THE Court of Appeals (CA) rejected convicted robber Herbert Colanggo's bail plea on the ground that he was sentenced by a lower court in 2013 to suffer up to 30 years in prison.
Colanggo, whose real name is Roy Gilbert Colanggo, is one of the convicted criminals who testified against former Justice Secretary Leila de Lima in the congressional inquiry into the alleged illegal drugs trade inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
"Considering that bail pending appeal is only discretionary when the applicant is convicted of an offense not punishable by death, reclusion perpetua, or life imprisonment, accused-appellant is not eligible to be granted bail as matter of course," the CA Fifth Division said in a decision dated October 6.
Colanggo had sought bail on humanitarian grounds, citing his deteriorating health condition and the need for operation for his "chronic back pains and intermittent shooting pains and numbness on both [of his] lower extremities and recurring urinary complaints."
The CA said Colanggo's constitutional right to bail ends when Parañaque Regional Trial Court convicted him of robbery in May 2013.
Meanwhile, the CA said found no basis to grant Colanggo's request to reopen his robbery case even as the inmate's lawyer, Aimee Neri, said they will present new evidences to prove Colanggo's innocence.
During the House inquiry on NBP drug trade, Colanggo alleged that during de Lima's tenure, he was able to hold concerts, record music videos and sell beers and prostitutes to his fellow inmates. The then-Justice Secretary, he said, permitted all these. (Sunnex)
