G.R. No. L-24844 and L-24853, October 26, 1967.
MACARIO AROCHA, in behalf of PEDRO GATCHALIAN, petitioner-appellee, vs. MARTINIANO VIVO, Acting Commissioner of Immigration, THE DEPORTATION OFFICER and “JOHN DOE”, respondents-appellants. / MARTINIANO VIVO, in his capacity as COMMISSIONER of IMMIGRATION, petitioner, vs. HON. FRANCISCO ARCA, in his official capacity as Judge of the Court of First Instance of Manila, Branch I, JOSE SAN AGUSTIN in his official capacity as ex-officio Sheriff of Manila, MACARIO AROCHA, and PEDRO GATCHALIAN, respondents.

FACTS

On June 25, 1961, Pedro Gatchalian, a minor, arrived at the Manila International Airport and sought entry as a Filipino citizen. The immigration officer referred his case to the Special Board of Inquiry. On July 6, 1961, the Board rendered a decision admitting Gatchalian as a Filipino citizen. The decision was submitted to the Board of Commissioners, with two commissioners noting it and one voting to exclude. On August 16, 1961, Gatchalian was issued an Identification Certificate attesting to his admission. On January 24, 1962, the Secretary of Justice issued Memorandum Order No. 9 directing a review of such admission cases. In July 1962, the Board of Commissioners, after a motu proprio review, reversed the Board of Inquiry’s decision and ordered Gatchalian’s exclusion for being improperly documented. The warrant for exclusion was issued in July 1962, but Gatchalian was taken into custody only on June 6, 1965. On July 21, 1965, Macario Arocha, on behalf of Gatchalian, petitioned the Court of First Instance of Manila for a writ of habeas corpus. The court, after trial, sustained Gatchalian’s contention that the Board of Commissioners’ reversal decision was antedated to July 6, 1962, from an original date of July 20, 1962, to make it appear within the one-year review period prescribed by law. The court held the Board of Inquiry’s decision had become final, ordered Gatchalian’s immediate release, and permanently enjoined his arrest or deportation. The Commissioner of Immigration appealed this decision (G.R. No. L-24844) and also filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition (G.R. No. L-24853), assailing the lower court’s order for immediate release despite the perfected appeal.

ISSUE

The primary issue is the correct date of promulgation of the Board of Commissioners’ decision reversing the Board of Special Inquiry’s admission of Pedro Gatchalian. If the reversal was made on July 20, 1962, it would be beyond the one-year statutory period for review, making the admission final. If it was on July 6, 1962, the reversal was timely. A secondary issue is whether the Board of Commissioners’ motu proprio review without a further hearing for Gatchalian was valid.

RULING

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Court of First Instance. It held that the Board of Commissioners’ decision was validly promulgated on July 6, 1962, within the one-year review period under Section 27(b) of Commonwealth Act 613, as amended. The Court found that the erasures and retyping of dates on the decision and warrant, from “20” to “6”, were corrections of clerical mistakes to reflect the actual date the resolution to exclude was voted and adopted by the Board, as evidenced by the unaltered official minutes (Exhibit 5-A and Annex F) showing the resolution was adopted on July 6, 1962. The presumption of regularity in official acts outweighed the inference of falsification. The Court also ruled that in a motu proprio review by the Board of Commissioners of a decision admitting an alien, the alien is not entitled to a further hearing, as the review is based on the evidence already presented before the Board of Special Inquiry. The law (Section 27(c) of C.A. 613) grants the right to counsel only in cases of appeal by the alien from an adverse decision. Therefore, Gatchalian’s detention was lawful. Furthermore, the lower court’s order for immediate release despite a perfected appeal was in violation of Section 15, Rule 102 of the Revised Rules of Court. The decision and order of the Court of First Instance were reversed, nullified, and set aside.