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The Right To Bail Notes
The Right To Bail Notes
Art. III, Sec. 13. All persons, except those charged with offenses
punishable by reclusion perpetua when evidence of guilt is strong,
shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, or be
released on recognizance as may be provided by law. The right to bail
shall not be impaired even when the privilege of the writ of habeas
corpus is suspended. Excessive bail shall not be required."
Section 1 of R.A. No. 6036 provides that "any provision of law to the
contrary notwithstanding, bail shall not be required of a person
charged with violation of a criminal offense the prescribed penalty for
which is not higher than six months imprisonment and/or a fine of
two thousand pesos, or both."
R.A. No. 6036 allows the release of the accused on his own
recognizance only where it has been established that he is unable to
post the required cash or bail bond.
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. It is awarded to the accused to honor the presumption of
innocence until his guilt is proven beyond reasonable doubt, and to
enable him to prepare his defense without being subject to
punishment prior to conviction.
3. Decide whether the guilt of the accused is strong based on the summary
of evidence of the prosecution;
4. If the guilt of the accused is not strong, discharge the accused upon the
approval of the bail bond (Section 19, supra) Otherwise petition should be
denied.
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.