Case Summary (G.R. No. 247611)
Procedural and Factual Antecedents
On December 7, 2018, the Sandiganbayan convicted Napoles and Cambe of Plunder under RA 7080, amending RA 7659, sentencing them to reclusion perpetua. Napoles appealed to the Supreme Court (G.R. No. 247611) and remains detained at CIW pending resolution.
Motion for Humanitarian Release
Napoles filed an Urgent Motion for Recognizance/Bail or House Arrest on humanitarian grounds, invoking her diabetes as an underlying condition that allegedly heightens her risk of COVID-19 infection. She seeks provisional release pending appeal under this Court’s precedents (De La Rama; Enrile), OCA Circular No. 91-2020, and international norms (Nelson Mandela Rules).
Issues Presented
I. Whether bail is constitutionally or rule-based available post-conviction for a capital offense.
II. Whether humanitarian grounds (COVID-19 risk due to diabetes) justify provisional release.
III. Whether international standards or Nelson Mandela Rules provide a basis for post-conviction bail.
Constitutional and Rule-Based Bail Framework
Under the 1987 Constitution (Art. III, Sec. 13) and Rule 114, Sec. 7, bail is a right pre-conviction except for capital offenses when evidence of guilt is strong. After conviction of a capital offense, bail ceases as both presumption of innocence and cognate right to bail vanish.
Discretionary Nature of Bail Post-Conviction
Post-conviction bail for non-capital offenses is discretionary and denied when the penalty exceeds six years coupled with aggravating or flight-risk factors. For capital offenses, reconfirmed in People v. Fortes, neither right nor discretion to grant bail exists once guilt is proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Humanitarian Release Precedents Distinguished
In De La Rama and Enrile, exceptional medical conditions and personal circumstances—tuberculosis; advanced age with serious comorbidities; demonstrated non-flight risk—warranted release. Napoles’ unverified diabetes claim, evidenced by an unauthenticated certificate, raises factual issues outside this Court’s fact-finding domain and fails to establish “compelling circumstances” akin to those precedents.
Office of the Court Administrator Circular
OCA Circular No. 91-2020 directs trial courts to enforce rights to bail and speedy trial to decongest jails. It does not mandate blanket release of PDLs, and cannot override constitutional and statutory prohibitions against bail post-conviction of a capital offense.
International Standards and Domestic Corrections Law
The Nelson Mandela Rules require adequate healthcare, isolation of contagious inmates, and transfer to specialized facilities but do not contemplate provisional release as a default response to public health emergencies. RA 10575 and its IRR adopt these standards for prison administration without authorizing bail or release of convicted c
...continue readingCase Syllabus (G.R. No. 247611)
Antecedents
- On December 7, 2018, the Sandiganbayan Special First Division rendered judgment in Criminal Case No. SB-14-CRM-0240, convicting Richard A. Cambe and Janet Lim Napoles of Plunder under Republic Act No. 7080 for misuse of Senator Revilla’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).
- Both Cambe and Napoles were sentenced to suffer reclusion perpetua with perpetual absolute disqualification from public office.
- Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr. was acquitted for lack of proof that he received kickbacks.
- Cambe and Napoles separately appealed their convictions to the Supreme Court (Napoles remains detained at the Correctional Institution for Women pending resolution).
Napoles’ Urgent Motion
- Seeks provisional release—either by recognizance/bail or house arrest—on humanitarian grounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Alleges heightened risk of severe illness or death in detention because she suffers from Type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension.
- Invokes this Court’s precedents in De La Rama v. People and Enrile v. Sandiganbayan as analogous humanitarian relief.
- Relies on Office of the Court Administrator Circular No. 91-2020 urging decongestion of jails by enforcing rights to bail and speedy trial.
- Cites the Nelson Mandela Rules and international calls for temporary release of Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) during public-health emergencies.