1. PEOPLE V.

NATHANIEL SURIO
G.R. No. 139235
August 7, 2002
CASE DIGEST by: TALAGA, Regina Carla T.

FACTS:

Escobar was suspected of conspiring in the kidnap for ransom of Mary Grace Cheng-Rosagas
(Mary Grace), daughter of Filipino-Chinese businessman Robert G. Cheng (Cheng), and two (2)
other victims. Cheng was the owner of Uratex Foam, Philippines, a manufacturing company of
foams and mattresses.

Alleged group leader Rolando Villaver (Villaver) and some of the suspects then travelled and
detained Mary Grace, etc. in an undisclosed location in Batangas. Afterwards, the group headed to
Club Solvento, a resort in Calamba, Laguna owned by Escobar, who personally served them food.
Some of the accused stayed in Club Solvento to rest or sleep while the others, namely, Villaver,
Cesar Olimpiada, a certain Cholo, and Biboy Lugnasin, left to negotiate the price for the victims'
release. Robert Cheng paid the ransom of ₱15,000,000.00.

At 7:00 p.m. on the same day, Villaver's group returned to Club Solvento, followed by co-accused
brothers Rolando and Harold Fajardo (the Fajardo brothers), who were alleged advisers of Villaver.
The group then locked themselves in a room where Villaver partitioned the ransom money.

Cancio Cubillas (Cubillas), the group's driver, confessed to have received a total of ₱l,250,000.00
for the kidnapping operation. 12 hours since they were abducted, Mary Grace and the two other
victims were finally released.

Cubillas became a state witness. On June 3, 2002, he executed an extrajudicial confession and
implicated respondent Escobar as an adviser for Villaver. Cubillas believed that Escobar was
involved after he saw Escobar talk to Villaver while they were in Club Solvento. In his
extrajudicial confession, Cubillas also claimed that Escobar received a portion of the ransom
money fromVillaver.

An Amended Information was filed before the Regional Trial Court charging Escobar as a co-
conspirator in the kidnapping for ransom. Escobar was arrested on February 14, 2008. On June 3,
2008, Escobar filed the First Bail Petition before the Regional Trial Court. However, the RTC
denied Escobar's First Bail Petition, stating: “The Petition for Bail filed by accused Manny
Escobar is denied for lack of merit considering that state witness Cancio Cubillas positively
identified said accused as the owner of Club Solvento”. Escobar appealed before the Court of
Appeals but the Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of the First Bail Petition.

Pending the proceedings on Escobar's case, the police arrested Rolando Fajardo (Rolando), who
applied for bail before the RTC, which granted Rolando's bail application.

Thus, Escobar filed another petition for bail (Second Bail Petition) before the RTC noting that
Cubillas could not explain how either Rolando or Escobar advised Villaver and that both Rolando
and Escobar were absent before, during, and after the kidnapping. Hence, if Rolando's petition for
bail was granted based on the unreliability of Cubillas' testimony, Escobar reasoned that the trial
court should likewise grant him provisional release.
ISSUE:

Whether or not Escobar should be granted bail

RULING:

Yes.

Bail is the security given for the temporary release of a person who has been arrested and detained
but “whose guilt has not yet been proven” in court beyond reasonable doubt. The right to bail is
cognate to the fundamental right to be presumed innocent.

The right to bail emanates from the [accused’s constitutional] right to be presumed innocent. It is
accorded to a person in the custody of the law who may, by reason of the presumption of
innocence he [or she] enjoys, be allowed provisional liberty upon filing of a security to guarantee
his [or her] appearance before any court, as required under specified conditions.

Bail may be a matter of right or judicial discretion. The accused has the right to bail if the offense
charged is “not punishable by death, reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment” before conviction by
the Regional Trial Court. However, if the accused is charged with an offense the penalty of which
is death, reclusion perpetua, or life imprisonment — “regardless of the stage of the criminal
prosecution” — and when evidence of one’s guilt is not strong, then the accused’s prayer for bail is
subject to the discretion of the trial court.

In this case, the imposable penalty for kidnapping for ransom is death, reduced to reclusion
perpetua. Escobar’s bail is, thus, a matter of judicial discretion, provided, that the evidence of his
guilt is not strong.

Rule 114 of the Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure states:

Section 4. Bail, a matter of right; exception.—All persons in custody shall be admitted to bail as
a matter of right, with sufficient sureties, or released on recognizance as prescribed by law or this
Rule (a) before or after conviction by the Metropolitan Trial Court, Municipal Trial Court,
Municipal Trial Court in Cities, or Municipal Circuit Trial Court, and (b) before conviction by the
Regional Trial Court of an offense not punishable by death, reclusion perpetua, or life
imprisonment.