Deportation of Foreigners

Who has jurisdiction over deportation of foreigner cases?

It is beyond cavil that the Bureau of Immigration has the exclusive authority and jurisdiction to try and hear cases against an alleged alien, and that the Board of Commissioners has jurisdiction over deportation proceedings. Nonetheless, Article VIII, Section 1 of the Constitution has vested power of judicial review in the Supreme Court and the lower courts such as the Court of Appeals, as established by law. Although the courts are without power to directly decide matters over which full discretionary authority has been delegated to the legislative or executive branch of the government and are not empowered to execute absolutely their own judgment from that of Congress or of the President, the Court may look into and resolve questions of whether or not such judgment has been made with grave abuse of discretion, when the act of the legislative or executive department is contrary to the Constitution, the law or jurisprudence, or when executed whimsically, capriciously or arbitrarily out of malice, ill will or personal bias. (G.R. No. 166199)

 How can a foreigner be expelled from the Philippines?

The settled rule is that the entry or stay of aliens in the Philippines is merely a privilege and a matter of grace; such privilege is not absolute or permanent and may be revoked. However, aliens may be expelled or deported from the Philippines only on grounds and in the manner provided for by the Constitution, the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, as amended, and administrative issuances pursuant thereto.

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:

(1)    Any alien who enters the Philippines by means of false and misleading statements or without inspection and admission by the immigration authorities at a designated port of entry or at any place other than at a designated port of entry;

(2)    Any alien who enters the Philippines who was not lawfully admissible at the time of entry;

(3)    Any alien who is convicted in the Philippines and sentenced for a term of one year or more for a crime involving moral turpitude committed within five years after his entry to the Philippines, or who, at any time after such entry, is so convicted and sentenced more than once;

(4)    Any alien who is convicted and sentenced for a violation of the law governing prohibited drugs;

(5)    Any alien who practices prostitution or is an inmate of a house of prostitution or is connected with the management of a house of prostitution, or is a procurer;

(6)    Any alien who becomes a public charge within five years after entry from causes not affirmatively shown to have arisen subsequent to entry;

(7)    Any alien who remains in the Philippines in violation of any limitation or condition under which he was admitted as a nonimmigrant;

(8)    Any alien who believes in, advises, advocates or teaches the overthrow by force and violence of the Government of the Philippines, or of constituted law and authority, or who disbelieves in or is opposed to organized government or who advises, advocates, or teaches the assault or assassination of public officials because of their office, or who advises, advocates, or teaches the unlawful destruction of property, or who is a member of or affiliated with any organization entertaining, advocating or teaching such doctrines, or who in any manner whatsoever lends assistance, financial or otherwise, to the dissemination of such doctrines;

(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: Provided, That in the case of an alien who, for any reason, is convicted and sentenced to suffer both imprisonment and deportation, said alien shall first serve the entire period of his imprisonment before he is actually deported: Provided however, That the imprisonment may be waived by the Commissioner of Immigration with the consent of the Department Head, and upon payment by the alien concerned of such amount as the Commissioner may fix and approved by the Department Head;

(10) Any alien who, at any time within five years after entry, shall have been convicted of violating the provisions of the Philippine Commonwealth Act Numbered Six Hundred and Fifty-Three, otherwise known as the Philippine Alien Registration Act of 1941,  or who, at any time after entry, shall have been convicted more than once of violating the provisions of the same Act;

(11) Any alien who engages in profiteering, hoarding, or black-marketing, independent of any criminal action which may be brought against him;

(12) Any alien who is convicted of any offense penalized under Commonwealth Act Numbered Four hundred and seventy-three, otherwise known as the Revised Naturalization Laws of the Philippines, or any law relating to acquisition of Philippine citizenship;

(13) Any alien who defrauds his creditor by absconding or alienating properties to prevent them from being attached or executed;

Is a foreigner convicted of a crime in the Philippines be deported?

Yes, except if the judge when sentencing the alien, shall recommend to the Commissioner of Immigration that the alien be not deported. Hence, the foreigner will finish his sentence in Philippine prison.

 What is due process in deportation cases?

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.

Who bears the burden of proof in a deportation case involving entry?

In any deportation proceeding involving the entry of an alien the burden of proof shall be upon the alien to show that he entered the Philippines lawfully, and the time, place, and manner of such entry, and for this purpose he shall be entitled to a statement of the facts in connection with his arrival as shown by any record in the custody of the Bureau of Immigration.

Can a detained foreigner be released through bond?

Yes, any alien under arrest in a deportation proceeding may be released under bond or under such other conditions as may be imposed by the Commissioner of Immigration.

Where will the foreigner be deported?

An alien ordered deported shall, at the option of the Commissioner of Immigration, be removed to the country whence he came, or to the foreign port at which he embarked for the Philippines, or to the country of his nativity or of which he is a citizen or subject, or to the country in which he resided prior to coming to the Philippines.

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