SC mulls custodial hearings for accused

Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo said that the Supreme Court is now deliberating a proposed revision to the Rules of Criminal Procedure, which would allow trial courts to determine whether an accused may be allowed to undergo house arrest, hospital arrest, or compassionate release.

“I am happy to report that the proposed revision of the Rules of Criminal Procedure, which is now under deliberation by the Court en banc, now includes a provision on custodial hearings,” he said during the Second National Decongestion Summit at the Manila Hotel.

According to Gesmundo, one of the products of the first summit in December 2023 was to introduce custodial hearings to allow courts to determine whether an accused may be subject to alternative modes of preventive detention.

This includes house arrest, hospital arrest, compassionate release for the elderly and critically ill, and furlough for pregnant or nursing women.

Currently, accused individuals may file motions asking the court to allow them to undergo house or hospital arrest, subject to the court’s discretion. —VBL, GMA Integrated News