GR L 7680; (April, 1955) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-7680; April 30, 1955
TAN TONG alias CHEOÑGA, petitioner-appellant, vs. THE DEPORTATION BOARD, respondent-appellee.
FACTS
Petitioner Tan Tong was originally charged before the Bureau of Immigration with being a communist, subject to deportation. The Board of Commissioners found him engaged in communistic activities and smuggling, recommending deportation to China and referral of the smuggling aspect to the Office of the President under Section 69 of the Revised Administrative Code. Subsequently, on November 7, 1952, special prosecutor Emilio L. Galang charged Tan Tong before the Deportation Board with affiliation with the communist party and fraudulent engagement in unlawful importation of merchandise, especially American cigarettes. Tan Tong filed a motion to quash the proceedings, arguing that the charges had already been investigated by the Bureau of Immigration and that the Deportation Board lacked jurisdiction over the smuggling charge without a prior conviction by a competent court as required by Section 2702 of the Revised Administrative Code. The motion was denied. Tan Tong then filed a petition for prohibition in the Court of First Instance of Cebu, which was also denied, leading to this appeal.
ISSUE
Whether the Deportation Board can subject an alien to deportation for unlawful importation without a preceding court conviction for said offense.
RULING
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and affirmed the lower court’s decision. The Court held that the power to deport aliens is vested in the President of the Republic of the Philippines as an act of state, subject only to the procedural regulations in Section 69 of the Revised Administrative Code. Section 2702, which imposes penalties for illegal importation and states that an alien found guilty “may be subject to deportation,” does not limit this executive power or make a court conviction a prerequisite for deportation proceedings. The provision merely signifies that if a court has already convicted an alien under Section 2702, the separate investigative proceedings under Section 69 are unnecessary to effect deportation. It does not preclude the Deportation Board from investigating charges of unlawful importation against an alien and recommending deportation, even in the absence of a criminal conviction or filed charges. The legislative intent was to avoid duplicative proceedings, not to restrict the executive’s deportation authority.