Rubi vs Provincial Board of Mindoro

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.
This is in pursuant to Section 2145 of the Revised Administrative Code, which provides:

With the prior approval of the Department Head, the provincial governor of any province in which
non-Christian inhabitants 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.

Under Executive Order No.2 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.

Rubi and various other Manguianes (Mangyans) in the province of Mindoro were ordered by the provincial
governor of Mindoro to remove their residence from their native habitat and to establish themselves on a
reservation in Tigbao, still in the province of Mindoro, and to remain there, or be punished by imprisonment if
they escaped. Manguianes had been ordered to live in a reservation made to that end and for purposes of
cultivation under certain plans. The Manguianes are a Non-Christian tribe who were considered to be of “very
low culture”.

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.

Also one of the Manguianes, a certain Dabalos, escaped from the reservation but was later caught and was
placed in prison at Calapan, solely because he escaped from the reservation. An application for habeas corpus
was made on his behalf by Rubi and other Manguianes of the province, alleging that by virtue of the resolution
of the provincial board of Mindoro creating the reservation, they had been illegally deprived of their liberty. Rubi
and his companions are said to be held on the reservation established at Tigbao, Mindoro, against their will .In
this case, the validity of Section 2145 of the Administrative Code, was challenged.

ISSUE: Whether or not Section 2145 of the Administrative Code constitutes undue delegation of legislative
power, rendering it unconstitutional.

Whether or not the Manguianes are being deprived of their liberty without due process of law.

HELD:

I. No. By a vote of five to four, the Supreme Court sustained the constitutionality of this section of the
Administrative Code. Under the DOCTRINE OF NECESSITY, who else was in a better position to
determine whether or not to execute the law but the provincial governor. It is optional for the
provincial governor to execute the law as circumstances may arise. It is necessary to give discretion
to the provincial governor. The Legislature may make decisions of executive departments of
subordinate official thereof, to whom it has committed the execution of certain acts, final on
questions of fact.

In enacting the said provision of the Administrative Code, the Legislature merely conferred upon the
provincial governor, with the approval of the provincial board and the Department Head,
 discretionary authority as to the execution of the law. This is necessary since the provincial
governor and the provincial board, as the official representatives of the province, are better
qualified to judge “when such as course is deemed necessary in the interest of law and order”. As
officials charged with the administration of the province and the protection of its inhabitants, they are better
fitted to select sites which have the conditions most favorable for improving the people who have the
misfortune of being in a backward state.

II. No. 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.

Among other things, the term “non-Christian” should not be given a literal meaning or a religious signification,
but that it was intended to relate to degrees of civilization. The term “non-Christian” it was said, refers not to
religious belief, but in a way to geographical area, and more directly to natives of the Philippine Islands of a low
grade of civilization. In this case, the Manguianes were being reconcentrated in the reservation to promote
peace and to arrest their seminomadic lifestyle. This will ultimately settle them down where they can adapt to
the changing times.

The Supreme Court held that the resolution of the provincial board of Mindoro was neither discriminatory nor
class legislation, and stated among other things: “. . . one cannot hold that the liberty of the citizen is unduly
interfered with 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. To go back to our definition of due process of law and equal protection of the laws, there exists a law;
the law seems to be reasonable; it is enforced according to the regular methods of procedure prescribed; and it
applies alike to all of a class.”

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 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.

The doctrine of necessity is the basis on which extra-legal actions by state actors, which are designed to
restore order, are found to be constitutional.