G.R. No. L-22196 June 30, 1967
ESTEBAN MORANO, CHAN SAU WAH and FU YAN FUN, petitioners-appellants, vs. HON. MARTINIANO VIVO in his capacity as Acting Commissioner of Immigration, respondent-appellant.

FACTS

Chan Sau Wah, a Chinese citizen, arrived in the Philippines on November 23, 1961, with her minor son Fu Yan Fun, under a temporary visitor’s visa for two months, secured by posting a P4,000 cash bond. On January 24, 1962, Chan Sau Wah married Esteban Morano, a native-born Filipino citizen, and they had a child, Esteban Morano, Jr., on September 16, 1962. After several extensions, their authorized stay expired on September 10, 1962. The Commissioner of Immigration ordered them to leave by that date, warning of arrest and bond confiscation. Instead of leaving, Chan Sau Wah (with her husband Esteban Morano) and Fu Yan Fun filed a petition for mandamus, prohibition, and preliminary injunction in the Court of First Instance of Manila. The trial court declared Chan Sau Wah a Filipino citizen, dismissed the petition for Fu Yan Fun, authorized the forfeiture of the bond, and upheld the constitutionality of Section 37(a) of the Immigration Act. Both parties appealed.

ISSUE

1. Whether Chan Sau Wah automatically became a Filipino citizen upon her marriage to a Filipino citizen.
2. Whether Section 37(a) of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, which authorizes the Commissioner of Immigration to issue warrants of arrest for deportation, is unconstitutional for violating Section 1(3), Article III of the Constitution (Bill of Rights) on the issuance of warrants.

RULING

1. No. Chan Sau Wah did not automatically become a Filipino citizen upon marriage. Under Section 15 of Commonwealth Act 473 (Revised Naturalization Act), an alien woman married to a Filipino citizen is deemed a citizen only if she might herself be lawfully naturalized. This requires her to possess all qualifications and none of the disqualifications under the Naturalization Law. Petitioners admitted Chan Sau Wah lacked all the required qualifications. The Court, following precedent, held that marriage alone does not confer citizenship; the alien wife must still meet the legal criteria for naturalization.
2. No. Section 37(a) of the Immigration Act is not unconstitutional. The constitutional guarantee requiring a judicial determination of probable cause for warrants applies to the exercise of judicial power, not to deportation proceedings, which are administrative in nature. Deportation is an inherent sovereign power, not a criminal punishment, and the warrant issued by the Commissioner is a measure to execute a valid deportation order, not a step in a criminal prosecution. The Court cited jurisprudence affirming the Commissioner’s authority to issue such warrants for aliens who violate the conditions of their stay, as part of the executive power to deport.