Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Juan Ponce Enrile] (1985) suspended by virtue of Proclamation 2045-A; and that courts
do not have the authority to inquire into the cause and
[MELENCIO-HERRERA] validity of detention of persons held pursuant to the
suspension.
Summary and Doctrine: (Proclamation 2045-A stated that the privilege of the writ of
habeas corpus remains suspended in the two autonomous
This case gave birth to the Marcos-era legal principle regions of Mindanao and in all other places with respect to
established by jurisprudence wherein a writ of habeas persons detained or who will be detained for insurrection,
corpus is no longer available after criminal information is rebellion, subversion, economic sabotage, etc. It was an
filed against the person detained and an arrest warrant or a amendment to Proclamation 2045 that supposedly lifted
commitment order is issued by the court where the said Martial Law on January 17, 1981.)
information has been filed. In what would be known as the
“Ilagan doctrine”, the unlawfulness of an arrest becomes While justifying the arrest and detention of the lawyers as
moot and academic or an illegal arrest becomes “legal” legitimate because of the PDA and Proclamation 2045, the
once charges are filed in a court of law. military’s lawyers filed an information for rebellion against
the detained attorneys before the Regional Trial Court of
This doctrine was promulgated by the Supreme Court in Davao City Branch X on May 27, 1985 or 17 days after
October 21, 1985. Ilagan refers to Laurente Ilagan, a legal Ilagan was arrested, which then became the basis of a
luminary in Davao City and former chairperson of Bagong warrant of arrest.
Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Mindanao who was
arrested without warrant together with fellow lawyers No preliminary investigation was conducted. Lawyers of the
Antonio Arellano and Marcos Risonar by elements of the military then asked the SC to dismiss the petition for a writ
Philippine Constabulary/Integrated National Police (PC- of habeas corpus because it was supposedly already
INP). Enrile refers to then Minister of Defense (and now rendered moot and academic by the said filing of
Senator) Juan Ponce Enrile. information.
DISPOSITIVE:
“More than four agonizing months after this Court issued its
near unanimous Resolution… ordering the immediate
release of the three petitioners-detainees… this Court has
now refused to enforce its own release order… It has instead
dismissed the petition for habeas corpus for having become
moot and academic because of the arbitrary filing of
precipitate, vindictive, and oppressive charges against them
for the capital crime of rebellion without hearing or
preliminary investigation and in gross violation of their
constitutional right and rudimentary requirements of due
process and fair play”.