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YAP vs. CA G.R. No. 141529 06 June 2001 Right to Bail, e!tion 1" #$%!essive i& e'ual to !ivil lia(ilit)* +AC
Petitioner was convicted of estafa for misappropriating amounts equivalent to P5,500,000.00. He filed a notice of appeal, and moved to be allowed provisional liberty under the cash bond he had filed earlier in the proceedings. The motion was denied by the RT. RT. Petitioner filed with t he ! a "otion to #i$ %ail for the Provisional &iberty of !ccused !ppellant Pending !ppeal, invo'ing the last paragraph of (ection 5, Rule ))* of the )++ Revised Rules of ourt. The (olicitor -eneral opined that the petitioner may be allowed to post bail in the amount of P5.5 million and be required to secure a certificationguaranty from the "ayor of the place of his residence that he is a resident of the area and that he will remain to be so until final /udgment is rendered or in case he transfers residence, it must be with prior notice to t he court and private complainant. The ! upheld the (olicitor -enerals recommendation. ! motion for reconsideration was filed, see'ing the reduction of the amount of bail fi$ed by !, but was denied. -$ )1 23 the ! committed committed -!4&6 -!4&6 in fi$ing fi$ing the bail in the the amount amount of P5.5 million million based based on the petitioners civil liability 71 23 the ! unduly unduly restricte restricted d petitioners petitioners constitu constitutional tional liberty liberty of abode abode and travel in imposing the other conditions for the grant of bail. /$ )1 8es.
The Rules of ourt never intended for the civil liability of the accused to be a guideline or basis for determining the amount of bail. The amount should be high enough to assure the presence of the accused when required but no higher than is reasonably calculated to fulfil this purpose. To bail at an amount a mount equivalent to the civil liabilit y of which petitioner is charged is to permit the impression that the amount paid as bail i s an e$action of the civil liability that accused is charged of. %ail is not intended as a punishment nor as a satisfaction of civil liability which should necessarily await the /udgment of the appellate court. 9mposing bail in an e$cessive amount could render meaningless the right to bail. The ourt will not hesitate to e$ercise its supervisor y powers over lower courts should the latter, after holding the accused entitled to bail, effectively deny the same by imposing a prohibitory sum or e$acting unreasonable conditions. (ection +, Rule ))* of the Revised Rules of riminal Procedure advises courts to consider the following factors in the setting of amount of bail: a1 #inanc #inancial ial abil ability ity of of the accu accused sed to to give give bail bail b1 3ature and circumstances of the offense offense c1 Penalty Penalty for the offens offensee char charged ged d1 harac haracter ter and and reput reputatio ation n of the the accuse accused d e1 !ge !ge and and heal health th of of the the accu accuse sed d f1 2eight ight of the the evid evidenc encee again against st the the accuse accused d g1 Probability Probability of the the accused accused appearing appearing at the the trial trial h1 #orf #orfei eitu ture re of of oth other er bail bail i1 The fact that the accused accused was a fugitive fugitive from from /ustice /ustice when when arrested arrested /1 Pendency of other cases where the accused is on bail 71 3o. The condition imposed is simply consistent with the nature and function of a bail bond, which is to ensure that petitioner will ma'e himself himself available at all times whenever the
Ann -. Baaia, 1 Prepared by: Gen3ol)n Ann
ourt requires his presence. %esides, petitioner is not prevented from changing abode, he is merely required to inform the court in case he does so.