RUBI VS.
PROVINCIAL BOARD OF MINDORO
Facts:
This is an application for habeas corpus in favor of Rubi and other
Manguianes of the Province of Mindoro. The provincial board of Mindoro adopted
resolution No. 25 which states that “provincial governor of any province in
which non-Christian inhabitants (uncivilized tribes) are found is authorized, when
such a course is deemed necessary in the interest of law and order, to direct
such inhabitants to take up their habitation on sites on unoccupied public
lands to be selected by him and approved by the provincial board”. It is
resolved that under section 2077 of the Administrative Code, 800 hectares of
public land in the sitio of Tigbao on Naujan Lake be selected as a site for the
permanent settlement of Mangyanes in Mindoro. Further, Mangyans may only
solicit homesteads on this reservation providing that said homestead
applications are previously recommended by the provincial governor. Thereafter,
the provincial governor of Mindoro issued executive order No. 2, which says
that the provincial governor has selected a site in the sitio of Tigbao on
Naujan Lake for the permanent settlement of Mangyanes in Mindoro. In that case,
pursuant to Section 2145 of the Revised Administrative Code, all the Mangyans
in the townships of Naujan and Pola and the Mangyans east of the Baco River
including those in the districts of Dulangan and Rubi's place in Calapan, were
ordered to take up their habitation on the site of Tigbao, Naujan Lake. Also,
that any Mangyan who shall refuse to comply with this order shall upon
conviction be imprisoned not exceed in sixty days, in accordance with section
2759 of the revised Administrative Code. Said resolution of the provincial
board of Mindoro were claimed as necessary measures for the protection of the
Mangyanes of Mindoro as well as the protection of public forests in which they roam,
and to introduce civilized customs among them.
It appeared that Rubi and those living in his rancheria have not fixed
their dwelling within the reservation of Tigbao and are liable to be punished. It
is alleged that the Manguianes are being illegally deprived of their liberty by
the provincial officials of that province. Rubi and his companions are said to
be held on the reservation established at Tigbao, Mindoro, against their will,
and one Dabalos is said to be held under the custody of the provincial sheriff
in the prison at Calapan for having run away form the reservation.
Issue: Whether or Not Section 2145 of the Administrative Code deprive a person of
his liberty without due process of law. Whether or Not Section 2145 of the Administrative Code of
1917 is constitutional.
Held:
The Court held that section 2145 of the Administrative Code does not
deprive a person of his liberty without due process of law and does not deny to
him the equal protection of the laws, and that confinement in reservations in
accordance with said section does not constitute slavery and involuntary
servitude. The Court is further of the opinion that section 2145 of the
Administrative Code is a legitimate exertion of the police power, somewhat
analogous to the Indian policy of the United States. Section 2145 of the
Administrative Code of 1917 is constitutional. The preamble of the resolution
of the provincial board of Mindoro which set apart the Tigbao reservation, it
will be read, assigned as reasons fort the action, the following: (1) The
failure of former attempts for the advancement of the non-Christian people of
the province; and (2) the only successfully method for educating the Manguianes
was to oblige them to live in a permanent settlement. The Solicitor-General
adds the following; (3) The protection of the Manguianes; (4) the protection of
the public forests in which they roam; (5) the necessity of introducing civilized
customs among the Manguianes. Considered purely as an exercise of the police
power, the courts cannot fairly say that the Legislature has exceeded its
rightful authority. It is, indeed, an unusual exercise of that power. But a
great malady requires an equally drastic remedy. One cannot hold that the
liberty of the citizen is unduly interfered without when the degree of
civilization of the Manguianes is considered. They are restrained for their own
good and the general good of the Philippines. Nor can one say that due process
of law has not been followed. None of the rights of the citizen can be taken
away except by due process of law. To constitute "due process of
law," as has been often held, a judicial proceeding is not always
necessary. In some instances, even a hearing and notice are not requisite a
rule which is especially true where much must be left to the discretion of the
administrative officers in applying a law to particular cases. The idea of the
provision in question is to unify the people of the Philippines so that they
may approach the highest conception of nationality. The public policy of the
Government of the Philippine Islands is shaped with a view to benefit the
Filipino people as a whole. The Manguianes, in order to fulfill this governmental
policy, must be confined for a time, as we have said, for their own good and
the good of the country.
Therefore, petitioners are not unlawfully imprisoned or restrained of
their liberty. Habeas corpus can, therefore, not issue.