RULE 114 BAIL BAIL It is the security given for the release of a person in custody of the law, furnished

d by him or a bondsman, to guarantee his appearance before any court as required under the conditions hereinafter specified. Bail may be given in the form of a corporate surety, property bond, cash deposit or recognizance PURPOSES OF A BAIL: 1. to honor the presumption of innocence until his guilt is proven beyond reasonable doubt 2. to enable him to prepare his defense without being subject to punishment prior to conviction. FORMS OF BAIL: 1. corporate surety 2. property bond 3. cash deposit 4. recognizance Section 10. Corporate Surety Any domestic or foreign corporation, licensed as surety in accordance with law and currently authorized to act as such, may provide bail by bond subscribed jointly by the accused and an officer of the corporation duly authorized by the board of directors. The term of the bail bond is not dependent upon faithful payment of the bond premium. Section 11. Property bond; how posted PROPERTY BOND It is an undertaking constituted as a lien on the real property given as security for the amount of the bail. Within 10 days after the approval of the bond, the accused shall annotate the lien on the certificate of title with the Registry of Deeds and on the corresponding tax declaration in the office of the provincial, city and municipal assessor concerned. Failure to do so shall be sufficient cause for cancellation of the property bond and his re-arrest and detention.

Section 14. Deposit of cash as bail The accused or any person acting on his behalf may deposit cash with the nearest collector of internal revenue or provincial, city or municipal treasurer the amount of bail fixed by the court or recommended by the prosecutor who investigated or filed the case. The trial judge has no authority to strictly require that only cash bond, instead of a surety bond, be deposited for the provisional release of the accused. Section 15. Recognizance RECOGNIZANCE It is an obligation of record, entered into before some court or officer authorized to take it with a condition to do some particular act, the most usual condition in criminal cases being the appearance of the accused for trial. The release of the accused may be on his own recognizance, which means that he has become his own jailer. It may be to a responsible person. Persons charged with offenses falling under the Rule on Summary Procedure may be released either on bail or on recognizance of a responsible citizen acceptable to the court. HOLD-DEPARTURE ORDERS Supreme Court Circular No. 39-97 dated June 19, 1997 limits the authority to issue hold departure orders to the RTCs in criminal cases within their exclusive jurisdiction. Consequently, MTC judges have no authority to issue hold-departure orders, following the maxim, express mention implies the exclusion. Neither does he have authority to cancel one which he issued.

Section 4. Bail, a matter of right; exception WHEN BAIL IS A MATTER OF RIGHT: 1. before or after conviction by the MTC 2. before conviction, for all offenses punishable by lower than reclusion perpetua Prosecution does not have the right to oppose or to present evidence for its denial.

WHEN BAIL IS A MATTER OF DISCRETION: 1. before conviction, in offenses punishable by death, reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment 2. after conviction by the RTC of a non-capital offense Prosecution is entitled to present evidence for its denial.

HEARING OF APPLICATION FOR BAIL IN CAPITAL OFFENSES

Thus the general rule is that prior to conviction by the regional trial court of a criminal offense, an accused is entitled to be released on bail as a matter of right, the present exceptions thereto being the instances where the accused is charged with a capital offense or an offense punishable by reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment and the evidence of guilt is strong. Under the said general rule, upon proper application for admission to bail, the court having custody of the accused should, as a matter of course, grant the same only after a hearing conducted to specifically determine the conditions of the bail in accordance with Sec. 2 of rule 114. On the other hand, as the grant of bail becomes a matter of judicial discretion on the part of the court under the exceptions to the rule, a hearing mandatory in nature and which should be summary or otherwise in the discretion of the court is required with the participation of both the defense and a duly notified representative of the prosecution, this time to ascertain whether or not the evidence of guilt is strong for the provisional liberty of the applicant. The burden of proof is on the prosecution to show that the evidence meets the required quantum. In a summary hearing conducted for the purpose of determining whether the evidence of guilt is strong for purposes of bail, what the court does is to determine the weight of evidence, not the guilt or innocence of the accused. On such hearing, the court does not sit to try the merits or to enter into any 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. After conviction, an accused who is charged with capital offense or punishable by reclusion perpetua shall no longer be entitled to bail as a matter of right, even if he appeals as evidence of guilt is strong.

Section 6. Capital offense, defined CAPITAL OFFENSE It is an offense which, under the law existing at the time of its commission and of the application for admission to bail may be punished with death. The capital nature of an offense is determined by the penalty prescribed by law, and not by the penalty that may be imposed after trial and on the basis of the evidence adduced and the presence of aggravating or mitigating circumstance.

NOTE: Republic Act No. 9346 entitled An Act Prohibiting the Imposition of Death Penalty in the Philippines was enacted on June 24, 2006 repealing R.A. No. 8177 and R. A. No. 7659 and abolishing the death penalty. Section 9. Amount of bail; guidelines THE JUDGE SHALL FIX A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF BAIL CONSIDERING PRIMARILY, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE FOLLOWING FACTORS: a. Financial ability of the accused to give bail; b. Nature and circumstances of the offense; c. Penalty for the offense charged; d. Character and reputation of the accused; e. Age and health of the accused; f. Weight of the evidence against the accused; g. Probability of the accused appearing at the trial; h. Forfeiture of other bail; i. The fact that the accused was a fugitive from justice when arrested; and j. Pendency of other cases where the accused is on bail. Section 16. Bail, when not required; reduced bail or recognizance BAIL IS NOT REQUIRED WHEN THE LAW OR RULES PROVIDE: 1. Offense charged is violation of an ordinance, light felony or criminal offense the imposable penalty does not exceed 6 months of imprisonment and/or fine of P2,000 under RA 6036. 2. Where the accused applied for probation and before the same has been resolved but no bail was filed or the accused is incapable of one, in which case he may be released on his own recognizance.

3. In case of a youthful offender held for physical or mental examination, trial or appeal, if unable to furnish bail and under the circumstances provided by P.D. 603, as amended. 4. A person who has been in custody for a period equal to or more than the possible maximum imprisonment prescribed for the offense charged, without prejudice to the continuation of the trial or the proceedings on appeal. 5. A person accused of an offense with a maximum penalty of destierro shall be released after 30 days of preventive imprisonment. Reduced Bail A person in custody for a period to or more than the minimum of the principal penalty prescribed for the offense charged, without application of the Indeterminate Sentence Law or any modifying circumstance, shall be released on a reduced bail or on his own recognizance at the discretion of the court. Section 20. Increase or reduction of bail The Court may, upon good cause, either increase or reduce the amount of the bail. If the accused does not give the increased amount of bail within a reasonable time will be committed to custody. NOTE: Where the offense is bailable, the mere probability that the accused will escape or if he had previously escaped while under detention does not deprive him of his right to bail. The remedy is to increase the amount of bail, provided the amount is not excessive. (Sy Guan v. Amparo, 79 Phil 670) Section 21. Forfeiture of bail 1. When bail bond forfeited: only in instances where the presence of the accused is specifically required by the court or the Rules of Court and, despite due notice to the bondsmen to produce him before the court on a given date, the accused fails to appear in person as so required. 2. To justify exemption from liability on a bail bond or reduction thereof, two requisites must be satisfied: production or surrender of the person of the accused within 30 days from notice of the order of the court to produce the body of the accused or giving reasons for its nonproduction

 satisfactory explanations for the nonappearance of the accused when first required by the trial court to appear. Compliance with the first requisite without meeting the second requisite will not justify non-forfeiture of a bail bond or reduction of liability. Failure to PRODUCE the body of the principal or give a reason for his nonproduction and EXPLAIN why the accused did not appear before the court when first required to do so, the court shall render a judgment against the bondsmen, jointly and severally for the amount of the bail. The period of 30 days cannot be shortened by the court but may be extended for good cause shown. Section 22. Cancellation of bail BAIL IS CANCELLED: 1. Upon application of the bondsmen with due notice to the prosecutor, upon surrender of the accused or proof of his death; 2. Upon acquittal of the accused; 3. Upon dismissal of the case; or 4. Execution of judgment of conviction. Without prejudice to any liability on the bail. Section 26. Bail is not a bar to objections on illegal arrest, lack of or irregular preliminary investigation AN APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION TO BAIL SHALL NOT BAR THE ACCUSED FROM: 1. Challenging the validity of his arrest; or 2. The legality of the warrant issued therefore; or 3. From assailing the regularity or questioning the absence of a preliminary investigation of the charge against him. Provided that the accused raises them before entering his plea The court shall observe the matter as early as practicable, but not later than the start of the trial of the case.