462 Phil. 37
CALLEJO, SR., J.:
Criminal Case No. | The Accused | In What Court Cases are Pending | |
1. 98-1155 | Raymond Michael Jackson alias Allen Miller | Makati RTC - Branch 133 | |
2. 98-903 | Raymond Jackson | Makati RTC - Branch 135 | |
3. 97-202 | Raymond M. Jackson a.k.a. Allen Miller and Jaime Bueta | QC RTC - Branch 83 | |
4. 98-1152 | Raymond Jackson | Makati RTC - Branch 135[10] | |
The petitioner avers that under Article III, Section 2 of the Philippine Constitution, only judges are vested with authority to issue warrants for the arrest of persons, including aliens. Even if it is assumed that the Commissioner of the CID is authorized to issue a warrant of arrest, this is limited only to those cases where a final order of deportation had already been issued by the BOC, and only for the purpose of implementing the said order. According to the petitioner, the order of deportation issued by the BOC on December 11, 1999 is illegal; hence, null and void. The petitioner was not apprised of any specific charges filed against him with the CID and was not heard on the said charges as required by law before the order was issued. The petitioner asserts that there was no probable cause for his arrest by the CID and that the respondents even violated the Memorandum Circular of the Secretary of Justice dated June 7, 1999.[24] The petitioner cited the ruling of the Court in Lao Gi v. CA[25] to fortify his petition.
- RODRIGUEZ CANNOT ISSUE WARRANTS OF ARREST SINCE ONLY JUDGES CAN ISSUE THE SAME.
- ASSUMING, WITHOUT CONCEDING, THAT RODRIGUEZ CAN ISSUE WARRANTS OF ARREST, SUCH CAN ONLY BE ISSUED TO ENFORCE A FINAL ORDER OF DEPORTATION; HOWEVER, IN THE INSTANT CASE, THERE IS NO FINAL ORDER OF DEPORTATION.
- PETITIONER'S RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS HAS BEEN VIOLATED. [23]
Sec. 4. When writ not allowed or discharged authorized. - If it appears that the person alleged to be restrained of his liberty is in the custody of an officer under process issued by a court or judge or by virtue of a judgment or order of a court of record, and that the court or judge had jurisdiction to issue the process, render the judgment; or make the order, the writ shall not be allowed; or if the jurisdiction appears after the writ is allowed, the person shall not be discharged by reason of any informality or defect in the process, judgment, or order. Nor shall anything in this rule be held to authorize the discharge of a person charged with or convicted of an offense in the Philippines, or of a person suffering imprisonment under lawful judgment.The term "court" includes quasi-judicial bodies like the Deportation Board of the Bureau of Immigration.[27]
Sec. 13. When the return evidence, and when only a plea. - If it appears that the prisoner is in custody under a warrant of commitment in pursuance of law, the return shall be considered prima facie evidence of the cause of restraint; but if he is restrained of his liberty by any alleged private authority, the return shall be considered only as a plea of the facts therein set forth, and the party claiming the custody must prove such facts.In this case, based on the return of the writ by the respondents, the petitioner was arrested and detained at the CID detention center at Bicutan, ParaƱaque City, under Mission Order No. RBR-99-164 dated May 21, 1999 based on the Order of the BOC dated December 11, 1997 which had become final and executory. The BOC found, after due proceedings, that:
Records show that on 10 December 1997, Vice Consul Raymond Greene of the U.S. Embassy in Manila advised the Department of Justice that the U.S. passports which were confiscated from the abovenamed respondent when he was arrested by PNP operatives in Angeles City on 30 November 1997 and purportedly issued to Raymond Michael Jackson and Steven Bernard Bator have been determined to have been tampered. As a consequence, said passports were cancelled by the U.S. Embassy.The information relayed by U.S. Vice Consul Raymond Greene to the DOJ on December 10, 1997 was reiterated by U.S. Vice Consul Tedd Archabal in his certification forwarded to the DOJ on May 18, 1999, thus:
In Schonemann vs. Commissioner Santiago, et al., (G.R. No. 86461, 30 May 1989), the Supreme Court ruled that if a foreign embassy cancels the passport of an alien, or does not reissue a valid passport to him, the alien loses the privilege to remain in the country.
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the Board of Commissioners hereby orders the summary deportation of NORMAN LLOYD @ RAYMOND MICHAEL JACKSON @ STEVEN BERNARD BATOR to his country of origin subject to compliance with the 1997 Deportation Rules of Procedures-Office Memorandum Order No. ELM-97-013.
The Chief of the Civil Security Unit is hereby ordered to implement this Order within three (03) days from receipt hereof.
Include respondent's name on the Blacklist.
Give respondent a copy hereof. [30]
The petitioner's arrest and detention are in accord with Section 45(d) in relation to Section 37(a)(9) of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940 which respectively reads:CERTIFICATION
I, Tedd Archabal, Vice Consul of the United States hereby certify that United States Passport Number Z4613110 issued June 2, 1983 at the U.S. Embassy, Manila in the name of RAYMOND MICHAEL JACKSON, born October 17, 1951 at South Dakota is a genuine United States Government document that has been altered and photosubstituted.
I also certify that United States Passport Number 085238399 issued August 15, 1996 at the New Orleans Passport Agency, Louisiana, in the name of STEVEN BERNARD BATOR, born August 20, 1949 at Detroit, Michigan, is a genuine United States Government document that has been altered and photosubstituted, as well.
I further certify that a comparison of photographs affixed to U.S. Passports Number Z4613110 and 085238399 - which were seized by Philippine National Police officers on or about November 29, 1997 from a man claiming to be Raymond Michael Jackson - and photographs affixed to the original applications for passports number Z4613110 and 085238399 in the names of Raymond Michael Jackson and Steven Bernard Bator on file with the U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC, revealed that these are not/not the same people.[31]
SEC. 45. (d) being an alien, enters the Philippines without inspection and admission by the immigration officials, or obtains entry into the Philippines by willful, false, or misleading representation or willful concealment of a material fact;In Tung Chin Hui v. Rodriguez,[32] this Court held that such documents from a foreign embassy attesting to the cancellation of the passports held by their national on the ground that the said passports were tampered with; hence, cancelled were sufficient grounds for the arrest and deportation of aliens from the Philippines:...
SEC. 37. (a) The following aliens shall be arrested upon the warrant of the Commissioner of Immigration or of any other officer designated by him for the purpose and deported upon the warrant of the Commissioner of Immigration after a determination by the Board of Commissioners of the existence of the ground for deportation as charged against the alien:...
(9) Any alien who commits any of the acts described in Sections Forty- five and Forty-six of this Act, independent of criminal action which may be brought against him: ...
The above-quoted official letters demonstrate the speciousness of the petitioner's contention that his passport could not have been cancelled in 1995, inasmuch as he was allowed to enter the country as late as 1998. The letters show that the Philippine government was informed about the cancellation only in 1998.The petitioner cannot feign ignorance of the charges against him in the CID and insist on being deprived by the BOC of his right to due process as prescribed for in Section 37(c) of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, thus:
Furthermore, the foregoing letters of the official representative of the Taiwanese government belie the petitioner's submission that there was no evidence to prove the findings of the CA and the Board of Commissioners. Verily, these documents constitute sufficient justification for his deportation. As the Court held in the landmark case Forbes v. Chuoco Tiaco, "[t]he mere fact that a citizen or subject is out of the territory of his country does not relieve him from that allegiance which he owes to his government, and his government may, under certain conditions, properly and legally request his return."[33]
(c) No alien shall be deported without being informed of the specific grounds for deportation nor without being given a hearing under rules of procedure to be prescribed by the Commissioner of Immigration.This is so because on October 1, 1998, the petitioner filed a motion with the CID for the reconsideration of the December 11, 1997 Order of the BOC. The petitioner did not allege therein that he was not informed of the charges against him. In fact, the petitioner did not even rebut the claim of the U.S. Vice Consul that the passport he was carrying was tampered and had been already cancelled. Neither did he allege that he requested for the reinstatement of his passport with the United States Embassy. Despite the finality of the deportation order of the BOC, it still entertained the petitioner's motion for reconsideration but denied the same on its findings that there were inconsistencies in his sworn statement and the documents he presented in support of his motion, thus:
After going over the motion, we find no valid reason to disturb the order of 12 (sic) December 1997. Likewise, the same had long become final and executory.Moreover, the petitioner, in his motion for reconsideration with the CID, offered to post a bail bond for his provisional release to enable him to secure the necessary documents to establish the appropriate grounds for his permanent stay in the Philippines. By offering to post a bail bond, the petitioner thereby admitted that he was under the custody of the CID and voluntarily accepted the jurisdiction of the CID.[35]
Furthermore, the grounds alleged in the motion have no merit and are irrelevant. The alleged marriage of respondent to a Filipina, a certain Lily Morales, with whom respondent allegedly begot two (2) children named Cristina and Judaline both surnamed Jackson, and the supposed conversion of respondent's status to permanent resident on 30 September 1987 under Section 13(a) of the Immigration Act (CA No. 613, as amended), does not change the fact that the two (2) US passports purportedly issued to Raymond Michael Jackson and Steven Bernard Bator which were used by respondent, were tampered and subsequently cancelled by the U.S. Embassy. Respondent already lost the privilege to remain in the country (Schonemann v. Comm. Santiago, G.R. No. 86461, 30 May 1989).
It is also significant to note the evident inconsistencies in the sworn statement of respondent conducted by Special Prosecutor Henry B. Tubban on 5 December 1997 with the documents attached in the motion. Hereunder are the said inconsistencies:
- Annex "A" of the Motion is an alleged Marriage Contract between the respondent and one Lily H. Morales showing Manila City Hall as the place of marriage and which was held on 6 September 1984.
In the Sworn Statement, the respondent claimed to have entered the country for the first time only in 1988 (p. 1 of sworn statement), that he married a certain Lily Morales sometime in 1989 in Angeles City (p. 2 of sworn statement).- The motion stated that out of the union of the respondent with Ms. Morales, two (2) children named Cristina and Judaline both surnamed Jackson, were born. In the sworn statement of the respondent, he stated that they have five (5) children.
In addition, in the marriage contract (Annex "A" of motion), it was stated that Ms. Morales is 17 years of age, a minor. However, below the personal circumstances of the respondent and Mrs. Morales is a statement in bold letters that "BOTH PARTIES ARE OF LEGAL AGES."
The foregoing creates a serious doubt on the allegations in the motion and on the authenticity of the documents attached thereto. With more reason that the motion should be denied. [34]