Laurel v. Misa

TOPICS: Permanent allegiance; Subsistence of sovereignty and not transferred to the occupant; Military Occupant cannot suspend treason; Rights of the Government to Prosecute Treason committed during the Japanese Occupation

FACTS: 

Petitioner filed a petition for habeas corpus based on his theory that a Filipino citizen who adhered to the enemy giving the latter aid and comfort during the Japanese Occupation cannot be prosecuted for the crime of treason for the reasons that:

1) the sovereignty of the legitimate government in the Philippines and, consequently, the correlative allegiance of Filipino citizens was suspended; 2) there was a change of sovereignty over these Islands upon the proclamation of the Philippine Republic. 

ISSUE: 

I) WON the crime on treason was suspended during the Japanese Occupation

II) WON the change in the sovereignty from the Commonwealth to Republic affects the prosecution of the crime of treason.

RULING

I.

No, inhabitant of a territory occupied by the military forces of the enemy may commit treason against his own legitimate government or sovereign if he adheres to the enemies of the latter by giving them aid and comfort, because the inhabitants of the occupied territory were still bound by their absolute allegiance to the latter during the enemy occupation. 

The sovereignty of the government or sovereign de jure is not transferred thereby to the occupier. Hence, the absolute and permanent allegiance of the inhabitants of a territory occupied by the enemy to their legitimate government or sovereign is not abrogated or severed by the enemy occupation. 

The preservation of the allegiance or the obligation of fidelity and obedience of a citizen or subject to his government or sovereign does not demand from him a positive action, but only passive attitude or forbearance from adhering to the enemy by giving the latter aid and comfort, the occupant has no power, to repeal or suspend the operation of the law of treason.

Therefore, the petition for habeas corpus was denied. Treason may have been committed during the Japanese occupation against the sovereignty of the United States as well as against the sovereignty of the Philippine Commonwealth; and that the change of our form of government from Commonwealth to Republic does not affect the prosecution of those charged with the crime of treason committed during the Commonwealth, because it is an offense against the same government and the same sovereign people.

II.

No, the change of our form of government from Commonwealth to Republic does not affect the prosecution of those charged with the crime of treason committed during the Commonwealth, because it is an offense against the same government and the same sovereign people.

Article XVIII of our Constitution provides that the government established by the Constitution shall be known as the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Upon the final and complete withdrawal of the sovereignty of the United States and the proclamation of Philippine Independence, the Commonwealth of the Philippines shall thenceforth be known as the Republic of the Philippines.

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DISCUSSIONS:

Nature of Allegiance: The citizen or subject owes absolute and permanent allegiance, which consists in the obligation of fidelity and obedience to his government or sovereign. 

Effect of Enemy Occupation: The absolute and permanent allegiance of the inhabitants of a territory occupied by the enemy to their legitimate government or sovereign is not abrogated or severed by the enemy occupation, because the sovereignty of the government or sovereign de jure is not transferred thereby to the occupier.

Effect on Sovereignty of the Legitimate Government during Enemy Occupation: The sovereignty of the legitimate government subsists in a territory occupied by the military forces during a war, although the former is in fact prevented from exercising the supremacy.

Temporary Allegiance of the Inhabitants of the Territory Occupied to the Military Government: The relation of the inhabitants of the territory occupied toward the military government may be considered similar to the temporary allegiance which a foreigner owes to the government or sovereign of the territory wherein he resides in return for the protection he receives and does not do away with the absolute and permanent allegiance which the citizen residing in a foreign country owes to his own government or sovereign.

Treason in a Territory under the Military Occupation: Citizen or subject of a government or sovereign may be prosecuted for and convicted of treason committed in a foreign country in the same way an inhabitant of a territory occupied by the military forces of the enemy may commit treason against his own legitimate government or sovereign if he adheres to the enemies of the latter by giving them aid and comfort. The inhabitants of the occupied territory were still bound by their allegiance to the legitimate government during the enemy occupation.

Military Occupants has the Power to Change Laws or Make New Ones: Although the military occupant is enjoined to respect or continue in force, unless absolutely prevented by the circumstances, those laws that enforce public order and regulate the social and commercial life of the country, he has, nevertheless, all the powers of a de facto government and may, at his pleasure, either change the existing laws or make new ones when the exigencies of the military service demand such action, that is, when it is necessary for the occupier to do so for the control of the country and the protection of his army, subject to the restrictions or limitations imposed by the 1) Hague Regulations, 2) the usages established by civilized nations, 3) the laws of humanity and the 4) requirements of public conscience.

Military Occupant Cannot Repeal or Suspend the Operation of Law of Treason: Since the preservation of the allegiance or the obligation of fidelity and obedience of a citizen or subject to his government or sovereign does not demand from him a positive action, but only passive attitude or forbearance from adhering to the enemy by giving the latter aid and comfort, the occupant has no power, as a corollary of the preceding consideration, to repeal or suspend the operation of the law of treason. The operation of treason is essential for the preservation of the allegiance owed by the inhabitants to their legitimate government.  

Effect of Suspended Allegiance: It would lead to disastrous consequences for small and weak nations or states, and would be repugnant to the laws of humanity and requirements of public conscience, for it would allow invaders to legally recruit or enlist the Quisling inhabitants of the occupied territory to fight against their own government without the latter incurring the risk of being prosecuted for treason, and even compel those who are not to aid them in their military operation against the resisting enemy forces in order to completely subdue and conquer the whole nation, and thus deprive them all of their own independence or sovereignty —such theory would sanction the action of invaders in forcing the people of a free and sovereign country to be a party in the nefarious task of depriving themselves of their own freedom and independence and repressing the exercise by them of their own sovereignty; in other words, to commit a political suicide.

Sovereignty Resides in the People of the Philippines

The Question of Sovereignty is a Political Question: The question of sovereignty is "a purely political question, the determination of which by the legislative and executive departments of any government conclusively binds the judges, as well as all other officer, citizens and subjects of the country.”

Right of the Philippine Republic to Prosecute Treason committed during the Japanese Occupation: Just as treason may be committed against the Federal as well as against the State Government, in the same way treason may have been committed during the Japanese occupation against the sovereignty of the United States as well as against the sovereignty of the Philippine Commonwealth; and that the change of our form of government from Commonwealth to Republic does not affect the prosecution of those charged with the crime of treason committed during the Commonwealth, because it is an offense against the same government and the same sovereign people, for Article XVIII of our Constitution provides that: "The government established by this Constitution shall be known as the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Upon the final and complete withdrawal of the sovereignty of the United States and the proclamation of Philippine Independence, the Commonwealth of the Philippines shall thenceforth be known as the Republic of the Philippines."