G.R. No. L-11122, December 9, 1917
DU ENG HOA, plaintiff-appellee, vs. THE INSULAR COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS, defendant-appellant.

FACTS:
Du Eng Hoa, a 22-year-old Chinese national, arrived at the port of Manila on January 11, 1915, seeking entry into the Philippine Islands. He claimed that his father, a Chinese merchant, had previously resided in the Philippines but had died several months prior to his arrival. Du Eng Hoa himself had never been in United States territory, which included the Philippines at the time. The Board of Special Inquiry denied his entry, a decision affirmed by the Insular Collector of Customs. Subsequently, Du Eng Hoa filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Court of First Instance of Manila, which reversed the Collector’s decision, ordered his release, and held that the Collector had misapplied the law. The Insular Collector of Customs appealed to the Supreme Court.

ISSUE:
Whether a minor child of a deceased Chinese merchant, who had never been in United States territory, is entitled to enter the Philippine Islands.

RULING:
The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Court of First Instance and upheld the order of deportation. The Court ruled that the right of a minor child of a Chinese merchant to enter United States territory (including the Philippines) is contingent upon the merchant being alive at the time of the child’s entry. Following established precedent, the Court held that the death of the merchant parent extinguishes the child’s derivative right of entry. The Court cited prior cases, including Tan Lin Jo v. Collector of Customs and Yap Tian Un v. Collector of Customs, which uniformly denied entry to children of deceased Chinese merchants. Accordingly, the writ of habeas corpus was denied, and Du Eng Hoa was ordered returned to the custody of the Collector of Customs for deportation.

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