Court of Appeals cancels bail of 6 accused in 'missing sabungeros' case

The Court of Appeals Third Division has canceled the bail of six accused in the abduction and serious illegal detention of “missing sabungeros” from the Manila Arena in January 2022.

In an 18-page ruling, the court granted the prosecution’s petition for certiorari, finding that the presiding judge of Manila RTC Branch 40 committed a grave abuse of discretion by granting the accused's petition for bail.

The accused in the case are six security personnel of the Manila Arena.

They were granted temporary liberty in December 2023 after posting bail of P3 million each.

The National Prosecution Service has already asked the court for their rearrest.

The court found that “the respondent judge gravely abused her discretion when she granted the private respondent's petition for bail notwithstanding the presence of strong evidence of their guilt.”

It held that contrary to the trial court, “there is strong evidence the private respondents kidnapped or detained the victims, or in any manner deprived them of liberty.”

The CA also said that the trial court was incorrect in saying that there was no deprivation of liberty just because the victims went voluntarily with the private respondents and that there was no scuffle or use of deadly weapons.

“The fact that after the victims were made to board the van, that they could no longer be traced and found even by police authorities, are strong pieces of factual evidence that show that the victims were detained or kidnapped,” the court said.

The appellate court also gave little weight to the recantation of one of the prosecution’s witnesses.

It stated that recantations are “exceedingly unreliable” and “can easily be obtained from witnesses through illegal means, e.g., intimidation or for monetary considerations, or unwarranted reasons.”

The CA also stressed that the witness recanted “not because he was denying or rebuking his prior statements. Instead, his purported recantation was only due to the stress and strain of being a witness under the police's witness protection program”.

The court also noted that the witness in open court reaffirmed his earlier statement to investigating officers.

“If indeed his earlier statements were not true, he could have simply denied them in open court when asked by the prosecution and the defense,” the court said.

The court ordered a writ of certiorari to be issued and set aside the resolution and order of the RTC.

The bail granted to the accused was rescinded with the CA’s denial of the accused’s bail petition.

The Manila RTC Branch 40 has yet to take action on the prosecution’s motion as it only received the CA’s decision on Tuesday, January 28, 2025.

The camp of the accused filed their Motion for Reconsideration with the CA.

The CA’s decision was promulgated on December 20, 2024, but was also only received by the Department of Justice last week. –NB, GMA Integrated News