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IMMIGRATION LAW
Q&A Compilation
1) What is sufficiency of complaint?
People vs. Valdez: For complaint or information to be sufficient, it
must state the name of the accused; the designation of the
offense given by the statute; the acts or omissions complained of
as constituting the offense; the name of the offended party; the
approximate time of the commission of the offense, and the place
wherein the offense was committed. What is controlling is not the
title of the complaint, nor the designation of the offense charged
or the particular law or part thereof allegedly violated, these
being mere conclusions of law made by the prosecutor, but the
description of the crime charged and the particular facts therein
recited. The acts or omissions complained of must be alleged in
such form as is sufficient to enable a person of common
understanding to know what offense is intended to be charged,
and enable the court to pronounce proper judgment. No
information for a crime will be sufficient if it does not accurately
and clearly allege the elements of the crime charged.
2) What is due process?
Ang Tibay v. CIR:
(1) The first of these rights is the right to a hearing, which includes
the right of the party interested or affected to present his own
case and submit evidence in support thereof. In the language of
Chief Hughes, in Morgan v. U.S., 304 U.S. 1, 58 S. Ct. 773, 999, 82
Law. ed. 1129, "the liberty and property of the citizen shall be
protected by the rudimentary requirements of fair play.
(2) Not only must the party be given an opportunity to present his
case and to adduce evidence tending to establish the rights which
he asserts but the tribunal must consider the evidence presented.
(Chief Justice Hughes in Morgan v. U.S. 298 U.S. 468, 56 S. Ct. 906,
80 law. ed. 1288.) In the language of this court in Edwards vs.
McCoy, 22 Phil., 598, "the right to adduce evidence, without the
corresponding duty on the part of the board to consider it, is vain.
Such right is conspicuously futile if the person or persons to whom
the evidence is presented can thrust it aside without notice or
consideration."
(3) "While the duty to deliberate does not impose the obligation
to decide right, it does imply a necessity which cannot be
disregarded, namely, that of having something to support it is a
nullity, a place when directly attached." (Edwards vs. McCoy,
supra.) This principle emanates from the more fundamental is
contrary to the vesting of unlimited power anywhere. Law is both
a grant and a limitation upon power.
(4) Not only must there be some evidence to support a finding or
conclusion (City of Manila vs. Agustin, G.R. No. 45844,
promulgated November 29, 1937, XXXVI O. G. 1335), but the
evidence must be "substantial." (Washington, Virginia and
Maryland Coach Co. v. national labor Relations Board, 301 U.S.
142, 147, 57 S. Ct. 648, 650, 81 Law. ed. 965.) It means such
relevant evidence as a reasonable mind accept as adequate to
support a conclusion." (Appalachian Electric Power v. National
Labor Relations Board, 4 Cir., 93 F. 2d 985, 989; National Labor
Relations Board v. Thompson Products, 6 Cir., 97 F. 2d 13, 15;
Ballston-Stillwater Knitting Co. v. National Labor Relations Board,
2 Cir., 98 F. 2d 758, 760.) . . . The statute provides that "the rules
of evidence prevailing in courts of law and equity shall not be
controlling.' The obvious purpose of this and similar provisions is
to free administrative boards from the compulsion of technical
rules so that the mere admission of matter which would be
deemed incompetent inn judicial proceedings would not
invalidate the administrative order. (Interstate Commerce
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Commission v. Baird, 194 U.S. 25, 44, 24 S. Ct. 563, 568, 48 Law.
ed. 860; Interstate Commerce Commission v. Louisville and
Nashville R. Co., 227 U.S. 88, 93 33 S. Ct. 185, 187, 57 Law. ed.
431; United States v. Abilene and Southern Ry. Co. S. Ct. 220, 225,
74 Law. ed. 624.) But this assurance of a desirable flexibility in
administrative procedure does not go far as to justify orders
without a basis in evidence having rational probative force. Mere
uncorroborated hearsay or rumor does not constitute substantial
evidence. (Consolidated Edison Co. v. National Labor Relations
Board, 59 S. Ct. 206, 83 Law. ed. No. 4, Adv. Op., p. 131.)"
(5) The decision must be rendered on the evidence presented at
the hearing, or at least contained in the record and disclosed to
the parties affected. (Interstate Commence Commission vs. L. & N.
R. Co., 227 U.S. 88, 33 S. Ct. 185, 57 Law. ed. 431.) Only by
confining the administrative tribunal to the evidence disclosed to
the parties, can the latter be protected in their right to know and
meet the case against them. It should not, however, detract from
their duty actively to see that the law is enforced, and for that
purpose, to use the authorized legal methods of securing
evidence and informing itself of facts material and relevant to the
controversy. Boards of inquiry may be appointed for the purpose
of investigating and determining the facts in any given case, but
their report and decision are only advisory. (Section 9,
Commonwealth Act No. 103.) The Court of Industrial Relations
may refer any industrial or agricultural dispute or any matter
under its consideration or advisement to a local board of inquiry,
a provincial fiscal. a justice of the peace or any public official in
any part of the Philippines for investigation, report and
recommendation, and may delegate to such board or public
official such powers and functions as the said Court of Industrial
Relations may deem necessary, but such delegation shall not
affect the exercise of the Court itself of any of its powers. (Section
10, ibid.)
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(6) The Court of Industrial Relations or any of its judges, therefore,
must act on its or his own independent consideration of the law
and facts of the controversy, and not simply accept the views of a
subordinate in arriving at a decision. It may be that the volume of
work is such that it is literally Relations personally to decide all
controversies coming before them. In the United States the
difficulty is solved with the enactment of statutory authority
authorizing examiners or other subordinates to render final
decision, with the right to appeal to board or commission, but in
our case there is no such statutory authority.
(7) The Court of Industrial Relations should, in all controversial
questions, render its decision in such a manner that the parties to
the proceeding can know the various issues involved, and the
reasons for the decision rendered. The performance of this duty is
inseparable from the authority conferred upon it.
3) What is the Bureau of Immigration?
BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION Sec. 2. Officials. - A Bureau of
Immigration [now Commission on Immigration and Deportation]
is established under a Commissioner of Immigration, who shall
have two assistants, a First Deputy Commissioner of Immigration
[now Associate Commissioner of Immigration] and a Second
Deputy Commissioner of Immigration [now Associate
Commissioner of Immigration]. For administrative purposes, the
Bureau of Immigration [now Commission on Immigration and
Deportation] shall be under the supervision and control of the
Department of Labor [now Department of Justice] or of any other
executive department which the President may subsequently
determine.
4) What are the composition of Board of Commissioners?
Sec. 8. Decision of the Board. - The board of Commissioners,
hereinafter referred to in this Act, shall be composed of the
Commissioner of Immigration and the two Deputy
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Commissioners. In the absence of a member of the Board, the
Department Head shall designate an officer or employee in the
Bureau of Immigration to serve as a member thereof. In any case
coming before the Board of Commissioners, the decision of any
two members shall prevail.
5) What are the requirements:
a.) Commissioner of Immigration
Sec. 3. Appointment; term of office; compensation. - The
Commissioner of Immigration shall be appointed by the President,
with the consent of the Commission on Appointments of the
National Assembly, and shall hold office at the pleasure of the
President. He shall receive compensation at the rate of ten
thousand pesos per annum. Administrative head powers as such. -
He shall be the administrative head of the Bureau of Immigration
and shall possess the powers generally conferred upon bureau
chiefs. He shall have charge of the administration of all laws
relating to the immigration of aliens into the Philippines and shall
have the immediate control, direction and supervision of all
officers, clerks, and employees of the Bureau of Immigration. He
shall issue, subject to the approval of the Department Head, such
rules and regulations and prescribe such forms of bond, reports,
and other papers, and shall issue from time to time such
instructions not inconsistent with law, as he shall deem best
calculated to carry out the provisions of the immigration laws. He
shall submit a report to the President, in writing, of the
transactions of his office, annually or oftener as the President may
require
b.) Secretary of Justice – not required to be a natural-born citizen
as opposed to the President, VP, Senate, Congress, Members of
SC and Members of Constitutional Commission who are all
required to be natural-born Filipino citizens
6) What is pre-arranged employment?
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(g)Prearranged employment. - An alien coming to prearranged
employment for whom the issuance of a visa has been authorized
in accordance with section twenty of this Act, and his wife, and his
unmarried children under twenty-one years of age, if
accompanying him or if following to join him within a period of six
months from the date of his admission into the Philippines as a
nonimmigrant under this paragraph. An alien who is admitted as
a nonimmigrant cannot remain in the Philippines permanently. To
obtain permanent admission, a nonimmigrant alien must depart
voluntarily to some foreign country and procure from the
appropriate Philippine consul the proper visa and thereafter
undergo examination by the officers of the Bureau of Immigration
at a Philippine port of entry for determination of his admissibility
in accordance with the requirements
7) Who are non-immigrants under Sec. 9?
SEC. 9. Aliens departing from any place outside the Philippines,
who are otherwise admissible and who qualify within one of the
following categories, may be admitted as nonimmigrants:
(a) A temporary visitor coming for business or for pleasure or for
reasons of health;
(b) A person in transit to a destination outside the Philippines;
(c) A seaman serving as such on a vessel arriving at a port of the
Philippines and seeking to enter temporarily and solely in the
pursuit of his calling as a seaman;
(d) A person seeking to enter the Philippines solely to carry on
trade between the Philippines and the foreign state of which he is
a national, his wife, and his unmarried children under twenty-one
years of age, if accompanying or following to join him, subject to
the condition that citizen of the Philippines under similar
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conditions are accorded like privileges in the foreign state of
which such person is a national;
(e) A person previously lawfully admitted into the Philippines for
permanent residence, who is returning from a temporary visit
abroad to an unrelinquished residence in the Philippines; and
(f) A student, having means sufficient for his education and
support in the Philippines, who is at least fifteen years of age and
who seeks to enter the Philippines temporarily and solely for the
purpose of study at a school or other institutions of learning
approved for such alien students by the Commissioner of
Immigration.
(g) an alien coming to pre-arraged emplyment, for whom the
issuance of a visa has been authorized in accordance with section
twenty of this Act, and his wife and his unmarried children under
twenty-one years of age, if accompanying him or if following to
join him within a period of six months from the date of his
admission into the Philippines as a nonimmigtant under this
paragraph.
8) Who are immigrants?
Sec. 13. Under the conditions set forth in this Act, there may be
admitted into the Philippines immigrants, termed "quota
immigrants"not in excess of fifty (50) of any one nationality or
without nationality for any one calendar year, except that the
following immigrants, termed "non-quota immigrants," may be
admitted without regard to such numerical limitations.
The corresponding Philippine Consular representative abroad shall
investigate and certify the eligibility of a quota immigrant previous
to his admission into the Philippines. Qualified and desirable
aliens who are in the Philippines under temporary stay may be
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admitted within the quota, subject to the provisions of the last
paragraph of Section 9 of this Act.
(a) The wife or the husband or the unmarried child under twenty-
one. years of age of a Philippine citizen, if accompanying or
following to join such citizen;
(b) A child of alien parents born during the temporary visit abroad
of the mother, the mother having been previously lawfully
admitted into the Philippines for permanent residence, if the child
is accompanying or coming to join a parent and applies for
admission within five years from the date of its birth;
(c) A child born subsequent to the issuance of the immigration
visa of the accompanying parent, the visa not having expired;
(d) A woman who was a citizen of the Philippines and who lost her
citizenship because of her marriage to an alien or by reason of the
loss of Philippine citizenship by her husband, and her unmarried
child under twenty- one years of age, if accompanying or
following to join her;
(e) A person previously lawfully admitted into the Philippines for
permanent residence, who is returning from a temporary visit
abroad to an unrelinquished residence in the Philippines;
(g) A natural-born citizen of the Philippines, who has been
naturalized in a foreign country, and is returning to the Philippines
for permanent residence, including his spouse and minor
unmarried children, shall be considered a non-quota immigrant
for purposes of entering the Philippines.
9) Who are excluded aliens under the discretion of the
Commissioner?
1. Long time residence
2. Married to Filipinos
3. Those performing manual labor
4. Those who are accompanying excluded aliens
10) What is a student visa? – Sec. 9 (f)
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(f) Higher than high school. - A student, having means sufficient
for his education and support in the Philippines, who is at least
eighteen years of age and who seeks to enter the Philippines
temporarily and solely for the purpose of taking up a course of
study higher than high school at a university, seminary, academy,
college or school approved for such alien students by the
Commissioner of Immigration;
11) What are the classes of immigrants in Sec. 13?
Sec. 13. Under the conditions set forth in this Act, there may be
admitted
into the Philippines immigrants, termed "quota immigrants" not in
excess of fifty (50) of any one nationality or without nationality for
any one calendar year, except that the following immigrants,
termed "non-quota immigrants," may be admitted without regard
to such numerical limitations.
The corresponding Philippine Consular representative abroad shall
investigate and certify the eligibility of a quota immigrant previous
to his admission into the Philippines. Qualified and desirable
aliens who are in the Philippines under temporary stay may be
admitted within the quota, subject to the provisions of the last
paragraph of Section 9 of this Act.
(a) The wife or the husband or the unmarried child under twenty-
one. years of age of a Philippine citizen, if accompanying or
following to join such
citizen;
(b) A child of alien parents born during the temporary visit abroad
of the mother, the mother having been previously lawfully
admitted into the Philippines for permanent residence, if the child
is accompanying or coming to join a parent and applies for
admission within five years from the date of its birth;
(c) A child born subsequent to the issuance of the immigration
visa of the accompanying parent, the visa not having expired;
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(d) A woman who was a citizen of the Philippines and who lost
her
citizenship because of her marriage to an alien or by reason of the
loss of Philippine citizenship by her husband, and her unmarried
child under twentyone years of age, if accompanying or following
to join her;
(e) A person previously lawfully admitted into the Philippines for
permanent residence, who is returning from a temporary visit
abroad to an unrelinquished residence in the Philippines;
(f) A natural-born citizen of the Philippines, who has been
naturalized in a foreign country, and is returning to the Philippines
for permanent residence, including his spouse and minor
unmarried children, shall be considered a non-quota immigrant
for purposes of entering the Philippines.
12) What is reciprocity?
-agreement between countries that when a foreigner may acquire
immigration status in the Philippines if his country reciprocally
allows PH to utilize the same.
13) What is a passport?
Document issued by the Government allowing a citizen to leave
the country and travel abroad. an official document issued by a
government, certifying the holder's identity and citizenship and
entitling them to travel under its protection to and from foreign
countries
14) Who is a refugee?
A person outside his country, unwilling to return, well-founded
fear of persecution of race, religion, nationality, social grp and
political opinion
15) Who is a stateless person?
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In International law a stateless person is someone who is "not
considered as a national by any state under the operation of its
law"
16) What is an alien employment permit?
Permit given by the Department of Labor to an alien to a job
which he/she is assigned with [relate to Sec. 9 (g)]
17) Who are excluded classes?
Sec. 29. (a) The following classes of aliens shall be excluded from
entry into the Philippines:
(1) Idiots or insane persons and persons who have been insane;
(2) Persons afflicted with a loathsome or dangerous contagious
disease, or epilepsy:
(3) Persons who have been convicted of a crime involving moral
turpitude;
(4) Prostitutes, or procurers, or persons coming for any immoral
purposes;
(5) Persons likely to become, public charge;
(6) Paupers, vagrants, and beggars;
(7) Persons who practice polygamy or who believe in or advocate
the practice of polygamy;
(8) Persons who believe in or advocate the overthrow by force
and violence of the Government of the Philippines, or of
constituted lawful authority, or who disbelieve in or are opposed
to organized government, or who advocate the assault or
assassination of public officials because of their office, or who
advocate or teach principles, theories, or ideas contrary to the
Constitution of the Philippines or advocate or teach the unlawful
destruction of property, or who are members of or affiliated with
any organization entertaining or teaching such doctrines;
(9) Persons over fifteen years of age, physically capable of
reading, who cannot read printed matter in ordinary use in any
language selected by the alien, but this provision shall not apply
to the grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, wife, husband
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or child of a Philippine citizen or of an alien lawfully resident in the
Philippines;
(10) Persons who are members of a family accompanying an
excluded alien, unless in the opinion of the Commissioner of
Immigration no hardship would result from their admission;
(11) Persons accompanying an excluded person who is helpless
from mental or physical disability or infancy, when the protection
or guardianship of such accompanying person or persons is
required by the excluded person, as shall be determined by the
Commissioner of Immigration;
(12) Children under fifteen years of age, unaccompanied by or not
coming to a parent, except that any such children may be
admitted in the discretion of the Commissioner of Immigration, if
otherwise admissible;
(13) Stowaways, except that any stowaway may be admitted in
the discretion of the Commissioner of Immigration, if otherwise
admissible;
(14) Persons coming to perform unskilled manual labor in
pursuance of a promise or offer of employment, express or
implied, but this provision shall not apply to persons bearing
passport visas authorized by Section Twenty of this Act;
(15) Persons who have been excluded or deported from the
Philippines, but this provision may be waived in the discretion of
the Commissioner of Immigration: Provided, however, That the
Commissioner of Immigration shall not exercise his discretion in
favor of aliens excluded or deported on the ground of conviction
for any crime involving moral turpitude or for any crime penalized
under Sections Forty-Five and Forty-Six of this Act or on the
ground of having engaged in hoarding, black-marketing or
profiteering unless such aliens have previously resided in the
Philippines immediately before his exclusion or deportation for a
period of ten years or more or are married to native Filipino
women;
(16) Persons who have been removed from the Philippines at the
expense of the Government of the Philippines, as indigent aliens,
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under the provisions of section forty-three of this Act, and who

have not obtained the consent of the Board of Commissioners to
apply for readmission; and
(17) Persons not properly documented for admission as may be
required under the provisions of this Act.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, the
Commissioner of Immigration, in his discretion, may permit to
enter any alien properly documented, who is subject to exclusion
under this section, but who is:
(1) An alien lawfully resident in the Philippines who is returning
from a temporary visit abroad;
(2) An alien applying for temporary admission.

18) What are the CATEGORIES UNDER SEC.29?

EXCLUDED:
1. Documentation defects
2. Public charges
3. Immorals
4. Convicts
5. Political Trouble makers
6. Former excluded/deportation
7. Physical and mental defect

*Note: LEDESMA BOOK:

1. Disabled person
2. Criminals and felons
3. Vagrants Indigents
4. Unskilled manual laborers
5. Security risks
6. Undocumented aliens
7. Incompetents
8. Polygamists
9. Blacklisted persons