EN BANC
[G.R. No. 46212. January 17, 1939. ]
HO TYA, represented by his father Ho Sih Tiak, Petitioner, v. ANGEL MARAVE, ET AL., as president and members of the Board of Special Inquiry of Cebu, Respondents.
Pedro Lopez for Petitioner.
Solicitor-General Tuason for Respondents.
SYLLABUS
1. ALIENS; IMMIGRATION AND DEPORTATION; BOARDS OF SPECIAL INQUIRY. — The boards of special inquiry are a creation of the Act of Congress of February 6, 1917. The same congressional act has defined the authority of said boards to hold hearings and decide whether an alien soliciting admission ought to be permitted to reside in these Islands or be deported.
2. ID.; ID.; ID.; EXECUTIVE SUPERVISION BY DEPARMENT OF LABOR OVER ADMINISTRATION OF IMMIGRATION LAWS. — The Department of Labor has only "executive supervision over matters concerning the administration of existing Philippine Immigration Laws," in accordance with Commonwealth Act No. 139, and such executive supervision does not imply in any way the power to alter or amend the Act of Congress of February 5, 1917 with regard to the authority and powers of the boards of special inquiry. According to said law, the power to determine if an alien has a right to be admitted to these Islands, belongs originally to the boards of special inquiry, and that power necessarily implies that of receiving and hearing evidence on the fact establishing such right.
3. ID.; ID.; ID.; RIGHT OF APPEAL. — The right of appeal is exercised only against a resolution or a decision on the merits of a case or incident. Against the resolution of the board of special inquiry in this case, which did not permit the petitioner to present evidence, appeal does not lie inasmuch as such resolution does not decide finally, favorably or adversely, the application of the petitioner regarding his admission into these Islands.
4. ID.; ID.; ID.; MANDAMUS. — Mandamus lies in this case, and it can be availed of in this court instead of in the Court of First Instance of Cebu, so as to obtain without any delay, directly from this court, a speedy remedy to correct the abuse of discretion on the part of the board of special inquiry of the port of Cebu, which deprived the petitioner of his right to prove the merchant status of his father in order to be able to reside in these Island.
2. ID.; ID.; ID.; EXECUTIVE SUPERVISION BY DEPARMENT OF LABOR OVER ADMINISTRATION OF IMMIGRATION LAWS. — The Department of Labor has only "executive supervision over matters concerning the administration of existing Philippine Immigration Laws," in accordance with Commonwealth Act No. 139, and such executive supervision does not imply in any way the power to alter or amend the Act of Congress of February 5, 1917 with regard to the authority and powers of the boards of special inquiry. According to said law, the power to determine if an alien has a right to be admitted to these Islands, belongs originally to the boards of special inquiry, and that power necessarily implies that of receiving and hearing evidence on the fact establishing such right.
3. ID.; ID.; ID.; RIGHT OF APPEAL. — The right of appeal is exercised only against a resolution or a decision on the merits of a case or incident. Against the resolution of the board of special inquiry in this case, which did not permit the petitioner to present evidence, appeal does not lie inasmuch as such resolution does not decide finally, favorably or adversely, the application of the petitioner regarding his admission into these Islands.
4. ID.; ID.; ID.; MANDAMUS. — Mandamus lies in this case, and it can be availed of in this court instead of in the Court of First Instance of Cebu, so as to obtain without any delay, directly from this court, a speedy remedy to correct the abuse of discretion on the part of the board of special inquiry of the port of Cebu, which deprived the petitioner of his right to prove the merchant status of his father in order to be able to reside in these Island.
D E C I S I O N
CONCEPCION, J.:
This is a petition filed by Ho Tya praying that, upon the appointment of his father Ho Sih Tiak as curator ad litem to represent him in these proceedings, a writ of mandamus be issued ordering the respondents, as president and members of the board of special inquiry of Cebu, to receive evidence, oral or documentary, which said petitioner might present to prove that his father is a merchant. It is alleged that during the investigation of the right of the petitioner to enter and reside in the port of Cebu as the son of a merchant, the board did not allow him to present evidence tending to prove that his father is a merchant, which denial of a right is an abuse of discretion, the petitioner having no other adequate and speedy remedy to obtain a final decision on the matter.
The Solicitor-General, on behalf of the respondents, in replying to the petition, limited himself to the allegations that the board of special inquiry had not yet determined the right of the petitioner to enter these Islands; that said petitioner has not appealed to the collector of customs of said port nor to the Secretary of Labor from the resolution of the board of special inquiry complained of; that the remedy of mandamus cannot be invoked as long as there is another simple, speedy and adequate remedy such as habeas corpus; and that the petition, considered as one for habeas corpus, is premature, for the petitioner has not exhausted all the administrative remedies within his reach.
It appears from the copy of the minutes of the proceedings of the respondent board that during the hearing of the petition, said board dictated the following resolution:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"In view of the standing order of the Department of Labor to the effect that Boards of Special Inquiry are not authorized to admit evidence in the regular hearing of the immigration cases, when the purpose of such evidence is to prove the merchant status of the husband-father of the applicants, this board will not accept an evidence, oral or documentary, for such purpose. The proper procedure to be followed is for the alleged husband-father to file an application with the Secretary of Labor who under his memorandum order is the only one authorized to decide or pass upon applications for merchants’ indorsements; therefore all the evidence tending to prove the merchant status of the alleged father of the applicant should be presented to the Secretary of Labor."cralaw virtua1aw library
The administrative order No. 5 of the Department of Labor, to which the above-quoted resolution of the board refers, is alleged to be that copied in the memorandum of the petitioner dated March 17, 1937, which reads thus:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"Hereafter, only this Department shall approve applications for endorsements as Resident Chinese Merchant. Public defenders, or in their absence, collectors of customs of sub-ports, shall, however, cause an investigation to be made of the statements contained in such applications and forward to this Department the-investigator’s findings, together with the applications and all pertinent papers."cralaw virtua1aw library
The same memorandum of the petitioner quotes a letter allegedly addressed by the Department of Labor to the board of special inquiry of Cebu, dated October 15, 1937, and reads as follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"In connection with your letter of the 18th ultimo enclosing copies of your two memorandum orders relative to resident Chinese whose status as merchants has not been duly endorsed by this Department, but who have already brought to this country members of their families, I have the honor to advise that said resident Chinese should be required to submit to this Department their applications for endorsement as resident Chinese merchants as soon as possible, and that pending the approval of their application, cases of the members of their families should be held in abeyance. Hereafter, no resident Chinese merchant should be allowed to bring in members of his family unless his status as such has been duly endorsed by this Department."cralaw virtua1aw library
In view of the fact that the case before us requires a determination of the authority or legal powers of the Department of Labor on immigration matters, by our resolution dated November 3, 1938, the Secretary of Labor has been invited to intervene as amicus curi
The Solicitor-General, on behalf of the respondents, in replying to the petition, limited himself to the allegations that the board of special inquiry had not yet determined the right of the petitioner to enter these Islands; that said petitioner has not appealed to the collector of customs of said port nor to the Secretary of Labor from the resolution of the board of special inquiry complained of; that the remedy of mandamus cannot be invoked as long as there is another simple, speedy and adequate remedy such as habeas corpus; and that the petition, considered as one for habeas corpus, is premature, for the petitioner has not exhausted all the administrative remedies within his reach.
It appears from the copy of the minutes of the proceedings of the respondent board that during the hearing of the petition, said board dictated the following resolution:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"In view of the standing order of the Department of Labor to the effect that Boards of Special Inquiry are not authorized to admit evidence in the regular hearing of the immigration cases, when the purpose of such evidence is to prove the merchant status of the husband-father of the applicants, this board will not accept an evidence, oral or documentary, for such purpose. The proper procedure to be followed is for the alleged husband-father to file an application with the Secretary of Labor who under his memorandum order is the only one authorized to decide or pass upon applications for merchants’ indorsements; therefore all the evidence tending to prove the merchant status of the alleged father of the applicant should be presented to the Secretary of Labor."cralaw virtua1aw library
The administrative order No. 5 of the Department of Labor, to which the above-quoted resolution of the board refers, is alleged to be that copied in the memorandum of the petitioner dated March 17, 1937, which reads thus:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"Hereafter, only this Department shall approve applications for endorsements as Resident Chinese Merchant. Public defenders, or in their absence, collectors of customs of sub-ports, shall, however, cause an investigation to be made of the statements contained in such applications and forward to this Department the-investigator’s findings, together with the applications and all pertinent papers."cralaw virtua1aw library
The same memorandum of the petitioner quotes a letter allegedly addressed by the Department of Labor to the board of special inquiry of Cebu, dated October 15, 1937, and reads as follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"In connection with your letter of the 18th ultimo enclosing copies of your two memorandum orders relative to resident Chinese whose status as merchants has not been duly endorsed by this Department, but who have already brought to this country members of their families, I have the honor to advise that said resident Chinese should be required to submit to this Department their applications for endorsement as resident Chinese merchants as soon as possible, and that pending the approval of their application, cases of the members of their families should be held in abeyance. Hereafter, no resident Chinese merchant should be allowed to bring in members of his family unless his status as such has been duly endorsed by this Department."cralaw virtua1aw library
In view of the fact that the case before us requires a determination of the authority or legal powers of the Department of Labor on immigration matters, by our resolution dated November 3, 1938, the Secretary of Labor has been invited to intervene as amicus curi
