A LEGISLATOR has filed a bill that seeks to correct one of the long-standing gray areas in the country’s criminal justice system—an enabling law on the constitutional right to be released on recognizance.

Party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna said Article 3, Section 13 of the Constitution allows two modes by which an arrested person may be released temporarily before conviction of the offense charged either by bail or by release on recognizance as may be provided by law.

“After more than two decades, we realized that there is still no enabling law on release on recognizance. House Bill [HB] 4369, or the proposed Recognizance Act of 2008, will extend the frontiers of the criminal justice system in the spirit of restorative justice,” said Casiño, author of HB 4369.

Casiño said that it is easy for rich litigants to post bail and be free while the trial goes on, “but most poor litigants simply can’t afford to post bail, much more hire competent lawyers. For them, release on recognizance is the only option to ensure that their rights as accused are respected even as they are being tried by the courts,” he said.

Under the present state of the law, release on recognizance is implemented in a very limited scope under the Rules of Criminal Procedure and is based solely on the discretion of the court.

In contrast, Casiño said the bill will promulgate the rules for the full implementation of release on recognizance, including its procedures, mechanisms and support programs down to the barangay level.

Under the bill, applicants for recognizance need the recommendation of two persons of good repute and probity in the baranggay where they reside and who shall guarantee their appearance in court. Such application should be endorsed by a recognizance field officer before it is approved by the appropriate regional trial court.      

Applications for recognizance can be contested by the prosecution.

The two recommending persons and the recognizance field office, as well as barangay officials and community organizations, shall have roles in monitoring the applicant, ensuring his attendance in court and that he or she does not engage in any illegal activities.

Life term for Bayan Muna leader’s killer

THE police task force investigating unexplained killings has reported to the Department of the Interior and Local Government another conviction in the cases of political killings with the guilty verdict handed down by the court against the suspect in the 2006 murder of a Bayan Muna leader in Pangasinan.

ARMM voters not ready for high-tech polls?

MUSLIM leaders have expressed doubts that voters in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) are ready for modernized elections, given the high illiteracy rate in the area.

THE Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) on Monday insisted that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) committed grave abuse of discretion when it issued a cease-and-desist order (CDO) and the show-cause order enjoining the validation of the 1.9-billion proxy shares during the power firms’ annual stockholders’ meeting on May 27.

EU-proposed cooperation deal ties RP’s hands?

THE Philippine government is still tied to several serious concerns on the proposed Partnership Cooperation Agreement (PCA) by the European Union (EU), and Manila “could be subjected to possible cross retaliation” that includes withdrawal of trade preferences if there is failure on three essential EU values on human rights, rule of law and democracy.

Binay asks MMDA to account for local governments’ contribution

THE Makati City government on Tuesday asked the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to account for the millions of pesos in contributions from the local governments in the metropolis, that are now facing another garbage crisis following the closure of the dump in Rodriguez, Rizal.

Solon files bill on ‘recognizance’

A LEGISLATOR has filed a bill that seeks to correct one of the long-standing gray areas in the country’s criminal justice system—an enabling law on the constitutional right to be released on recognizance.