to peace and liberty if it can be availed of only after the
Deportation Board has unjustly trampled upon it, besmirching
the citizen's name before the bar of public opinion?
The doctrine of primary jurisdiction of petitioners
Board of Commissioners over deportation proceedings is,
therefore, not without exception (Calayday vs. Vivo, 33 SCRA
413 [1970]; Vivo vs. Montesa, 24 SCRA 155 [1967]). Judicial
intervention, however, should be granted in cases where the claim
of citizenship is so substantial that there are reasonable grounds to
believe that the claim is correct. In other words, the remedy
should be allowed only on sound discretion of a competent
court in a proper proceeding (Chua Hiong v. Deportation
Board, supra; Co vs. Deportation Board, 78 SCRA 107 [1977]).
It appearing from the records that respondent's claim of
citizenship is substantial, as We shall show later, judicial
intervention should be allowed.45[45]
The present case, as correctly pointed out by petitioners and wrongfully
found by the CA, falls within the above-cited exception considering that proof of
their Philippine citizenship had been adduced, such as, the identification
numbers46[46] issued by the Bureau of Immigration confirming their Philippine
citizenship, they have duly exercised and enjoyed all the rights and privileges
exclusively accorded to Filipino citizens, i.e., their Philippine passports47[47]
issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
In BOC v. Dela Rosa, it is required that before judicial intervention is
sought, the claim of citizenship of a respondent in a deportation proceeding must
45[45]
Id. (Emphasis supplied.)
46[46] Marked as Annexes “D” and “E” in the Comment of petitioners Grace and Geraldine,
respectively; CA rollo, 257, 313.
47[47] Copies marked as Annexes “C” and “F,” id.