Re: Guidelines on Reduction and Refund of Bail Bonds

July 21, 2009 EN BANC RESOLUTION NO. 003-09 RE: GUIDELINES ON REDUCTION AND REFUND OF BAIL BONDS WHEREAS, bail is a right enshrined in the Constitution and, in furtherance of the mandate therein, statutes, as well as rules and regulations have been issued in this regard; WHEREAS, in proper cases, the right to bail may be invoked by the accused; WHEREAS, the Court is duty bound to fix a reasonable amount of bail to be granted, taking into consideration the following factors: 1. Financial ability of the accused to post bail; 2. Nature and circumstances of the offense; 3. Penalty for the offense charged; 4. Character and reputation of the accused; 5. Age and health of the accused; 6. Weight of the evidence against the accused; 7. Probability of the accused appearing at the trial; 8. Forfeiture of other bail; 9. The fact that the accused is a fugitive from justice when arrested; 10. Pendency of other cases where the accused is on bail. WHEREAS, the Court, at its own discretion, and on the basis of the circumstances of the foregoing standards and criteria may reduce the recommended bail; WHEREAS, based on the foregoing, the Court En Banc sees fit to issue these Guidelines on Reduction and Refund of Bail Bonds to achieve uniformity in the reduction of the recommended bail and to guide the Court in granting refund of bail bonds; NOW THEREFORE, the above premises, this Court, sitting En Banc RESOLVED to adopt, as it hereby RESOLVES to adopt the following rules to be used in arriving at a uniform rate in the reduction of the recommended bail, as follows: 1. Before acting on a Motion for Reduction of Bail Bond, the Court must see to it that the accused-movant has complied with the provisions of Rule 114 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, as amended, particularly Sections 1 and 2 thereof and Sections 6 and 7 of Rule 9 of the CTA Rules; 2. Where the accused opts to post a PROPERTY bond, no reduction of the recommended bail shall be allowed; 3. Where the accused opts to post a CASH bond, the Court may reduce the recommended bail up to fifty percent (50%) or less than 50% upon good cause shown at the Court's discretion; and 4. Where the accused opts to post a SURETY bond, the Court may reduce the recommended bail up to thirty percent (30%) only. Corollary thereto, the following are also adopted to guide the Court in granting refund of bail bonds: DTSIEc a) As regards refund of cash bonds, the same shall be refunded only upon presentation of the Official Receipt and shall be granted only to the person named in the Official Receipt or to the duly authorized representative; and a) As regards return of property bonds, the same shall be granted only to the person who posted the said property bond. This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon approval. SO ORDERED. (SGD.) ERNESTO D. ACOSTA Presiding Justice (SGD.) JUANITO C. CASTAEDA, JR. Associate Justice (SGD.) LOVELL R. BAUTISTA Associate Justice (SGD.) ERLINDA P. UY Associate Justice (SGD.) CAESAR A. CASANOVA Associate Justice (SGD.) OLGA PALANCA-ENRIQUEZ Associate Justice