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Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Is Plunder Bailable or Non-bailable?


You must have read and heard this from the media countless of times: plunder is a non-
bailable offense. And no one cared. But I guess its important to put the subject in
proper perspective. Given medias broad reach, clout, and influence, I wont be surprised
if the public has come to believe so by now.
But isnt it, in fact, non-bailable? you might ask.
The answer is no. It is not non-bailable. It is bailable.
Nowhere in R.A. 7080, the law on plunder, does it say that plunder is a non-bailable
offense. The reason is R.A. 7080, cannot go against the fundamental law of the land, the
Constitution.
The right to bail is enshrined in the 1987 Constitution, specifically under the Bill of
Rights, viz:
ARTICLE III BILL OF RIGHTS
xxx
Section 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.
On the other hand, the Revised Rules of Court couched the provision on bail, viz:
RULE 114 Bail
xxx
Section 4. Bail, a matter of right; exception. All persons in custody shall be admitted
to bail as a matter of right, with sufficient sureties, or released on recognize as
prescribed by law or this Rule (a) before or after conviction by the Metropolitan Trial
Court, Municipal Trial Court, Municipal Trial Court in Cities, or Municipal Circuit Trial
Court, and (b) before conviction by the Regional Trial Court of an offense not
punishable by death, reclusion perpetua, or life imprisonment. (4a)
Section 5. Bail, when discretionary. Upon conviction by the Regional Trial Court of an
offense not punishable by death, reclusion perpetua, or life imprisonment, admission to
bail is discretionary. The application for bail may be filed and acted upon by the trial
court despite the filing of a notice of appeal, provided it has not transmitted the original
record to the appellate court. However, if the decision of the trial court convicting the
accused changed the nature of the offense from non-bailable to bailable, the application
for bail can only be filed with and resolved by the appellate court.
If you notice the constitutional provision grants all, before conviction, the right to
bail, and excepting only those charged with offenses punishable by reclusion
perpetua when evidence of guilt is strong. One need not only be charged with an
offense punishable by reclusion perpetua, but that the circumstances of its commission
must be such that the strength of guilt may be appreciated against the accused.
Meaning, while plunder is an offense punished by life imprisonment, which is the
maximum penalty for violations of special lawswhat reclusion perpetua is to violations
of the Revised Penal Codethe evidence of guilt has to be strong for it to be taken out of
the guarantee on bail.
On the other hand, the provision of the Rules of Court on bail takes its guarantee a notch
further, by adding before or after conviction in cases commenced and heard in, or
filed before a Metropolitan Trial Court, Municipal Trial Court, Municipal Trial Court in
Cities, or Municipal Circuit Trial Court, or offenses punished by no more than six
months, as one of two conditions under which the right to bail may be availed of as a
matter of right. While in cases filed before the Regional Trial Court, before conviction
of an offense not punishable by death, reclusion perpetua, or life imprisonment. (4a),
in keeping with the letter of the Constitutional.
The rule on bail continues, in its section 5, to spotlight its bias for availability of the
remedy of bail to the accused, by making it accessible even upon or after conviction by
the Regional Trial Court of an offense not punishable by death, reclusion perpetua, or
life imprisonment. This time, however, it is by discretion of the court, and in cases
where the penalty imposed by the court is more than six months, there are certain
requirements and conditions that must be met in order to keep the accuseds provisional
liberty while awaiting the outcome of the appeal, in cases where appeal is duly perfected.
Interestingly, while the Constitution speaks only of offenses punished by reclusion
perpetua as offenses for which bail is conditional, the Rules stretches it to include
offenses punished by life imprisonment. Life imprisonment is the maximum
imprisonment penalty for crimes violating a special law, while reclusion perpetua is the
maximum imprisonment penalty for crimes violating the provisions of the Revised
Penal Code, also called felonies. Death penalty was outlawed by R.A. 9346.
The implication would have been, for crimes violating special laws, like plunder, bail
would be available regardless of the extent of penalty. But thanks to the Court, by its
rule-making power, it wisely preempted the anomalous scenario where a crime as
reprehensible as one punished in the Revised Penal Code would be treated differently
(lightly) simply because it is not included in its codification.

So you see, the rule is all offenses, including plunder, are bailable. The popular media
mouthpiece is the exception.

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