Courts are physically closed until 30 April 2020, but may still act on urgent matters through electronic means. The Office of the Court administrator issued OCA Circular No. 89-2020, pursuant to the directive of the Supreme Court (Administrative Circular No. 33-2020) to “ensure the proper implementation of (the said) Administrative Circular”. The Guidelines are only temporary and “shall be in effect only during this duration of public health emergency”.
SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTS
The accused, through representative or counsel, sends the application for bail, together with other requirements. The requirements for bail may be electronically transmitted to the Offices of the Clerks of Courts (OCC), Clerk of Courts (CoC) or Branch Clerks of Courts (BCC) of the single-sala court, as the case may be. The requirements for bail shall include, but not limited to, the following:
- Pictures of the accused
- Fingerprints of the accused
- The Declaration from the accused
- Certification from the law enforcement agent or jail warden that the pictures and fingerprints are those of the accused, and that the person under his or her custody, or who surrendered to him or her, is the accused.
The template of the Declaration of the Accused / Certification of the law enforcement agent or jail warden is attached as Annex “A” of the Guidelines.
All pleadings and other submissions electronically transmitted to the courts shall be in Portable Document Format or PDF. CoCs, OCCs and BCCs have been directed to create their respective email addresses (which may ad interim be free mail accounts like gmail and yahoo). These are posted in the website of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
Pieces of evidence which are not documentary in nature may be photographed and converted into PDF, but must be authenticated by a certification of the person submitting such evidence as a true photo reproduction thereof.
All pleadings must be under oath and indicate the case number, case title, and the caption, title, or heading of the pleading, e.g., Crim. Case No. 12345, People v. Juan Dela Cruz, Motion for Reduction of Bail.
TRANSMITTAL TO JUDGE
Upon receipt by the OCC, CoC or BCC of these requirements, he/she may electronically transmit the same to the Judge-on-Duty (JOD) for personal evaluation and appropriate action. Physical transmission, while discouraged, is not barred.
If the requirements for bail are not manually or physically submitted to the OCC, CoC or BCC, they shall be scanned and electronically transmitted to the JOD for his or her appropriate action.
ACTION OF JUDGE
In all cases, the JOD shall personally review the requirements submitted and duly establish and determine the identity of the accused before he or she is ordered released from detention.
The JOD shall likewise complete the Certification that he or she personally examined the requirements (electronically) submitted, a template of which Certification is attached as Annex “B” of the Guidelines, and shall form part of the records of the case. The original hard copies shall be physically sent to the court before the release order, if warranted, is issued.
Should the JOD engender some doubts as to the identity of the accused, or to any of the requirements submitted, he or she may require additional proof or simply altogether deny the application for bail.
PAYMENT OF FEES; POSTING OF BAIL
If the JOD approves the application, an Order of Payment is issued. The OCC then issues an online assessment, which online assessment shall include the amount to be deposited and the specific account where the amount shall be deposited.
Payments SHALL be coursed through any branch of the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).
Bail may be in cash or surety bond. The posting of bail, whether through cash or surety bond, shall indicate the case number and title, and the name of the accused for whom the bond is being posted, and be made at any branch of the LBP. After the payment, the LBP shall then issue a validated deposit slip, which shall indicate the LBP branch, and contact number of the said branch, where the bond was posted.
The validated deposit slip shall be electronically transmitted to the concerned OCC, CoC or BCC, who shall then verify with the LBP branch where payment was made.
After verification, the OCC, CoC or BCC shall issue an official receipt, copies of which shall be electronically transmitted to the JOD who shall consider it in resolving the bail application, and to the paying party. The original official receipt shall in the meantime be kept by the OCC or BCC and shall be given to the paying party after the public health emergency period.
In case of surety bonds, it shall be electronically transmitted, together with the supporting documents, to the concerned OCC, CoC or BCC. The OCC, CoC or BCC shall electronically forward them to the JOD for appropriate action. In the event the surety bond and the supporting documents are physically submitted to the concerned OCC, CoC or BCC, these shall likewise be scanned and electronically transmitted to the JOD.
RELEASE ORDER
Upon receipt of the proof of payment, the Release Order is issued.
- Extension of Filing Periods and Suspension of Hearings for March 29 to April 4, 2021: SC Administrative Circular No. 14-2021 (Full Text) - March 28, 2021
- ECQ Bubble for NCR, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal: Resolution No. 106-A (Full Text) - March 27, 2021
- Guidelines on the Administration of COVID-19 Vaccines in the Workplaces (Labor Advisory No. 3) - March 12, 2021