Short answer. Yes. Before a guardian appointed for an incompetent adult enters upon the trust — and before letters of guardianship issue — Rule 94, Section 1 requires a bond in the sum the court directs. For wards who are minors, guardianship is now governed by the 2003 Rule on Guardianship of Minors.
What the law says
Before a guardian appointed enters upon the execution of his trust, or letters of guardianship issue, he shall give a bond, in such sum as the court directs
Rule 94, Section 1 — Bond to be given before issuance of letters; Amount; Conditions. Read the full provision →
What the law says
To make and return to the court, within three months, a true and complete inventory of all the estate, real and personal, of his ward
Rule 94, Section 1 — Bond to be given before issuance of letters; Amount; Conditions. Read the full provision →
No bond, no letters
The bond is not a formality that follows the appointment; it is a condition that precedes the authority. Rule 94, Section 1 puts it in that order: Before a guardian appointed enters upon the execution of his trust, or letters of guardianship issue, he shall give a bond, in such sum as the court directs. Being named guardian in the court's order is therefore not the end of the process. Until the bond is filed in the amount the court fixes, the letters of guardianship — the document that lets the guardian act on the ward's behalf — do not issue.
What the bond promises
The bond is conditioned on the duties that define the office. The first is speed and candour about the property: To make and return to the court, within three months, a true and complete inventory of all the estate, real and personal, of his ward. The others track the rest of the trust — to faithfully execute it and manage the estate for the ward's best interests, to render a true and just account of the estate and its proceeds when the rules or the court require, to settle accounts at the end of the trust and deliver what remains to the person lawfully entitled, and to perform the court's orders. A guardian who fails in these answers on the bond.
Which guardianships this rule now covers
Rule 94 belongs to the block of Rules 92 to 97, which since 2003 no longer governs guardianship of minors. A.M. No. 03-02-05-SC, the Rule on Guardianship of Minors, took over that ground with effect from May 1, 2003, and provides that guardianship of incompetents who are not minors continues to be governed by the Rules of Court. Read this bond requirement, then, as the rule for guardians of incompetent adults — an elderly parent, for instance, or an adult who cannot manage his own affairs. Where the ward is a child, the 2003 Rule applies instead.
Preparing for the bond in practice
Because the amount is in such sum as the court directs, and because every condition of the bond points at the ward's estate, the value of that estate is what the discussion will revolve around. A petitioner should come to court able to show what the ward owns — titles, bank records, income — both to inform the bond amount and because the same information feeds the inventory due within three months of taking office. Treat the bond as the ward's insurance policy against mismanagement: that is its function, and it is why the court will not let anyone touch the ward's property without it.