
involved in the instant special civil action, the
prosecution should be denied such an opportunity,
there would be a violation of procedural due process,
and the order of the court granting bail should be
considered void on that ground.

(2) People v. Dacudao decided in 1989. 13 In this case,

an information was filed against the accused for
murder, a non-bailable offense. The judge, without
conducting any hearing, granted bail on the ground
that there was not enough evidence to warrant a case
for murder because only affidavits of the prosecution
witnesses who were allegedly not eyewitnesses to the
crime were filed. We held: "Whatever the court
possessed at the time it issued the questioned ruling
was intended only for prima facie determining whether
or not there is sufficient ground to engender a well
founded belief that the crime was committed and
pinpointing the persons who probably committed it.
Whether or not the evidence of guilt is strong for
each individual accused still has to established
unless the prosecution submits the issue on whatever
it has already presented. To appreciate the strength
or weakness of the evidence of guilt, the prosecution
must be consulted or held. It is equally entitled to
due process.

(3) People v. Calo decided in 1990. 14 In this case,

the prosecution was scheduled to present nine
witnesses at the hearings held to determine whether
the evidence against the private respondents was
strong. After hearing the fifth witness, the
respondent judge insisted on terminating the
proceedings. We held: "The prosecution in the instant
case was not given adequate opportunity to prove that
there is strong evidence of guilt and to present
within a reasonable time all the evidence it desired
to present.

(4) Libarios v. Dabalo decided in 1991 15 which

involved an administrative complaint against the
respondent judge for ignorance of the law and grave
abuse of discretion. In this case, the respondent
judge, without conducting any prior hearing, directed
the issuance of a warrant of arrest against the
accused charged with murder, fixing at the same time
the bail at P50,000.00 each on the ground that the
evidence against them was merely circumstantial. We
held: "Where a person is accused of a capital offense,
the trial court must conduct a hearing in a summary
proceeding to allow the prosecution to present, within
a reasonable time, all evidence it may desire to
produce to prove that the evidence of guilt against
the accused is strong before resolving the issue of
bail for the temporary release of the accused. Failure
to conduct a hearing before fixing bail in the instant
case amounted to a violation of due process." The
respondent judge was ordered to pay a fine of
P20,000.00 and warned to exercise more care in the
performance of his duties.
(5) People v. Nano decided in 1992. 16 In this case,
the judge issued an order admitting the accused in a
kidnapping and murder case to bail without any
hearing. We held: "The prosecution must first be given
an opportunity to present evidence because by the very
nature of deciding applications for bail, it is on the
basis of such evidence that judicial discretion is
weighed against in determining whether the guilt of
the accused is strong."

(6) Pico v. Combong, Jr. decided in 1992. 17 In this

administrative case, the respondent judge granted bail
to an accused charged with an offense punishable by
reclusion perpetua, without notice and hearing, and
even before the accused had been arrested or detained.
We held: "It is well settled that an application for
bail from a person charged with a capital offense (now
an offense punishable by reclusion perpetua) must be
set for hearing at which both the defense and the
prosecution must be given reasonable opportunity to
prove (in case of the prosecution) that the evidence
of guilt of the applicant is strong, or (in the case
of the defense) that such evidence of guilt was not
strong." The respondent judge was ordered to pay a
fine of P20,000.00 and warned to exercise greater care
and diligence in the performance of his duties.

(7) De Guia v. Maglalang decided in 1993, 18 the

respondent judge issued a warrant of arrest and also
fixed the bail of an accused charged with the non
bailable offense of statutory rape, without allowing
the prosecution an opportunity to show that the
evidence of guilt against the accused is strong.
Respondent judge alleged that the only evidence on
record = the sworn statements of the complaining
witness and her guardian = were not sufficient to
justify the denial of bail. We held: "It is an
established principle that in cases where a person is
accused of a capital offense, the trial court must
conduct a hearing in a summary proceeding, to allow
the prosecution an opportunity to present, within a
reasonable time, all evidence it may desire to produce
to prove that the evidence of guilt against the
accused is strong, before resolving the issue of bail
for the temporary release of the accused. Failure to
conduct a hearing before fixing bail amounts to a
violation of due process." It was noted that the
warrant of arrest was returned unserved and that after
the case was re-raffled to the complainant judge's
sala, the warrant was set aside and cancelled. There
was no evidence on record showing whether the approved
bail was revoked by the complainant judge, whether the
accused was apprehended or whether the accused filed
an application for bail. Hence, the respondent judge
was ordered to pay a fine of P5,000.00 instead of the
usual P20,000.00 that the court imposes on judges who
grant the application of bail without notice and
hearing.

(8) Borinaga v. Tamin decided in 1993. 19 In this case,

a complaint for murder was filed against five persons.
While the preliminary investigation was pending in the
Municipal Circuit Trial Court, a petition for bail was
filed by one of the accused before the respondent
judge in the Regional Trial Court. The respondent
judge ordered the prosecutor to appear at the hearing
to present evidence that the guilt of the accused is
strong. At the scheduled hearing, the public
prosecutor failed to appear prompting the respondent
to grant the application for bail. We held: "Whether
the motion for bail of an accused who is in custody
for a capital offense be resolved in a summary
proceeding or in the course of a regular trial, the
prosecution must be given an opportunity to present
within a reasonable time all evidence it may desire to
introduce before the court may resolve the motion for
bail." The respondent judge was fined P20,000.00 and
was warned that the commission of a similar offense in
the future will be dealt with more severely.

(9) Aurillo v. Francisco decided in 1994. 20 In this

administrative case, the respondent judge issued two
separate warrants of arrest against two persons
charged with murder and parricide, but fixed the
amount of bail for each accused without notifying the
prosecution of any motion to fix bail nor of any order
granting the same. Citing People v. Dacudao, 21 we
held: "A hearing is absolutely indispensable before a
judge can properly determine whether the prosecution's
evidence is weak or strong. Hence, a denial of the
prosecution's request to adduce evidence, deprives it
of procedural due process, a right to which it is
equally entitled as the defense. A hearing is required
to afford the judge a basis for determining the
existence of those factors set forth under Rule 114,
Sec 6." The respondent judge was ordered to pay a fine
of P20,000 with a warning that the commission of the
same or similar acts in the future will be dealt with
more severely.

(10) Estoya v. Abraham-Singson decided in 1994. 22 In

this case, an administrative complaint was filed
against the respondent judge, alleging, among others,
that she granted an application for bail filed by the
accused charged with murder. The grant was made over
the objection of the prosecution which insisted that
the evidence of guilt was strong and without allowing
the prosecution to present evidence in this regard. We
held: "In immediately granting bail and fixing it at
only P20,000.00 for each of the accused without
allowing the prosecution to present its evidence, the
respondent denied the prosecution due process. This
Court had said so in many cases and had imposed
sanctions on judges who granted applications for bail
in capital offenses and in offenses punishable by
reclusion perpetua without giving the prosecution the
opportunity to prove that the evidence of guilt is
strong." The respondent judge was dismissed from
service because the erroneous granting of bail was
just one of the offenses found to have been committed
by her in the aforesaid complaint.

(11) Aguirre v. Belmonte decided in 1994. 23 In this

administrative case, the respondent judge issued
warrants of arrest and, at the same time and on his
own motion, authorized the provisional release on bail
of the accused in two criminal cases for murder. The
accused were still at large at the time the order
granting bail was issued. We held: "A hearing is
mandatory before bail can be granted to an accused who
is charged with a capital offense." The judge was
ordered to pay a fine of P25,000.00 with a warning
that a repetition of the same or similar acts in the
future will be dealt with more severely. He was meted
a fine in a higher amount than the usual P20,000.00
because it involved two criminal cases wherein the
respondent judge, "was not only the grantor of bail
but likewise the applicant therefor."

(12) Lardizabal v. Reyes decided in 1994. 24 In this

administrative case, the respondent judge issued an
order directing the arrest of the accused charged with
rape and, motu proprio, fixed the bail of the accused
in the amount of P80,000.00 without any application on
the part of the accused to be admitted to bail. When
the accused filed a motion to reduce bailbond, the
respondent judge, again, without any prior notice and
hearing, reduced the bail to P40,000.00. We held: "The
rule is explicit that when an accused is charged with
a serious offense punishable by reclusion perpetua,
such as rape, bail may be granted only after a motion
for that purpose has been filed by the accused and a
hearing thereon conducted by a judge to determine
whether or not the prosecution's evidence of guilt is
strong." The respondent judge was ordered to pay a
fine of P20,000.00 with a warning that a repetition of
similar or the same offense will be dealt with more
severely.

(13) Guillermo v. Reyes decided in 1995 25 involving an

administrative complaint against the respondent judge
for granting bail to the two accused charged with
serious illegal detention. When the two accused first
filed a joint application for bail, the petition for
bail was duly heard and the evidence offered by the
accused and the prosecution in opposition thereto were
properly taken into account. However, the respondent
judge denied the application for bail on the around
that it was premature since the accused were not yet
in custody of the law. In a subsequent order, the
respondent judge, without conducting any hearing on
aforestated application and thereby denying the
prosecution an opportunity to oppose the same, granted
said petition upon the voluntary appearance in court
of the two accused. Respondent judge insisted that
there was a hearing but the proceeding he adverted to
was that which was conducted when the motion for bail
was first considered and then denied for being
premature. We held: "The error of the respondent judge
lies in the fact that in his subsequent consideration
of the application for bail, he acted affirmatively
thereon without conducting another hearing and what is
worse, his order concededly lacked the requisite
summary or resume of the evidence presented by the
parties and necessary to support the grant of bail."
The respondent judge was reprimanded because despite
the irregularity in the procedure adopted in the
proceeding, the prosecution was undeniably afforded
the benefit of notice and hearing. No erroneous
appreciation of the evidence was alleged nor did the
prosecution indicate its desire to introduce
additional evidence in an appropriate challenge to the
aforestated grant of bail by the respondent.

(14) Santos v. Ofilada decided in 1995. 26 In this

case, an administrative complaint was filed against
the respondent judge, who, without notice and hearing
to the prosecution, granted bail to an accused charged
with murder and illegal possession of firearm. We
held: "Where admission to bail is a matter of
discretion, a hearing is mandatory before an accused
can be granted bail. At the hearing, both the
prosecution and the defense must be given reasonable
opportunity to prove, in case of the prosecution, that
the evidence of guilt of the applicant is strong, and
in the case of the defense, that evidence of such
guilt is not strong." The respondent judge was ordered
to pay a fine of P20,000.00 with a warning that a
repetition of similar acts will warrant a more severe
sanction.

(15) Sule v. Biteng decided in 1995. 27 In this

administrative case, the respondent judge, without
affording the prosecution the opportunity to be heard,
granted with indecent haste the petition for bail
filed by the accused charged with murder because the
accused ". . . voluntarily surrendered to the
authorities as soon as he was informed that he was one
of the suspect (sic) . . . ." We held: "With his open
admission that he granted bail to the accused without
giving the prosecution any opportunity to be heard,
the respondent deliberately disregarded decisions of
this court holding that such act amounts to a denial
of due process, and made himself administratively
liable for gross ignorance of the law for which
appropriate sanctions may be imposed." The respondent
judge was ordered to pay a fine of P20,000.00 and
warned that commission of the same or similar acts in
the future will be dealt with more severely.

(16) Reymualdo Buzon, Jr. v. Judge Tirso Velasco

decided in 1996. 28 In this administrative case, the
respondent judge, without hearing nor comment from the
prosecution, granted bail to an accused charged with
murder. Notably, no bail was recommended in the
 warrant of arrest. We held: "When bail is a matter of
discretion, the judge is required to conduct a hearing
and to give notice of such hearing to the fiscal or
require him to submit his recommendation. . . . Truly,
a judge would not be in a position to determine
whether the prosecution's evidence is weak or strong
unless a hearing is first conducted." A fine of
P20,000.00 was imposed on the respondent judge with
the stern warning that a repetition of the same or
similar acts in the future will be dealt with more
severely.

The aforecited cases are all to the effect that when bail is
discretionary, a hearing, whether summary or otherwise in the
discretion of the court, should first be conducted to determine
the existence of strong evidence, or lack of it, against the
accused to enable the judge to make an intelligent assessment of
the evidence presented by the parties.

Since the determination of whether or not the evidence of guilt

against the accused is strong is a matter of judicial
discretion, the judge is mandated to conduct a hearing even in
cases where the prosecution chooses to just file a comment or
leave the application for bail to the discretion of the court.

Hence:

(1) In the case of Gimeno v. Arcueno, Sr., 29 an administrative

complaint was filed against the respondent judge for granting
bail to one of the accused in a robbery with homicide case
without affording the prosecution a chance to be heard. The
respondent judge explained that he issued an order for the
motion to fix bail but the public prosecutor filed a comment
instead which respondent judge thought was adequate compliance
with law. Respondent added that the evidence of guilt of the
accused, as disclosed by the records, was not so strong as to
deny the application for bail. In fact, the accused who filed
for bail, together with three others, were later dropped by the
Office of the Provincial Prosecutor from the information for
failure of the witnesses to positively identify them. We held:
"The grant of bail is a matter of right except in cases
involving capital offenses when the matter is left to the sound
discretion of the court. That discretion lies, not in the
determination whether or not a hearing should be held but in the
appreciation and evaluation of the prosecution's evidence of
guilt against the accused. . . . A hearing is plainly
indispensable before a judge can aptly be said to be in a
position to determine whether the evidence for the prosecution
is weak or strong." Although the respondent judge's explanation
was not enough to completely exculpate him, the circumstances,
coupled with his sincere belief in the propriety of his order
warranted a mitigation of the usual sanction the court imposes
in cases of this nature. The respondent judge was ordered to pay
a fine of P5,000.00 and warned that a repetition of the same or
similar act in the future will be dealt with more severely.

(2) In the case of Concerned Citizens v. Elma, 30 an

administrative complaint was filed against the respondent judge
for granting bail to a person charged with illegal recruitment
in large scale and estafa in five separate informations. The
accused filed a motion to fix bail and the respondent judge
instead of setting the application for hearing, directed the
prosecution to file its comment or opposition. The prosecution
submitted its comment leaving the application for bail to the
discretion of the court. The respondent judge, in granting the
bail of the accused rationalized that in ordering the
prosecution to comment on the accused's motion to fix bail, he
has substantially complied with the requirement of a formal
hearing. He further claimed that he required the prosecution to
adduce evidence but the latter refused and left the
determination of the motion to his discretion. This Court held,
"It is true that the weight of the evidence adduced is addressed
to the sound discretion of the court. However, such discretion
may only be exercised after the hearing called to ascertain the
degree of guilt of the accused for the purpose of determining
whether or not he should be granted liberty. . . . In the case
at bar, however, no formal hearing was conducted by the
respondent judge. He could not have assessed the weight of
evidence against the accused Gatus before granting the latter's
application for bail." The respondent judge was dismissed from
service because he was previously fined for a similar offense
and was sternly warned that a repetition of the same or similar
offense would be dealt with more severely.

(3) In the case of Baylon v. Sison, 31 an administrative

complaint was filed against the respondent judge for granting
bail to several accused in a double murder case. The respondent
judge claimed that he granted the application for bail because
the assistant prosecutor who was present at the hearing did not
interpose an objection thereto and that the prosecution never
requested that it be allowed to show that the evidence of guilt
is strong but instead, submitted the incident for resolution.
The respondent judge further claimed that the motion for
reconsideration of the order granting bail was denied only after
due consideration of the pertinent affidavits. We held: "The
discretion of the court, in cases involving capital offenses may
be exercised only after there has been a hearing called to
ascertain the weight of the evidence against the accused.
Peremptorily, the discretion lies, not in determining whether or
not there will be a hearing, but in appreciating and evaluating
the weight of the evidence of guilt against the accused." The
respondent judge was ordered to pay a fine of P20,000.00 with a
stern warning that the commission of the same or similar offense
in the future would be dealt with more severely.

A hearing is likewise required if the prosecution refuses to

adduce evidence in opposition to the application to grant and
fix bail. "The importance of a hearing has been emphasized in
not a few cases wherein the court ruled that even if the
prosecution refuses to adduce evidence or fails to interpose an
objection to the motion for bail, it is still mandatory for the
court to conduct a hearing or ask searching questions from which
it may infer the strength of the evidence of guilt, or the lack
of it, against the accused." 32

In the recent case of Tucay v. Domagas, 33 an administrative

complaint was filed against the respondent judge for granting
bail to an accused charged with murder. The application for bail
contained the annotation "No objection" of the provincial
prosecutor and the respondent judge, without holding a hearing
to determine whether the evidence of the prosecution was strong,
granted bail and ordered the release of the accused from
detention with instructions to the bondsman to register the bond
with the Register of Deeds within ten days. It was later found
out that the assessed value of the property given was short of
the amount fixed for the release of the accused. We held:
"Although the provincial prosecutor had interposed no objection
to the grant of bail to the accused, respondent judge should
have nevertheless have set the petition for bail for hearing and
diligently ascertained from the prosecution whether the latter
was not really contesting the bail application . . . . Only
after satisfying himself that the prosecution did not wish to
oppose the petition for bail for justifiable cause (e.g., for
tactical reasons) and taking into account the factors enumerated
in Rule 114, Sec. 6 for fixing bail should respondent judge have
ordered the petition for bail and ordered the release of the
accused." Respondent judge herein was ordered to pay a fine of
P20,000.00 and was given a stern warning that the commission of
a similar offense in the future would be dealt with more
severely.
Corollarily, another reason why hearing of a petition for bail
is required, as can be gleaned from the abovecited case, is for
the court to take into consideration the guidelines set forth in
Section 6, Rule 114 of the Rules of Court in fixing the amount
of bail. 34 This Court, in a number of cases 35 held that even if
the prosecution fails to adduce evidence in opposition to an
application for bail of an accused, the court may still require
that it answer questions in order to ascertain not only the
strength of the state' s evidence but also the adequacy of the
amount of bail.

After hearing, the court's order granting or refusing bail must

contain a summary of the evidence for the prosecution. 36 On the
basis thereof, the judge should then formulate his own
conclusion as to whether the evidence so presented is strong
enough as to indicate the guilt of the accused. Otherwise, the
order granting or denying the application for bail may be
invalidated because the summary of evidence for the prosecution
which contains the judge's evaluation of the evidence may be
considered as an aspect of procedural due process for both the
prosecution and the defense.

This court in the case of Carpio v. Maglalang 37 invalidated the

order of respondent judge granting bail to the accused because
"Without summarizing the factual basis of its order granting
bail, the court merely stated the number of prosecution
witnesses but not their respective testimonies, and concluded
that the evidence presented by the prosecution was not
"sufficiently strong" to deny bail to Escano."

With the mounting precedents, this Court sees no reason why it

has to repeatedly remind trial court judges to perform their
mandatory duty of conducting the required hearing in bail
applications where the accused stands charged with a capital
offense.

An evaluation of the records in the case at bar reveals that

respondent Judge granted bail to the accused without first
conducting a hearing to prove that the guilt of the accused is
strong despite his knowledge that the offense charged is a
capital offense in disregard of the procedure laid down in
Section 8, Rule 114 of the Rules of Court as amended by
Administrative Circular No. 12-94.

Respondent judge admittedly granted the petition for bail based

on the prosecution's declaration not to oppose the petition.
Respondent's assertion, however, that he has a right to presume
that the prosecutor knows what he is doing on account of the
latter's familiarity with the case due to his having conducted
the preliminary investigation is faulty. Said reasoning is
tantamount to ceding to the prosecutor the duty of exercising
judicial discretion to determine whether the guilt of the
accused is strong. Judicial discretion is the domain of the
judge before whom the petition for provisional liberty will be
decided. The mandated duty to exercise discretion has never been
reposed upon the prosecutor.

In the case of Montalbo v. Santamaria, 38 this Court held that

the respondent judge is duty bound to exercise judicial
discretion conferred upon him by law to determine whether in the
case at bar, the proof is evident or the presumption of guilt is
strong against the defendant and to grant or deny the petition
for provisional liberty. It also held that a writ of mandamus
will lie in order to compel the respondent judge to perform a
duty imposed upon him by law.

The absence of objection from the prosecution is never a basis

for granting bail to the accused. It is the court's
determination after a hearing that the guilt of the accused is
not strong that forms the basis for granting bail. Respondent
Judge should not have relied solely on the recommendation made
by the prosecutor but should have ascertained personally whether
the evidence of guilt is strong. After all, the judge is not
bound by the prosecutor's recommendation. Moreover, there will
be a violation of due process if the respondent Judge grants the
application for bail without hearing since Section 8 of Rule 114
provides that whatever evidence presented for or against the
accused's provisional release will be determined at the hearing.

The practice by trial court judges of granting bail to the

accused when the prosecutor refuses or fails to present evidence
to prove that the evidence of guilt of the accused is strong can
be traced to the case of Herras Teehankee v. Director of Prisons
39
where this Court gave the following "instructions" to the
People's Court, 40 thus:

1) In capital cases like the present when the

prosecutor does not oppose the petition for release on
bail, the court should, as a general rule, in the
proper exercise of its discretion, grant the release
after the approval of the bail which it should fix for
the purpose;
 2) But if the court has reasons to believe that the
special prosecutor's attitude is not justified, it may
ask him questions to ascertain the strength of the
state's evidence or to judge the adequacy of the
amount of bail;

3) When, however, the special prosecutor refuses to

answer any particular question on the ground that the
answer may involve a disclosure imperiling the success
of the prosecution or jeopardizing the public
interest, the court may not compel him to do so, if
and when he exhibits a statement to that effect of the
Solicitor General, who, as head of the Office of
Special Prosecutors, is vested with the direction and
control of the prosecution, and may not, even at the
trial, be ordered by the court to present evidence
which he does not want to introduce — provided, of
course, that such refusal shall not prejudice the
rights of the defendant or detainee. 41

The rationale for the first instruction was stated by this

Court, as follows:

If, for any reason, any party should abstain from

introducing evidence in the case for any definite
purpose, no law nor rule exists by which he may be so
compelled and the court before which the case is
pending has to act without that evidence and, in so
doing, it clearly would not be failing in its duties.
If the Constitution or the law plots a certain course
of action to be taken by the court when certain
evidence is found by it to exist, and the opposite
course if that evidence is wanting, and said evidence
is not voluntarily adduced by the proper party, the
court's clear duty would be to adopt that course which
has been provided for in case of absence of such
evidence. Applying the principle to the case at bar,
it was no more within the power — nor discretion — of
the court to coerce the prosecution into presenting
its evidence than to force the prisoner into adducing
hers. And when both elected not to do so, as they had
a perfect right to elect, the only thing remaining for
the court to do was to grant the application for bail.

As for the second instruction, this Court stated that:

 The prosecutor might not oppose the application for
bail and might refuse to satisfy his burden of proof,
but where the court has reasons to believe that the
prosecutor's attitude is not justified, as when he is
evidently committing a gross error or a dereliction of
duty, the court must possess a reasonable degree of
control over him in the paramount interest of justice.
Under such circumstance, the court is authorized by
our second instruction to inquire from the prosecutor
as to the nature of his evidence to determine whether
or not it is strong, it being possible for the
prosecutor to have erred in considering it weak and,
therefore, recommending bail.

As for the third instruction, this Court declared:

It must be observed that the court is made to rely

upon the official statement of the Solicitor General
on the question of whether or not the revelation of
evidence may endanger the success of the prosecution
and jeopardize the public interest. This is so, for
there is no way for the court to determine that
question without having the evidence disclosed in the
presence of the applicant, disclosure which is sought
to be avoided to protect the interests of the
prosecution before the trial.

It is to be recalled that Herras Teehankee was decided fully

half a century ago under a completely different factual milieu.
Haydee Herras Teehankee was indicted under a law dealing with
treason cases and collaboration with the enemy. The said
"instructions" given in the said case under the 1940 Rules of
Court no longer apply due to the amendments introduced in the
1985 Rules of Court.

In the 1940 Rules of Court of the Philippines, the applicable

provisions on "Bail" provides, as follows:

Sec. 5. Capital offenses defined. — A capital offense,

as the term is used in this rule, is an offense which,
under the law existing at the time of its commission,
and at the time of the application to be admitted to
bail, may be punished by death.

Sec. 6. Capital offenses not bailable. — No person in

custody for the commission of a capital offense shall
 be admitted to bail if the evidence of his guilt is
strong.

Sec. 7. Capital offense — burden of proof. — On the

hearing of an application for admission to bail made
by any person who is in custody for the commission of
a capital offense, the burden of showing that the
evidence of guilt is strong is on the prosecution.

The above-cited provisions have not been adopted in toto in the

1985 Rules of Court, as amended by Administrative Circular No.
12-94, since some phrases and lines have been intercalated, as
shown by the underscored phrases and statements below:

Sec. 6. Capital offense, defined. — A capital offense,

as the term is used in these rules, is an offense
which, under the law existing at the time of its
commission and at the time of the application to be
admitted to bail, may be punished with death.

Sec. 7. Capital offense or an offense punishable by

reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment, not bailable.
— No person charged with a capital offense, of an
offense punishable by reclusion perpetua or life
imprisonment, when evidence of guilt is strong, shall
be admitted to bail regardless of the stage of the
criminal prosecution.

Sec. 8. Burden of proof in bail application. — At the

hearing of an application for admission to bail filed
by any person who is in custody for the commission of
an offense punishable by death, reclusion perpetua or
life imprisonment, the prosecution has the burden of
showing that evidence of guilt is strong. The evidence
presented during the bail hearings shall be considered
automatically reproduced at the trial, but upon motion
of either party, the court may recall any witness for
additional examination unless the witness is dead,
outside of the Philippines or otherwise unable to
testify.

It should be noted that there has been added in Section 8 a

crucial sentence not found in the counterpart provision, Section
7, Rule 110 of the 1940 Rules of Court. The above-underscored
sentence in section 8, Rule 114 of the 1985 Rules of Court, as
amended, was added to address a situation where in case the
prosecution does not choose to present evidence to oppose the
application for bail, the judge may feel duty-bound to grant the
bail application. In such a case, the judge may well lose
control of the proceedings. In a sense, this undermines the
authority of a judge since all that the prosecution has to do to
"force" the judge to grant the bail application is to refrain
from presenting evidence opposing the same. In effect, this
situation makes Sections 6 and 7 of the 1940 Rules of Court on
"Bail" meaningless since whether or not the evidence of guilt of
a person charged with a capital offense is strong cannot be
determined if the prosecution chooses not to present evidence or
oppose the bail application in a hearing precisely to be
conducted by the trial judge for that purpose, as called for in
the two sections. In the event that the prosecution fails or
refuses to adduce evidence in the scheduled hearing, then a
hearing as in a regular trial should be scheduled. In this
regard, a hearing in the application for bail necessarily means
presentation of evidence, and the filing of a comment or a
written opposition to the bail application by the prosecution
will not suffice.

The prosecution under the revised provision is duty bound to

present evidence in the bail hearing to prove whether the
evidence of guilt of the accused is strong and not merely to
oppose the grant of bail to the accused. "This also prevents the
practice in the past wherein a petition for bail was used as a
means to force the prosecution into a premature revelation of
its evidence and, if it refused to do so, the accused would
claim the grant of bail on the ground that the evidence of guilt
was not strong." 42

It should be stressed at this point, however, that the nature of

the hearing in an application for bail must be equated with its
purpose i.e., to determine the bailability of the accused. If
the prosecution were permitted to conduct a hearing for bail as
if it were a full-dress trial on the merits, the purpose of the
proceeding, which is to secure the provisional liberty of the
accused to enable him to prepare for his defense, could be
defeated. At any rate, in case of a summary hearing, the
prosecution witnesses could always be recalled at the trial on
the merits. 43

In the light of the applicable rules on bail and the

jurisprudential principles just enunciated, this Court
reiterates the duties of the trial judge in case an application
for bail is filed:
 (1) Notify the prosecutor of the hearing of the
application for bail or require him to submit his
recommendation (Section 18, Rule 114 of the Rules of
Court as amended);

(2) Conduct a hearing of the application for bail

regardless of whether or not the prosecution refuses
to present evidence to show that the guilt of the
accused is strong for the purpose of enabling the
court to exercise its sound discretion (Sections 7 and
8, supra);

(3) Decide whether the evidence of guilt of the

accused is strong based on the summary of evidence of
the prosecution (Baylon v. Sison, supra);

(4) If the guilt of the accused is not strong,

discharge the accused upon the approval of the
bailbond. (Section 19, supra). Otherwise, petition
should be denied.

The above-enumerated procedure should now leave no room for

doubt as to the duties of the trial judge in cases of bail
applications. So basic and fundamental is it to conduct a
hearing in connection with the grant of bail in the proper cases
that it would amount to judicial apostasy for any member of the
judiciary to disclaim knowledge or awareness thereof. 44 A judge
owes it to the public and the administration of justice to know
the law he is supposed to apply to a given controversy. He is
called upon to exhibit more than just a cursory acquaintance
with the statutes and procedural rules. There will be faith in
the administration of justice only if there be a belief on the
part of litigants that the occupants of the bench cannot justly
be accused of a deficiency in their grasp of legal principles. 45

Respondent judge herein insists that he could exercise his

discretion in granting bail to the accused since the Assistant
Prosecutor signified in writing that he had no objection to the
grant of bail and recommended, instead, the bailbond in the sum
of P80,000.00. It is to be emphasized that although the court
may have the discretion to grant the application for bail, in
cases of capital offenses, the determination as to whether or
not the evidence of guilt is strong can only be reached after
due hearing which, in this particular instance has not been
substantially complied with by the respondent Judge.
While it may be true that the respondent judge set the
application for bail for hearing three times, thus showing lack
of malice or bad faith in granting bail to the accused,
nonetheless, this does not completely exculpate him because the
fact remains that a hearing has not actually been conducted in
violation of his duty to determine whether or not the evidence
against the accused is strong for purposes of bail. Normally,
the Court imposes a penalty of P20,000.00 fine in cases where
the judge grants the application for bail without notice and
hearing. In view however of the circumstances of this case, a
reprimand instead of the P20,000.00 would suffice.

WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, respondent Judge Leo M.

Rapatalo, RTC, Branch 32, Agoo, La Union, is hereby REPRIMANDED
with the WARNING that a repetition of the same or similar acts
in the future will be dealt with more severely.

SO ORDERED.