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408 Phil. 102
THIRD DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 141938, April 02, 2001 ]
TUNG CHIN HUI, PETITIONER, VS. RUFUS B. RODRIGUEZ,
COMMISSIONER OF IMMIGRATION AND THE BOARD OF
COMMISSIONERS, BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION AND DEPORTATION,
RESPONDENTS.
DECISION
PANGANIBAN, J.:
The writ of habeas corpus cannot be issued in cases in which the Bureau of
Immigration has duly ordered the deportation of undocumented aliens, specifically
those found guilty of illegally entering the Philippines with the use of a tampered and
previously cancelled passports.
The Case
Before us is a Petition for Review under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court, assailing the July
30, 1999 Decision[1] of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-GR SP No. 51723. The
dispositive portion of the CA Decision reads as follows:
"WHEREFORE, premises considered, the appeal is hereby GRANTED. The
petition for habeas corpus is hereby DISMISSED. No pronouncement as to
costs.
"SO ORDERED."[2]
The CA reversed the January 7, 1999 Decision[3] of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of
Manila, which disposed as follows:
"WHEREFORE, premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered
GRANTING the petition, and as such, public respondent, Hon. Rufus
Rodriguez, Commissioner, Bureau of Immigration and Deportation, is hereby
ordered to immediately release the person of petitioner, Tung Chin Hui, from
his official custody, upon receipt of this Decision."[4]
Also challenged by petitioner is the February 4, 2000 CA Resolution[5] denying his
Motion for Reconsideration.
The Facts
Petitioner, a "Taiwanese national,"[6] arrived in this country on November 5, 1998, as a
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