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Ruiz Vs Beldia

Judge Beldia granted bail to Santos and issued a release order without notice to the prosecutor or a hearing, and without Santos filing a formal bail petition, in violation of procedural rules. While bail can be a matter of discretion or right, reasonable notice and a hearing are always required. Judge Beldia overstepped his authority as an assisting judge by granting bail without the regular judge being absent or unavailable. His actions deprived the prosecution of due process.

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Junmer Ortiz
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54 views

Ruiz Vs Beldia

Judge Beldia granted bail to Santos and issued a release order without notice to the prosecutor or a hearing, and without Santos filing a formal bail petition, in violation of procedural rules. While bail can be a matter of discretion or right, reasonable notice and a hearing are always required. Judge Beldia overstepped his authority as an assisting judge by granting bail without the regular judge being absent or unavailable. His actions deprived the prosecution of due process.

Uploaded by

Junmer Ortiz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Bail as a matter of discretion

Ruiz vs Beldia | 451 SCRA 402 | February 16, 2005 |

Facts:

Shirley C. Ruiz charged respondent Judge Rolindo D. Beldia, Jr. of Branch 57, Regional Trial Court, San
Carlos City, Negros Occidental, with gross ignorance of the law and grave abuse of authority in
connection with the grant of bail and issuance of a release order in favor of one Lourdes Estrella
Santos, who was arrested during entrapment operations relative to the carnapping of Ruiz’s vehicle.
After her arrest, she was detained in Camp Crame, Q.C, pending the filing of formal charges in court.
Upon inquest, she executed a waiver of the provisions of Article 125 of the RPC in relation to Rule
112,Section 7 of the Rules of Criminal procedure. The preliminary investigation was set on May 31,
2000. However, on May 30, 2000, Santos obtained an order of release signed by respondent Judge
Beldia who was an assisting judge in the RTC Makati City. Beldia granted bail to Santos and approved
the corresponding bail bond without serving notice to the prosecutor.Atty. Badillo-Adarlo, the clerk of
court of RTC Marikina City informed the OCA that the records of release orders and bail bonds in her
custody did not include the subject release order issued by respondent Judge Beldia. She could not
tell whether a formal petition for admission to bail was filed by Santos. It was also confirmed that
that Executive Judge De la Cruz and Presiding Judge Enriquez were present and available on the day
that Judge Beldia issued the release order.

Issue:

Is a hearing necessary whether bail is a matter of right or discretion?

Ruling:

Yes. In all cases, whether bail is a matter of right or of discretion, reasonable notice of hearing must
be given to the prosecutor, or at least his recommendation on the matter must be sought; A judge
disregards basic procedural rules when he grants bail sans hearing and notice and without the person
detained filing a formal petition for bail. Under the present rules, a hearing on an application for bail
is mandatory. Bail should be fixed according to the circumstances of each case. The amount fixed
should be sufficient to ensure the presence of the accused at the trial yet reasonable enough to
comply with the constitutional provision that bail should not be excessive. The judge is required to
take into account a number of factors such as the applicant’s character and reputation, forfeiture of
other bonds or whether he is a fugitive from justice. Judge Beldia disregarded basic procedural rules
when he granted bail to Santos sans hearing and notice and without the latter having filed a formal
petition for bail. Accordingly, the prosecution was deprived of procedural due process for which
respondent Judge Beldia must be held accountable.

A person lawfully arrested and detained but who has not yet been formally charged in court, can seek
his provisional release through the filing of an application for bail. He need not wait for a formal
complaint or information to be filed since bail is available to “all persons” where the offense is
bailable. Section 7, Rule 112 of the 1985 Rules of Criminal Procedure provides that a judge could grant
bail to a person lawfully arrested but without a warrant, upon waiver of his right under Article 125 of
the Revised Penal Code, as Santos had done upon her inquest.

The authority of a judge merely designated as “assisting judge” in a particular court is limited and he
could only act on an application for bail filed therewith in the absence or unavailability of the regular
judge.

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