Facts:

 Petitioner Regino Sy Catiis filed a complaint against private respondents Reynaldo A. Patacsil,
Enrico D. Lopez, Luzviminda A. Portuguez, Margielyn Tafalla before the office of the Prosecutor of
Quezon City for violation of Art 315 par 2 (a) of The Revised Penal Code in relation to PD No.1689
(The crime of Estafa).
 Petitioner alleged that by falsely or fraudulently pretending or representing, in a transaction or
series of transactions, which they made with the Complainant and the public in general to the effect
that they were in a legitimate business of foreign exchange trading successively or simultaneously
operating under the following name and style of Asia Profits Philippines, Incorporation, Winggold
Management Philippines Incorporated, Belkin Management Consultancy, Inc. and/or Belkin Profits
Limited or other unregistered foreign entities induced and succeeded in inducing complainant and
several other persons to give and deliver and in fact, the latter and said persons gave and delivered
to said accused the amount of at least US$ 123,461.14
 Private respondents entered pleas of not guilty. Judge Lucas P. Bersamin issued an Order that the
offense charged is bailable.

Provision(s) of the law involved:

 PD No. 1689, Sec 7 Rule 114

Question of the law:

 Whether or not Justice Lucas Bersamin of Branch 96 of the RTC of Quezon City erred in ruling five
(5) persons must be charged under Sec 1 PD 1689.
 Whether or not the questioned decision sanctioning the grant of bail violated Sec 7 Rule 114 of the
Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure
 Whether or not the questioned decision sustaining the order of release by Honorable Executive
Judge Monina A. Zenarosa violated Sec 17 Rule 114 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure.

Answered by Judge(s):
 No. He correctly determined that the info did not charge a syndicated estafa since number of
persons who are actually charged are only four persons.
Sec 1 PD 1689 specifically provides:
“Section 1. Any person or persons who shall commit estafa or other forms of swindling as defined
in Article 315 and 316 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, shall be punished by life
imprisonment to death if the swindling (estafa) is committed by a syndicate consisting of five or
more persons formed with the intention of carrying out the unlawful or illegal act, transaction,
enterprise or scheme, and the defraudation results in the misappropriation of money contributed
by stockholders, or members of rural banks, cooperative, "samahang nayon(s)", or farmers
association, or of funds solicited by corporations/associations from the general public.”

 Yes. Sec 13 Art III of the Constitution provides:

“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.”

Sec 7 of Rule 114 Capital offense of an offense punishable by reclusion perpetua or life
imprisonment, not bailable. — No person charged with a capital offense, or an offense punishable
by reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment, shall be admitted to bail when evidence of guilt is strong,
regardless of the stage of the criminal prosecution. (7a)

The crime is not punishable by reclusion perpetua instead it is reclusion temporal.

 No. Section 17, Rule 114 of the Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure provides that bail in the
amount fixed may be filed with the court where the case is pending, or, in the absence or
unavailability of the judge thereof, with another branch of the same court within the province or
 city. It’s not specifically stated in the supplemental petition that the exact time Justice Zenarosa
approved the bail, Justice Bersamin was available.

 Thus, the Petition for Review on Certiorari is DENIED.

Rule of Construction:
 Verba Legis – It bears stressing that the law must be considered as a whole, just as it is necessary
to consider a sentence in its entirety in order to grasp its true meaning.