4.

LEVISTE VS CA
FACTS:
Leviste was charged with the crime of murder but was convicted by the RTC for the lesser crime
of homicide. He appealed the RTC's decision to the CA then he filed an application for
admission to bail pending appeal, due to his advanced age and health condition, and claiming
the absence of any risk or possibility of flight on his part.

The CA denied his application on the ground that the discretion to extend bail during the course
of appeal should be exercised with grave caution and only for strong reasons. That bail is not a
sick pass for an ailing or aged detainee or a prisoner needing medical care outside the prison
facility.

On this matter, Leviste questioned the ruling of the CA and averred that the CA committed
grave abuse of discretion in the denial of his application for bail considering that none of the
conditions justifying denial of bail under the Sec. 5 (3) Rule 114 of the Rules of Court was
present. That when the penalty imposed by the trial court is more than six years but not more
than 20 years and the circumstances in the above-mentioned provision are absent, bail must be
granted to an appellant pending appeal.

ISSUE:
In an application for bail pending appeal by an appellant sentenced by the trial court to a penalty
of imprisonment for more than six years, does the discretionary nature of the grant of bail
pending appeal mean that bail should automatically be granted absent any of the circumstances
mentioned in the third paragraph of Section 5, Rule 114 of the Rules of Court?

RULING: NO
If the court imposed a penalty of imprisonment exceeding six (6) years then bail is a matter of
discretion, except when any of the enumerated circumstances under paragraph 3 of Section 5,
Rule 114 is present then bail shall be denied.
Any application for bail pending appeal should be viewed from the perspective of two stages:
(1) the determination of discretion stage, where the appellate court must determine whether any
of the circumstances in the third paragraph of Section 5, Rule 114 is present; this will establish
whether or not the appellate court will exercise sound discretion or stringent discretion in
resolving the application for bail pending appeal and
(2) the exercise of discretion stage where, assuming the appellants case falls within the first
scenario allowing the exercise of sound discretion, the appellate court may consider all relevant
circumstances, other than those mentioned in the third paragraph of Section 5, Rule 114,
including the demands of equity and justice; on the basis thereof, it may either allow or disallow
bail.
If the appellants case falls within the second scenario, the appellate courts stringent discretion
requires that the exercise thereof be primarily focused on the determination of the proof of the
presence of any of the circumstances that are prejudicial to the allowance of bail. This is so
because the existence of any of those circumstances is by itself sufficient to deny or revoke
bail. Nonetheless, a finding that none of the said circumstances is present will not
automatically result in the grant of bail. Such finding will simply authorize the court to
use the less stringent sound discretion approach.