G.R. No. L-13026; March 30, 1960
NG HIN, petitioner-appellee, vs. THE COMMISSIONER OF IMMIGRATION, respondent-appellant.

FACTS

The case was decided upon a stipulation of facts. Petitioner Ng Hin, a Chinese citizen, was a permanent resident in the Philippines prior to 1940. He left for China in 1940 and secured a returning visa in 1941, which he did not use. On March 4, 1948, he was issued a returning resident visa, but again did not use it, instead applying for and obtaining a temporary visitor’s visa. He arrived in Manila on November 26, 1948, and was admitted as a temporary visitor. He was granted several extensions of his temporary stay, the last expiring on March 25, 1950. Upon his failure to leave, a warrant of arrest was issued, deportation proceedings were instituted, and on June 14, 1950, the Board of Commissioners ordered his deportation. A warrant of deportation was issued on March 26, 1951. Three years later, on June 29, 1954, Ng Hin filed a petition to correct his status from temporary visitor to returning resident. On July 19, 1954, the First Deputy Commissioner of Immigration issued an order allowing the correction. However, on August 6, 1955, the Commissioner of Immigration set aside that order, reinstated the warrant of deportation, and required new bonds. Ng Hin then filed a petition for certiorari with preliminary injunction in the Court of First Instance of Manila, which ruled in his favor, restraining the deportation.

ISSUE

Whether the Commissioner of Immigration acted correctly in setting aside the order correcting Ng Hin’s status from temporary visitor to returning resident and in proceeding with his deportation, given the circumstances and the applicable immigration law.

RULING

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the lower court and set aside the injunction against deportation. The Court held that the general rule under Section 9 of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, as amended, applies: an alien admitted as a non-immigrant (temporary visitor) cannot remain permanently and must depart voluntarily to a foreign country to procure the proper visa for permanent admission. The Court distinguished the case of Chiong Tiao Bing vs. Commissioner of Immigration, cited by the lower court, which presented an exception to this rule. In Chiong Tiao Bing, the petitioners were minors who accepted temporary visas to escape communist forces, and the government was aware of their claim as returning residents. In contrast, Ng Hin entered in 1948, sought extensions, was ordered deported in 1950, and only sought correction of his status in 1954, long after the deportation order and warrant were issued. No special circumstances justifying an exception to the statutory rule were present in the stipulation of facts. Therefore, the Commissioner of Immigration correctly applied the law, and the deportation proceedings were valid.