Case Digest (G.R. No. 10576)
Facts:
Lee Jua, G.R. No. 10576. October 20, 1915, the Supreme Court En Banc, Johnson, J., writing for the Court.Plaintiff-appellant Lee Jua filed a petition for the writ of habeas corpus in the Court of First Instance of the City of Manila on November 27, 1914, on behalf of four Chinese nationals: Lee Koan (wife), and her children Lee Hio, Lee Teng, and Lee Liong. The four had arrived at the Port of Manila aboard the steamship Taisang and were examined by the board of special inquiry on September 18, 1914.
The board of special inquiry found that the four were Chinese nationals, born in China, had never previously resided in the Philippine Islands, and were the widow and minor children of Lee Kiu, a former resident Chinese merchant who had returned to China and died there in early 1914. Because they lacked the certificate required by law for admission under the Chinese exclusion statutes (notably section six of the Act of Congress of July 5, 1884), the board refused them landing.
On October 29, 1914 the Insular Collector of Customs affirmed the board's decision and ordered their return to the port of embarkation or to another vessel of the same line. On November 27, 1914 Lee Jua filed the habeas petition in the trial court. The Attorney-General, Ramon Avancena, answered on December 10, 1914; petitioners moved to strike that answer on the grounds that the Attorney‑General lacked capacity to defend the Collector, that the return failed statutory requirements, and that the answer was otherwise insufficient.
On January 6, 1915, Judge Simplicio del Rosario denied the habeas petition, concl...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Was the Attorney‑General authorized and competent to answer on behalf of the Insular Collector of Customs in the habeas corpus proceedings?
- Was the board of special inquiry properly constituted and did it have sufficient evidence to justify refusing landing and ordering deportation?
- Do a Chinese woman and her minor children, none of whom had previously resided in the Philippine Islands and whose husband/father (a former resident) died in China before their application, have a right to enter the Philippine Islands without the "section six c...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
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Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)