Qua Chee Gan v. Deportation Board

TITLE: QUA CHEE GAN, JAMES UY, DANIEL DY alias DEE PAC, CHAN TIONG
YU, CUA CHU TIAN, CHUA LIM PAO alias JOSE CHUA and BASILIO KING,
petitioners-appellants, vs. THE DEPORTATION BOARD, respondent-appellee.
GR. NO: L-10280
DATE: September 30, 1963
PONENTE: BARRERA, J
TOPIC: Different meanings of words people: as inhabitants, as citizens, as source
of sovereignty.
DOCTRINE: The state has the right to exclude aliens in its territory. The President of
the Philippines is given the discretion to deport aliens who are considered
undesirable.
QUICK FACTS/ BACKGROUND OF THE CASE:
May 12, 1952, Special Prosecutor Emilo Galang charged petitioners before the
Deportation Board, having purchased US dollars in the sum of $130,000.00, without
the necessary license from the Central Bank of the Philippines, which was then
secretly remitted to Hong Kong. Petitioners Qua Chee Gan and Chua Lim Pao alias
Jose Chua and Basilio King attempted to bribe officers of the PHL and US
governments (Antonio Laforteza, Chief of the Intelligence Division of the Central
Bank, Capt. A.P. Charak of the OSI, US Air Force) to evade prosecution for the
unauthorized purchase. A warrant of arrest of petitioners was issued by the
Deportation Board. They filed a surety bond of P10,000.00 and cash bond for
P10,000.00, thereby provisionally setting them at liberty.
PETITIONERS ARGUMENT: Petitioners filed a joint motion to dismiss in the
Deportation Board for the reason that the same does not constitute legal ground for
deportation of aliens, and that the Board has no jurisdiction to entertain such
charges. The motion was denied by the Board on Feb. 9, 1953. Petitioners then filed
a petition for habeas corpus and/or prohibition to the Court, but made returnable to
the Court of First Instance of Manila. After securing and filing a bond for P5,000.00
each, a writ of preliminary injunction was issued by the lower court, restraining the
DB from hearing deportation charges against petitioners pending termination of the
habeas corpus and/or prohibition proceedings.
RESPONDENTS ARGUMENT: The Deportation Board then filed its answer to the
original petition, saying as an authorized agent of the President, it has jurisdiction
over the charges filed, and the authority to order their arrest. The Court upheld the
validity of the delegation by the president to the Deportation Board of his power to
conduct the investigations. It also sustained the power of the DB to issue warrant
of arrest and fix bonds for the aliens temporary release pending investigation,
pursuant to Section 69 of the Revised Administrative Code.
ISSUE: 1) Whether or not the President has the power to deport aliens, and by
extension, able to delegate investigative power to the Deportation Board, without any
legislation expressly granting the President such a power?
2) Whether the President has the power to issue arrest warrants during investigation
against aliens subject to a complaint, and if so, can the same power be delegated to
the Deportation Board as well?
RULING: 1) YES! Under the present and existing laws deportation of an undesirable
alien may be effected in two ways: by order of the President, after due investigation,
pursuant to Section 69 of the Revised Administrative Code, and by the Commissioner
of Immigration, upon recommendation by the Board of Commissioners, under
Section 37 of Commonwealth Act No. 613. While it may really be contended that did
not expressly confer on the President the authority to deport undesirable aliens,
unlike the express grant to the Commissioner of Immigration under Commonwealth
Act No. 613, but merely lays down the procedure to be observed should there be
deportation proceedings, the fact that such a procedure was provided for before the
President can deport an alien is a clear indication of the recognition, and inferentially
a ratification, by the legislature of the existence of such power in the Executive. And
the, exercise of this power by the chief Executive has been sanctioned by this Court
in several decisions.
2) NO. Section 69 of the Revised Administrative Code, upon whose authority the
President's power to deport is predicated, does not provide for the exercise of the
power to arrest. The arrest of a foreigner, necessary to carry into effect the power of
deportation is valid only when there is already an order of deportation. To carry out
the order of deportation, the President obviously has the power to order the arrest of
the deportee. But, certainly, during the investigation, it is not indispensable that the
alien be arrested. The right of an individual to be secure in his person is guaranteed
by the Constitution, which specifically provides that the probable cause upon which a
warrant of arrest may be issued, must be determined by the judge after examination
under oath, etc., of the complainant and the witnesses he may produce. The
Constitution does not distinguish between warrants in a criminal case and
administrative warrants in administrative proceedings.

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TITLE: QUA CHEE GAN, JAMES UY, DANIEL DY alias DEE PAC, CHAN TIONG

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