G.R. No. L-2855 - Mejoff vs. Director of Prisons

Boris Mejoff, an alien of Russian descent, was brought to the Philippines from Shanghai by the Japanese forces as a secret operative during their occupation of the Islands.
Upon liberation of the Philippines, he was arrested by the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps as a Japanese spy.

Mejoff was handed over to the Commonwealth Government for disposition under Commonwealth Act No. 682.
The People’s Court ordered his release thereafter.
The Deportation Board investigated his case, concluding that Mejoff had no travel documents and was illegally in the country.
The Board referred the matter to immigration authorities, who found that Mejoff entered the Philippines illegally in 1944 without inspection or admission at a designated port.
On April 5, 1948, the Board of Commissioners of Immigration ordered Mejoff’s deportation to Russia on the first available transportation.

Mejoff was arrested on March 18, 1948, and placed in custody.
In May 1948, he was transferred to Cebu Provincial Jail along with three other Russians, pending arrival of Russian vessels.
In July and August 1948, two Russian boats arrived at Cebu port but refused to take Mejoff and his companions for lack of authority.
Following repeated failures to deport him, in October 1948, Mejoff was moved to Bilibid Prison at Muntinglupa where he remained confined.
The Commissioner of Immigration considered detention in the public interest while deportation arrangements were ongoing.

Mejoff argued that he was brought to the Philippines legally by the Japanese forces and thus cannot now be deported.
He further asserted that the statutory period for deportation expired.

The government rejected the petitioner’s claim that forced removal is unconstitutional or untimely.
Section 37 of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940 mandates deportation of aliens who entered without inspection within a five-year period.
The Court referenced a prior similar case (Borovsky vs. Commissioner of Immigration) denying a habeas corpus petition, highlighting the balancing of necessary detention pending deportation versus prolonged imprisonment.
The record showed Mejoff had been detained since March 1948, and although there was delay, comparing with U.S. standards on deportation delay, twenty months of detention had not been held sufficient to order release.

Whether or not the petitioner, having been brought into the Philippines as a secret operative by the Japanese forces, may legally be deported.
Whether the petitioner's detention pending deportation has been unduly prolonged and thus justifies his release by the writ of habeas corpus.
Whether the statutory period for deportation under the Philippine Immigration Act has expired, barring the deportation order.