Republic of the Philippines

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

______ Judicial Region
Branch __
_________________________

THE PEOPLE OF THE CRIMINAL CASE NO. 2432-5

PHILIPPINES,
Plaintiff,

-versus- -for-

_____________________ VIOLATION OF SECTION 5,

Accused. ARTICLE II OF R.A. 9165
X-------------------------------X

MOTION TO FIX BAIL

COMES NOW, accused-movant _________________

through the undersigned counsel from the Public Attorney’s Office
and unto this Honorable Court, most respectfully avers THAT:

1. The accused-movant was previously charged with Sale of

Shabu under Section 5, Article II of R.A. 9165 1 and is presently
detained at the Tawi-Tawi Provincial Jail pending resolution of her
application for probation.

2. On 24 October 2019 and before she could be arraigned,

accused movant filed a motion to plead guilty to the lesser offense,
under which she offered to plead guilty to possession of drug
paraphernalia under Section 12, Article II of R.A. 9165. Given that
she is not a drug dependent per her Drug Dependency Exam (DDE)
result, she was arraigned to the said lesser offense to which charge,
she voluntarily pleaded guilty. Thus, on 26 March 2020, she was
sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment ranging from six (6)
months and one (1) day, as minimum, to four (4) years, as
maximum.

3. Thereafter, she filed an application for probation which was

given due course by this Honorable Court in its Order dated 16 April
2020. As stated therein, Mr. __________________, Chief Probation
and Parole Officer, Sulu Parole and Probation Office, was directed to
1
Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002

Page 1 of 5
conduct a Post-Sentence Investigation (PSI) on the person of
accused-movant, and to submit to this Honorable Court his report
and recommendation thereon not later than sixty (60) days from
receipt of the order.

4. However, the sixty-day period is about to expire next month

and the Sulu Parole and Probation Office has not yet conducted even
an initial interview on the accused as the investigating Probation
Officer who is tasked to conduct the PSI is stranded in _________
City due to the ongoing prohibition on inter-island travel brought
about by the virulent Covid-19.

5. Lamentably, the number of confirmed cases in this country is

rising exponentially, and despite the measures employed by the
government to stifle or slowdown the spread of the disease, we have
yet to flatten the curve. Thus, given the aforementioned
circumstances, there is no definite period as to when the situation
would return to normalcy, and there is no assurance that the
investigating Probation Officer would be able to travel to _______,
_________ anytime soon and conduct the required PSI on the
accused-movant.

6. Acknowledging that the fate of Persons Deprived of Liberty

(PDLs) must not be left hanging in uncertainty during these trying
times, and given the urgent need to further decongest our detention
facilities in this period of public health emergency, the Honorable
Supreme Court issued several Covid-19 related circulars in these past
few weeks aimed at expediting and facilitating the release of certain
PDLs. Among of which is AC. No. 38-2020 dated 30 April 2020
which likewise focused on expediting the release of PDLs on a
substantially reduced bail.

7. Further, Section 5, Rule 114 of the 2000 Revised Rules on

Criminal Procedure provides:

“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 x x x” (Emphasis
supplied)
Page 2 of 5
 8. In this case, the accused was originally charged of Sale of
Dangerous Drugs which is a non-bailable offense. However, when
she pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of Illegal Possession of Drug
Paraphernalia and was sentenced to a penalty of not exceeding six
years, the nature of the offense has changed from non-bailable to
bailable, and this Honorable Court in the exercise of its sound
discretion, may allow the accused to post bail in such reasonable
amount as it may deem proper.

9. The accused-movant was convicted of possession of drug

paraphernalia and was sentenced to suffer the penalty of
imprisonment ranging from six (6) months and one (1) day, as
minimum, to four (4) years, as maximum, and under DOJ Circular
No. 0132, for violation of R.A. 9165, the bail shall be computed
based on the maximum penalty imposable, the number of years in its
maximum period multiplied by P 10,000.00. Thus, the recommended
bail bond for violation of the offense for which the accused was
convicted is FORTY THOUSAND PESOS (P 40,000.00).

10. The accused is indigent and does not have the financial
capacity to post the bail bond in the amount as stated in the DOJ Bail
Bond Guide.

11. Thus, for humanitarian consideration, the accused through

the undersigned counsel, most respectfully begs of this Honorable
Court that she be allowed to post bail in the amount of THIRTY
THOUSAND PESOS (P 30,000.00) and be released pending
resolution of her application for probation. The amount proposed is
reasonable as it is just 25% lesser than the amount specified by the
DOJ Circular. Besides, this Honorable Court has granted motions for
reduction of bail in the past as long as the decrease would not
exceed more than a quarter of the recommended amount of the bail.
Nonetheless, we will submit the final determination of the amount to
the discretion of the Honorable Court given that under A.C. No. 12-
11-2-SC3, the duty to fix bail rests with the courts.

12. Moreover, the accused is not a recidivist, quasi-recidivist, or

habitual delinquent, or has committed the crime aggravated by the
circumstance of reiteration; she has not previously escaped from
legal confinement or evaded sentence; she has not committed an
offense pending resolution of her application for probation; the
circumstances of her case do not indicate the probability of flight if
2
2018 New Bail Bond Guide
3
Guidelines for Decongesting Holding Jails by Enforcing the Rights of Accused Persons to Bail
and to Speedy Trial

Page 3 of 5
released on bail; or there is no undue risk that she may commit
another crime during the pendency of her application for probation.

13. Likewise, the accused-movant is not a drug dependent per

her DDE result and has been detained at the ______________Jail for
more than 10 months already which is way beyond the minimum
sentence imposed on her by this Honorable Court.

14. The accused and her would-be bondsman commit

themselves to appear before this Honorable Court whenever their
presence is required.

PRAYER

WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is most respectfully

prayed of this Honorable Court that the foregoing application for
probation be granted.

MOST RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED.

28 May 2020. _______________, Philippines.

______________________________

By:

ATTY. __________________________

THE CLERK OF COURT

_______________________

Page 4 of 5
PROS. _______________
________________________

Greetings!

Please kindly submit the foregoing Motion for evaluation and

consideration of the Honorable Court immediately upon receipt
hereof without further oral argument.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED.

28 May 2020. _________________________.

____________________________________

BY:

ATTY. __________________________

Copy Furnished:

PROS. _______________
Deputy Provincial Prosecutor
Prosecutor’s Office

Page 5 of 5