PHILIPPINE SUPREME COURT JURISPRUDENCE

|

Search for www.chanrobles.com

EN BANC

G.R. No. L-22696     May 29, 1964

COMMISSIONER OF IMMIGRATION, Petitioner, vs. HON. F. FERNANDEZ, J. RODRIGUEZ, A. CA�IZARES, as Associate Justices of the Court of Appeals,
THE COURT OF APPEALS, JUAN GARCIA and TEBAN CAOILI, Respondents.

PAREDES, J.: chanrobles virtual law library

On June 7, 1961, Teban Caoili and his three (3) brothers, Vicente, Santos and Felipe, arrived from Hongkong on board a CPA plane. All of them were provided with certificate of registration and identity, issued by the Philippine Consulate General at Hongkong. They came to join their father, Antonio Caoili, whom they claim to be a Filipino citizen. Their application for admission as Philippine citizens were docketed as IC No. 61-1881-C to 61-1884-C, and were considered by the Bureau of Immigration Board of Special Inquiry No. 1. On June 23, 1961, the said Board of Special Inquiry rendered a decision admitting them as Filipino citizens, by birth. Under date of July 7, 1961, the then Board of Commissioners composed of Commissioner Galang and Deputy Commissioners de la Rosa and Talabis, affirmed the decision of the Board of Special Inquiry, with Commissioners de la Rosa and Talabis voting for the admission of the Caoilis, while Commissioner Galang voted for their exclusion. According to existing rules of procedures in the Bureau, a majority vote was sufficient to sustain or reverse a ruling or decision of the Board of Special Inquiry. After the Board of Commissioners affirmed the decision of the Board of Special Inquiry, Teban Caoili was issued Identification Certificate No. 15648 on July 10, 1961, worded as follows:

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: chanrobles virtual law library

THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT TEBAN CAOILI ... male, ... 28 years old, ... single whose picture and finger print are affixed hereto and partially covered by the seal of this Office who was born in Amoy, Fukien, China on 4 November 1932, ex CPA plane on 7 June 1961, was ADMITTED as citizen of the Philippines as per DECISION OF THE BOARD OF SPECIAL INQUIRY DATED 23 JUNE 1961, DULY AFFIRMED BY THE MAJORITY MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, IC No. 1881-C.

x x x           x x x           x x x

Thereafter, Teban Caoili exercised the rights and prerogatives appurtenant to Philippine citizenship; he registered as a voter, was issued a Philippine Passport, paid his residence taxes (A & B), filed his corresponding Income Tax Returns, he was employed with the AVESCO, with offices at downtown Manila, and became a member of the Social Security System.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law library

On June 23, 1962, however, a new Board of Commissioners which replaced the old Board, due to the change of Administration, allegedly reviewed motu proprio, pursuant to the provisions of See. 27 (b) of the Immigration Act of 1940, as amended, the decision of the Board of Special Inquiry, notwithstanding the fact that the same had been already affirmed by the old Board. By a unanimous decision, the new Board of Commissioners, composed of Messrs. Martiniano P. Vivo, Marcial O. Ranola and Virgilio N. Gaston, voted to exclude Teban Caoili and his three brothers, as aliens not properly documented, for admission in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 29 (a) (17) of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, as amended, and ordered them returned to the port whence they came or to the country of which they were nationals. On the same date, the Commissioner (respondent herein) issued a Warrant of Exclusion, the pertinent portions of which, read: -

AND WHEREAS, the said Decision of the Board of Commissioners ordering the deportation of TEBAN CAOILI, VICENTE CAOILI, SANTOS CAOILI and FELIPE CAOILI is final and now executory; chanrobles virtual law library

WHEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in the undersigned by law, you are hereby commanded to carry out the exclusion of the above named aliens on the first available transportation to the port whence they came or to the port of the country of which they are nationals.

After the issuance of the above Warrant of Exclusion, the Office of the Secretary of Justice conducted an investigation regarding the status of Teban Caoili and his brothers, and on January 25, 1963, the investigator rendered a report, the pertinent portions of which are reproduced below -

FACTS OF THE CASE: chanrobles virtual law library

On 21 January 1963, this office received an information which states that TEBAN CAOILI, SANTOS CAOILI and JOSE CAOILI are not Filipino citizens. They came to the Philippines from Hongkong last 1961 for the first time and that the trio could not even speak a single word of any of our dialect. The father of the trio is one ANTONIO CAOILI resident of 139 Mayon, Q.C.