G.R. No. L-319 March 28, 1946
GO TIAN SEK SANTOS, petitioner,
vs.
ERIBERTO MISA, Director of Prisons, respondent.
Facts:
Go Tian Sek Santos, a Chinese citizen, was apprehended in February 1945 by the Counter Intelligence Corps of the United States Army for alleged active collaboration with the Japanese during World War II. In September of the same year, he was turned over to the Commonwealth Government and has since been detained by the respondent as a political prisoner.
Issue:
Whether or not the petitioner’s detention is legal, given the absence of formal charges or conviction by a competent court, and considering his claim as a Chinese citizen, contending that he cannot be confined under Act No. 682, having allegiance to neither the United States nor the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
Held:
The Supreme Court denies the petitioner’s claim. It recognizes the petitioner as a Chinese subject but upholds his detention under Section 19 of Commonwealth Act No. 682. The court asserts that the petitioner, even if an alien, could be charged with espionage, a crime against national security. The constitutional challenges to Section 19 are overruled, and the detention is deemed legal based on the threat to public security. Justice Perfecto, while agreeing on the petitioner’s inclusion under Section 19, dissents from the denial of the petition, arguing that the petitioner is being deprived of personal liberty without due legal process.