Joe Pallugna AS a practicing lawyer for almost 25 years now, I have encountered many accused and their families who clearly misunderstood the right to bail. Many of the ordinary folks on the streets think that bail comes as a mere privilege and that in capital offenses like murder, selling of drugs, rape, trafficking of women, arson and kidnapping are non-bailable offenses. In the recent case of People of the Philippines versus PO1 Cyril de Gracia, G.R. No. 213104, July 29, 2015, the Supreme Court had the occasion to define that: “The accused was charged with the crime of murder, which carries with it the penalty of reclusion perpetua, hence a non-bailable offense. From the standpoint of a layman, an accused indicted for a ‘non-bailable offense’ cannot be granted bail prior to his conviction. Such interpretation is technically inaccurate. Under Section 13, Article III of the 1987 Constitution, those charged with offenses punishable by reclusion perpetua when evidence of guilt is strong, are not entitled to bail before conviction. A reading of the provision reveals that bail shall only be denied when the evidence of guilt for the offense punishable by reclusion perpetua is strong. Necessarily, in all other instances, bail must be granted before conviction of the accused. The right to bail flows from the presumption of innocence in favor of every accused who should not be subjected to the loss of freedom as thereafter he would be entitled to acquittal, unless his built be proved beyond reasonable doubt. Evidently, despite being charged with a non-bailable offense, an accused can still be possibly acquire bail.” To put matters in very simple terms, all crimes are bailable. When the crime is not punishable by reclusion perpetua, bail becomes a matter of right for every accused. Bail cannot be denied. And that is why an excessive amount of bail should not be set by the judge as it would tantamount to the denial of this right to bail. In crimes punishable by reclusion perpetua, bail becomes a matter of discretion by the judge. Thus, the defense lawyer shall file a motion for bail before the judge and a summary hearing follows for the prosecution to prove that the evidence of guilt is not strong. It is after the summary hearing that the judge exercises his discretion in that, if he finds that the prosecution’s evidence is not strong, he would grant bail for the accused pending trial and up to the time of the promulgation of judgment. The accused can then bail out even in a murder charge. So the next time you encounter one who says that the crime is not bailable, don’t believe in it right away. Look at the facts first and ask your lawyer if it is possible to file a motion for bail. E-mail: joepallugna@yahoo.com