G.R. No. 45923; April 18, 1939
CHOA FUN, en interes de su hija CHOA LIN, solicitante-apelante, vs. EL SECRETARIO DEL TRABAJO, recurrido-apelado.

FACTS

Choa Lin, a 15-year-old Chinese girl, arrived in the Philippines on January 7, 1937, seeking admission as the minor daughter of Choa Fun, a resident Chinese merchant. A Board of Special Inquiry appointed by the Secretary of Labor denied her application for admission. The Secretary of Labor affirmed this decision on appeal. Choa Fun then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Court of First Instance of Manila, which granted the writ. The Secretary of Labor appealed to the Court of Appeals, which reversed the lower court’s decision and dismissed the petition, primarily on the ground that Choa Lin was already enjoying provisional liberty under a bond and was therefore not entitled to the writ of habeas corpus.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in dismissing the petition for a writ of habeas corpus on the sole ground that the alien was under provisional release on bond.

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals. The provisional release of an immigrant under a bond, as authorized by Customs Administrative Order No. 245, is intended precisely to prevent detention while the administrative and judicial proceedings on their right to land are pending. This provisional liberty extends throughout the entire duration of the proceedings, including any appeal to the courts via a petition for habeas corpus. Therefore, the fact that an alien is free under bond is not a legal bar to availing of the remedy of habeas corpus to appeal an adverse decision of the Insular Collector of Customs (the immigration authority). The case was remanded to the Court of Appeals for a decision on the merits of the appeal.

AI Generated by Armztrong.