duties of the judge once an application for bail

In Cortes v. Catral,[18] therefore, the Court has outlined the following duties of the judge once an application for bail is filed, to wit:



1. In all cases whether bail is a matter of right or discretion, notify the prosecutor of the hearing of the application for bail or require him to submit his recommendation (Section 18, Rule 114 of the Revised Rules of Court, as amended);



2. Where bail is a matter of discretion, conduct a hearing of the application for bail regardless or whether or not the prosecution refuses to present evidence to show that the guilt of the accused is strong for the purpose of enabling the court to exercise its sound discretion (Sections 7 and 8, id);



3. Decide whether the guilt of the accused is strong based on the summary of evidence of the prosecution;



4. If the guilt of the accused is not strong, discharge the accused upon the approval of the bail bond (Section 19, id); otherwise, the petition should be denied.