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[ G.R. No. 128881. February 8, 1999]
PEOPLE OF THE PHIL. vs. GLORIA BARTOLOME
FIRST DIVISION
Gentlemen:
Quoted hereunder, for your information, is a resolution of this Court dated FEB 8, 1999.
G.R. No. 128881 (People of the Philippines vs. Gloria Bartolome.); G.R. No. 129486 (Gloria Bartolome vs. People of the Philippines, et al.)
G.R. No. 128881 is a case certified to this Court by the Court of Appeals in view of the modified penalty of life imprisonment the Court of Appeals imposed on (but did not enter against) accused-appellant Gloria Bartolome in its decision of 19 February 1997 in CA-G.R. CR No. 14239.
G.R. No. 129486 is an appeal, by way of petition for review, from the aforesaid decision of the Court of Appeals.
In its resolution of 23 July 1997, the Third Division of this Court ordered the consolidation of these cases.
Accused-appellant had put up a bail for her temporary liberty before the trial court, and the bond remained effective during the pendency of her appeal in the Court of Appeals.
In its resolution of 2 July 1997, the Third Division resolved, in G.R. No. 128881, as follows:
(a) to ORDER the bondsmen to surrender the accused-appellant within thirty (30) days from notice to the court of origin and to INFORM this Court of the fact of surrender, after which, the cancellation of the bond shall be ordered by this Court;
(b) to ORDER the trial judge to COMMIT the accused-appellant to the Bureau of Corrections (should have been Correctional Institution for Women) and to SUBMIT proof of compliance herewith, both within ten (10) days from the time of the surrender of accused-appellant; and
(c) that if the accused-appellant is not surrendered within the aforesaid period of ten (10) days, his bond shall be forfeited and an order of arrest shall be issued by this Court.
On 22 October 1997, this Court denied the petition in G.R. No. 129486 for non-compliance with Sec. 3, Rule 45 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, petitioner having failed to pay P500.00 as deposit for costs, and pursuant to Sec. 5 in relation to Sec. 4, Rule 45 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, petitioner likewise having failed to state the material dates of the receipt of the decision, the filing of the motion for reconsideration and denial of said motion for reconsideration.
On 28 November 1997, petitioner filed a motion for the reconsideration of the aforementioned resolution of 22 October 1997, the Court required the Office of the Solicitor General to comment on the motion.
After the grant of several extensions of time to file the required Comment, the Office of the Solicitor General finally filed a Comment on 7 July 1998, which was, however, not on the motion for reconsideration, but on the petition itself.
Since there was no showing that the bondsman was served with a copy of the resolution of 2 July 1997, the Court in its Resolution of 24 August 1998 (a) required the Division Clerk of Court to cause personal service of the resolution of 2 July 1997 on the bondsman and (b) noted without action the aforementioned Comment of the Office of the Solicitor General and required it to strictly comply with the Resolution of 26 January 1998.
In the letter dated 13 January 1999, the Fidelity Insurance Company, accused-appellant's bondsman, through its President Bienvenido M. Aragon (Rollo, 22-23, G.R. No. 128881), informed the Court that "despite our efforts to notify the defendant to surrender to the Court, we were unsuccessful in communicating with her." It then forwarded to this Court its UCPB Check No. 0005431681 (Salcedo Branch, Legaspi Village, Makati City) dated 13 January 1999, in the amount of P44,000.00 as payment on the personal bonds it issued in behalf of accused-appellant in the eight criminal cases before the trial court whose judgment of conviction was the subject of the appeal in CA-G.R. No. CRIM. No. 14239.
The above admission of the bondsman and its payment of the full amount of the bonds express its full conformity to the forfeiture of the bonds as prescribed in condition (c) of the Resolution of 2 July 1997.
Accused-appellant Gloria Bartolome is now at large. Necessarily, her motion for reconsideration in G.R. No. 129486 must be denied as she has jumped bail (second par., Sec. 8, Rule 124 in relation to Sec. 1, Rule 125, Rules of Court).
However, since G.R. No. 128881 is a certified case (second paragraph of Sec. 13, Rule 124, Rules of Court), review thereof shall be deferred until the arrest of the accused-appellant.
WHEREFORE, the Court hereby Resolves to:
1. FORFEIT the bail bond of accused-appellant Gloria Bartolome and consider the payment of P44,000.00 by bondsman Fidelity Insurance Company, Inc. as full satisfaction thereof upon the presentment and honor of the check of said amount.
2. DENY with FINALITY accused-appellant's motion for reconsideration of the Resolution of 22 October 1997 in G.R. No. 129486 in view of her having jumped bail; and, accordingly, to DISPENSE with the strict compliance of the Office of the Solicitor General with the Resolution of 26 January 1998 in relation to the Resolution of 24 August 1998.
3. ORDER the Arrest of accused-appellant Gloria Bartolome, with the warrant of arrest to be served by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which must make a return thereof within sixty (60) days from receipt of a copy of the warrant of arrest. The Clerk of Court shall forthwith issue such warrant. After the arrest the National Bureau of Investigation shall commit accused-appellant in the Correctional Institution for Women and submit a report thereon in the return of the warrant.
4. DEFER the review in G.R. No. 128881 until the accused-appellant shall have been arrested.
5. DIRECT the Cashier to encash the bondsman's aforementioned check and submit a report thereon within five (5) days from such encashment.
Very truly yours,
(Sgd.) VIRGINIA ANCHETA-SORIANO
Clerk of Court
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