"As to which court may grant the writ, Section 2, Rule 102 of the Rules of Court provides:
Section 2. Who may grant the writ. - The writ of habeas corpus may be granted by the Supreme Court, or any member thereof, on any day and at any time, or by the Court of Appeals or any member thereof in the instances authorized by law, and if so granted it shall be enforceable anywhere in the Philippines, and may be made returnable before the court or any member thereof, or before a Court of First Instance, or any judge thereof for hearing and decision on the merits. It may also be granted by a Court of First Instance, or a judge thereof, on any day and at any time, and returnable before himself, enforceable only within his judicial district.
From the foregoing, it is clear that the trial court, the appellate court, and this Court exercise concurrent jurisdiction over petitions for the issuance of the writ of habeas corpus. However, this does not mean that parties are absolutely free to choose before which court to file their petitions, thus:
[M]ere concurrency of jurisdiction does not afford parties absolute freedom to choose the court with which the petition shall be filed. Petitioners should be directed by the hierarchy of courts. After all, the hierarchy of courts 'serves as a general determinant of the appropriate forum for petitioners for the extraordinary writs.'12
In sum, Miguel should have filed the present petition before the RTC, absent any showing of special and important reasons warranting a direct resort to this Court."
SECOND DIVISION
[ UDK-15368, September 15, 2021 ]
GIL MIGUEL, PETITIONER, VS. THE DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF PRISONS, RESPONDENT.
https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2021/sep2021/udk_15368_2021.html
