JUAN PONCE ENRILE v. SANDIGANBAYAN, GR No.

213847, 2015-08-18
Facts:
petition for certiorari filed by Senator Juan Ponce Enrile to assail and annul the resolutions... issued
by the Sandiganbayan... where he has been charged with plunder along with several others.
Enrile insists that the resolutions, which respectively denied his Motion To Fix Bail and his Motion
For Reconsideration, were issued with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack... or excess of
jurisdiction.
the Office of the Ombudsman charged Enrile and several others with plunder in the Sandiganbayan
on the basis of their purported involvement in the diversion and misuse of appropriations under the
Priority Development Assistance Fund
Enrile respectively filed his Omnibus Motion... and Supplemental Opposition... raying, among
others, that he be allowed to post bail should probable cause be found... against him.
Sandiganbayan issued its resolution denying Enrile’s motion,... particularly on the matter of bail, on
the ground of its prematurity considering that Enrile had not yet then voluntarily surrendered or been
placed under the custody of the law
On the same day that the warrant for his arrest was issued, Enrile voluntarily surrendered... nd was
later on confined at the Philippine National Police (PNP) General
Hospital following his medical examination
Enrile filed... his Motion to Fix Bail... nrile argued that he should be allowed to post bail becaus...
rosecution had not yet established that the evidence of his guilt was strong;... although he was
charged with plunder, the penalty as to him would only be reclusion... temporal, not reclusion
perpetua... he was not a flight risk, and his age and physical condition must further be seriously
considered.
Sandiganbayan issued its... assailed resolution denying Enrile’s
It is thus exceedingly premature for accused Enrile to ask the Court to fix his bail.
[F]or purposes of bail, the presence of mitigating circumstance/s is not taken into consideration.
These circumstances will only be appreciated in the imposition of the proper penalty after trial should
the accused be found guilty of the offense charged.
it is premature for the Court to fix the amount of bail without an anterior showing that... the evidence
of guilt against accused Enrile is not strong.
Sandiganbayan issued its second assailed resolution to deny Enrile’s motion for reconsideration
Enrile claims that before judgment of conviction, an accused is entitled to bail as matter of right; that
it is the duty and burden of the Prosecution to show clearly and conclusively that Enrile comes under
the exception and cannot be excluded from enjoying the right to bail;... that the Prosecution has failed
to establish that Enrile, if convicted of plunder, is punishable by reclusion perpetua considering the
presence of two mitigating circumstances – his age and his voluntary surrender; that the Prosecution
has not come forward with proof... showing that his guilt for the crime of plunder is strong; and that
he should not be considered a flight risk taking into account that he is already over the age of 90, his
medical condition, and his social standing.
Ombudsman contends that Enrile’s right to bail is discretionary as he is charged with a capital
offense; that to be granted bail, it is mandatory that a bail hearing be conducted to determine whether
there is strong evidence... of his guilt, or the lack of it; and that entitlement to bail considers the
imposable penalty, regardless of the attendant circumstances.
Issues:
whether to detain or release an accused before and during trial... an incident of the judicial power to
hear and determine his criminal case.
a good measure of the accused’s propensity... for flight or for causing harm to the public, is
subsidiary to the primary objective of bail, which is to ensure that the accused appears at trial.
Ruling:
petition for certiorari is meritorious.
We also do not ignore that at an earlier time many years ago when he had been charged with
rebellion with murder and multiple frustrated murder, he already... evinced a similar personal
disposition of respect for the legal processes, and was granted bail during the pendency of his trial
because he was not seen as a flight risk.
With his solid reputation in both his public and his private lives, his long years... of public service,
and history’s judgment of him being at stake, he should be granted bail.
The currently fragile state of Enrile’s health presents another compelling justification for his
admission to bail, but which the Sandiganbayan did not recognize.
It is relevant to observe that granting provisional liberty to Enrile will then enable him to have his
medical condition be properly addressed and better attended to by competent physicians in the
hospitals of his choice. This will not only aid in his adequate preparation of his... defense but, more
importantly, will guarantee his appearance in court for the trial.
There may be... circumstances decisive of the issue of bail – whose existence is either admitted by
the Prosecution, or is properly the subject of judicial notice – that the courts can already consider in
resolving the application for bail without awaiting the trial to finish.
The Court thus balances the scales of justice by protecting the interest of the People through ensuring
his personal appearance at the trial, and at the same time realizing for him the guarantees of due
process as well as to be presumed innocent until proven... guilty.
Accordingly, we conclude that the Sandiganbayan arbitrarily ignored the objective of bail to ensure
the appearance of the accused during the trial; and unwarrantedly disregarded the clear showing of
the fragile health and advanced age of Enrile. As such, the Sandiganbayan... gravely abused its
discretion in denying Enrile’s Motion To Fix Bail. Grave abuse of discretion, as the ground for the
issuance of the writ of certiorari, connotes whimsical and capricious exercise of judgment as is
equivalent to excess, or lack of... jurisdiction.
The abuse must be so patent and gross as to amount to an evasion of a positive duty or to a virtual
refusal to perform a duty enjoined by law, or to act at all in contemplation of law as where the power
is exercised in an arbitrary and... despotic manner by reason of passion or hostility.
Principles:
The purpose of bail 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 accused’s interest in his...
provisional liberty before or during the trial, and the societ... y’s interest in assuring the accused’s
presence at trial.
The general rule is, therefore, 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 under the Bill of Rights, and he retains his right to bail 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.
Once it has been established that the evidence of guilt is strong, no right to bail shall be recognized.
ll criminal cases within the competence of the Metropolitan Trial Court, Municipal Trial Court,
Municipal Trial Court in Cities, or Municipal Circuit Trial Court are bailable as matter of right
because these courts have no jurisdiction to try capital offenses, or... offenses punishable with
reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment... ail is a matter of right prior to conviction by the Regional
Trial Court (RTC) for any offense not punishable by death, reclusion perpetua, or life imprisonment,
or even prior to... conviction for an offense punishable by death, reclusion perpetua, or life
imprisonment when evidence of guilt is not strong... bail is discretionary... upo... n conviction by the
RTC of an offense not punishable by death, reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment... if the RTC has
imposed a penalty of imprisonment exceeding six years,... provided none of the circumstances
enumerated under paragraph 3 of Section 5, Rule 114
That he is a recidivist, quasi-recidivist, or habitual delinquent, or has committed the crime aggravated
by the circumstance of reiteration;
(b)
That he has previously escaped from legal confinement, evaded sentence, or violated the conditions
of his bail without valid justification;
(c)
That he committed the offense while under probation, parole, or conditional pardon;
(d)
That the circumstances of his case indicate the probability of flight if re... l... eased on ba... l
;... r
(e)
That there is undue risk that he may commit another crime during the pendency of the appeal.
For purposes of admission to bail, the determination of whether or not evidence of guilt is strong in
criminal cases involving capital offenses, or offenses punishable with reclusion perpetua or life
imprisonment lies within the discretion of the trial court.
such discretion may be exercised only after the hearing called to ascertain the degree of guilt of the
accused for the purpose of whether or not he should be granted provisional liberty... bail cannot be
allowed when its grant is a matter of discretion on the part of the trial court unless there has been a
hearing with notice to the Prosecution.
It is, therefore, the maximum penalty provided by the offense that has bearing and not the possibility
of mitigating circumstances being... appreciated in the accused’s favor.
The Court is further mindful of... the Philippines’ responsibility in the international community
arising from the national commitment under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Philippines, therefore, has the responsibility of protecting and promoting the right of every
person to liberty and due process, ensuring that those detained or arrested can participate in the
proceedings before a court, to enable it to decide... without delay on the legality of the detention and
order their release if justified. In other words, the Philippine authorities are under obligation to make
available to every person under detention such remedies which safeguard their fundamental right to
liberty. These remedies... include the right to be admitted to bail.