CA denies convict Colanggo’s bail plea

MANILA, Philippines - The Court of Appeals (CA) has denied the petition for bail of convicted robbery gang leader Herbert Colanggo.

In a six-page resolution issued recently, the appellate court’s Fifth Division denied for lack of merit Colanggo’s bail plea.

“We find no merit in his petition for bail,” said Associate Justice Jose Reyes Jr., who authored the resolution affirmed by Associate Justices Stephen Cruz and Ramon Paul Hernando.

Colanggo was the leader of a group that perpetrated bank heists in the early 2000s, including the robbery of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. branch in Cabuyao, Laguna where 10 people were killed.

He was arrested in 2009 and sentenced to up to 40 years in prison by the Parañaque Regional Trial Court on May 10, 2013.

Colanggo also urged the appellate court to reopen his case.

In his petition, Colanggo asked the CA to grant him bail on the grounds that the evidence against him was not strong and for humanitarian reasons because of his deteriorating health.

The convict claimed that despite continuous medical treatment, he has not recovered from his chronic back pains, intermittent shooting pains and numbness in his lower extremities, and recurring urinary problems.

Colanggo cited the case of former Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile, who was granted bail by the Sandiganbayan.

Enrile is on trial for plunder in connection with  the pork barrel scam.

The CA, however, ruled that Enrile’s case was different from Colanggo’s because the former senator applied for bail when he has not yet been convicted.

Last month, Colanggo testified during the House of Representatives hearing and linked Sen. Leila de Lima to the illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison.