The Supreme Court should ‘police the judiciary’ and look into cases of individuals convicted of graft who have been able to post bail at the discretion of lower courts, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Saturday.
Remulla made the statement on the same day the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) announced the opening for the position of Chief Justice.
The former justice secretary was frustrated with how the Sandiganbayan and regional trial courts (RTCs) have been handling graft and corruption cases that could drag on for years, even decades.
‘The problem is courts are too forgiving that they do not imprison those that should be imprisoned,’ Remulla stressed in his weekly radio show, ‘Executive Session,’ on dzRH. ‘If you have been convicted by a lower court, convicted by the Sandiganbayan, convicted by the RTC for graft, you should already be in prison.’
‘Hopefully the Supreme Court, of course they are our friends, should police the judiciary properly. They should really monitor [the cases] and set deadlines,’ he added.
Under the Rules of Court, being admitted to bail even after conviction of graft or violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act that are not punishable by reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment is subject to the trial court’s discretion.
Remulla stressed that courts are too lenient when it comes to such cases even when those found guilty already lost ‘presumption of innocence’ and their right to bail.
Search for new chief justice
He said if they push through with the rules on allowing bail, the grant should be steep and should be set at the cost of damage committed by the convicted person.
Remulla noted that his office is already working on an inventory showing the status of individuals sentenced to prison upon conviction of graft-whether they indeed went to prison or they were able to escape serving time because they were granted bail.
But he said that it is still up to the courts, especially the Supreme Court, on how to properly implement bail rules and how to expedite resolution of cases.
The JBC said it would be accepting until Oct. 13 this year applications and recommendations for the new top magistrate who will succeed Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, who is set to retire on Nov. 6.
Gesmundo became the 27th chief justice of the Supreme Court in April 2021, a little over a year before President Rodrigo Duterte finished his term. He was a Sandiganbayan justice before Duterte appointed him to the high tribunal as associate justice in 2017.
Next to him by seniority is Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, who was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2010 by then President Benigno Aquino III.
Of the current 15 high court justices, including Gesmundo, only Leonen and Justice Alfredo Caguioa were appointees of Aquino; and only Justice Raul Villanueva was appointed by President Marcos.
The rest were appointed by Duterte, including Justice Filomena Singh, who was appointed at the eleventh hour, just a month before the ex-President stepped down in June 2022.