Manila court allows Nasino, 2 other activists to post bail
MANILA, Philippines (Updated 7:30 p.m.) — A Manila court has allowed activist Reina Mae Nasino — who lost her three-month old daughter while in detention — and two others to post bail in the criminal cases they are facing.
Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 47 Presiding Judge Paulino Gallegos granted the petition filed by Nasino, Ram Carlo Bautista and Alma Moran to post bail for their provisional liberty.
“Wherefore, premises considered, for failure of the prosecution to prove that the evidence of guilt against all accused are strong, the Joint Petition for Bail filed by all accused is hereby granted,” the ruling handed down on Monday read.
Bautista is ordered to pay a total of P570,000 for the three separate cases he is facing. Meanwhile, Nasino and Moran are ordered to pay a total of P420,000 each for the two charges filed against them.
This was after the Court of Appeals on August 31 voided the search warrants that led to their arrest for “failure to meet the standards of a valid search warrant.” The CA 12th Division also said “all evidence procured by virtue thereof are deemed inadmissible.”
The CA also found grave abuse of discretion on the part of Manila Regional Trial Court Judge Marivic Balisi-Umali for upholding the validity of the warrants despite “apparent irregularities.”
“These irregularities are more than enough to debunk the presumption of regularity of performance of official duties,” the CA decision read.
Nasino, Moran and Bautista were arrested in Tondo, Manila in November 2019, and were charged with illegal possession of firearms, and of explosives.
Nasino was then pregnant with River, whom she delivered in detention, but the baby died after their separation. The death of Baby River and the subsequent burial where Nasino was put in cuffs the entire time sparked condemnation from the public.
Evidence of guilt not strong
The three are among the activists arrested by police on the strength of a search warrant issued by Quezon City Executive Judge Cecilyn Burgos-Villavert.
The authority for Quezon City and Manila judges to issue what rights groups dubbed as “roving warrants” has since been limited by the Supreme Court, after an increase of criticism on how the said power has been weaponized against activists and dissenters.
“In these cases, after a careful examination of the evidence presented by the prosecution and without necessary delving into the validity of the search warrants against the accused as the same are still pending before the appellate court, the Court finds that the evidence of guilt against all accused are not strong,” the ruling read.
“Prosecution witnesses Corpuz and Jacinto failed to show that the circumstances they testified to are such that the interference of guilt naturally drawn therefrom is strong, clear and convincing,” it added.
“The essential elements of the offenses, the surrounding circumstances, the subject of the offenses (corpus delicti) and the identity and participation of each of the accused were not shown to be strong,” the Manila court added.
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