"Power of the Courts.
18. The writ of habeas corpus has often been referred to as the great writ of liberty. It is the most expeditious way of securing the release of one who has been illegally detained. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus may be suspended, but not the writ itself.
19. The Bill of Rights provides:
SECTION 1. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.
20. In Lansang vs.Garcia, 42 SCRA 448,473,We said:
In our resolution of October 5, 1972, We stated that 'a majority of the court 'had 'tentatively arrived at a consensus that it may inquire in order to satisfy itself of the existence of the factual bases for the issuance of Presidential Proclamations Nos. 889 and 889A ... and thus determine the constitutional sufficiency of such bases in the light of the requirements of Article III, sec. 1, par. 14, and Article VII, sec. 10, par. 2, of the Philippine Constitution ...' Upon further deliberation, the members of the Court are now unanimous in the conviction that it has the authority to inquire into the existence of said factual bases in order to determine the constitutional sufficiency thereof.
21. We reiterate this doctrine.
22. Furthermore, We hold that under the judicial power of review and by constitutional mandate, in all petitions for habeas corpus the court must inquire into every phase and aspect of petitioner's detention from the moment petitioner was taken into custody up to the moment the court passes upon the merits of the petition. Only after such a scrutiny can the court satisfy itself that the due process clause of our Constitution has in fact been satisfied.
23. The submission that a person may be detained indefinitely without any charges and the courts cannot inquire into the legality of the restraint goes against the spirit and letter of the Constitution and does violence to the basic precepts of human rights and a democratic society."
EN BANC
G.R. No. L-61016, April 26, 1983
IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION FOR HABEAS CORPUS OF HORACIO R. MORALES, JR., petitioner,
vs.
MINISTER JUAN PONCE ENRILE, GEN. FABIAN C. VER and COL. GALILEO KINTANAR, respondents.
G.R. No. L-61107 April 26, 1983
IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION FOR HABEAS CORPUS OF ANTONIO C. MONCUPA, JR. ANTONIO C. MONCUPA, JR., petitioner,
vs.
MINISTER JUAN PONCE ENRILE, GEN. FABIAN C. VER and COL. GALILEO KINTANAR, respondents.
https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1983/apr1983/gr_l_61016_1983.html
