After 3 months, Supreme Court refers detainees' petition for release to trial courts

The Supreme Court (SC) has referred to the trial courts the plea of elderly and sick detainees to be released amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SC Public Information Office said the decision was dated July 28, more than three months since the 22 detainees sought humanitarian release on April 8. The announcement of the order, however, was made only more than a month later, on Thursday, September 10.

The SC PIO said Thursday that the high tribunal treated the petition as an application for bail, and left it to the trial courts where the petitioners' cases are pending to hear and resolve.

"The Court noted that the Petitioners have all been charged with offenses punishable by reclusion perpetua. As such, they are not entitled to bail as a matter of right under the Constitution," the SC PIO said.

"Hence, in order for the Petitioners to be granted bail, it is imperative to conduct hearings and receive evidence in order to weigh the strength of the prosecution’s evidence as to the guilt of the Petitioners. These proceedings are within the competence of the trial courts," the SC PIO said.

The SC ordered the concerned trial courts to "conduct the necessary proceedings and resolve the incidents immediately."

Proceedings before the SC are now considered "closed and terminated," the SC PIO said.

The detainees had asked the SC to order their release, citing their age, existing illnesses, and in one case, pregnancy, as added COVID-19 risk factors in crowded jails.

The pregnant detainee, activist Reina Mae Nasino, gave birth while the petition was pending before the SC. A local court has ordered that she be separated from her child.

The SC PIO said the court was unanimous in treating the petition as an application for bail or recognizance.

Both the Bureau of Corrections and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology have reported hundreds of COVID-19 cases among inmates in their facilities. -MDM, GMA News