G.R. No. 27484, September 1, 1927
Angel Lorenzo, Petitioner-Appellant, vs. The Director of Health, Respondent-Appellee.

Ponente: Malcolm, J.

FACTS

Petitioner Angel Lorenzo, a confirmed leper, was confined at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila pursuant to Section 1058 of the Administrative Code, which authorizes the Director of Health to apprehend, detain, isolate, or confine leprous persons. Lorenzo filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, alleging that his confinement violated his constitutional rights and that leprosy is not an infectious disease. The Court of First Instance of Manila denied the petition, sustaining the constitutionality of the law. Lorenzo appealed, seeking to have the trial court receive evidence to determine whether leprosy is contagious.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in denying the petition for habeas corpus without receiving evidence on the contagious nature of leprosy, and whether Section 1058 of the Administrative Code (authorizing the segregation of lepers) is unconstitutional.

RULING

The Supreme Court AFFIRMED the judgment of the lower court, denying the petition for habeas corpus and upholding the constitutionality of the law.

1. Constitutionality of the Segregation Law: Section 1058 of the Administrative Code is a valid exercise of the state’s police power aimed at preserving public health. The legislature, in enacting the law, presumably had before it the necessary factual basis regarding the nature of leprosy as a health problem. Questions of fact and the necessity for such health measures are for the legislature to decide, not the courts. The courts will not review legislative findings on debatable public health issues if there is a probable basis for them.

2. Judicial Notice on Leprosy: The Court took judicial notice that leprosy is commonly believed to be an infectious and dreaded disease, and that compulsory segregation is a widely accepted scientific measure to prevent its spread, as supported by medical authorities and laws worldwide.

3. Role of the Courts: The petitioner’s request to present expert testimony to challenge the legislative fact of leprosy’s contagiousness was denied. The Court held that it would require a far stronger case to allow such testimony to overturn a public health law enacted under the police power. The proper forum to challenge the underlying policy or facts is the legislature, not the judiciary.

The confinement of Lorenzo under Section 1058 of the Administrative Code constituted lawful due process.