REQUIREMENTS FOR HOLD DEPARTURE ORDER

Precautionary Hold Departure Order (“PHDO”)

A Precautionary Hold Departure Order to prevent any attempt by a person suspected of a crime from
leaving the Philippines may be filed ex-parte when the offender is a foreigner, regardless of the
imposable penalty.1

Where filed

The application for a PHDO may be filed by a prosecutor with any regional trial court within whose
territorial jurisdiction the alleged crime was committed 2

How filed, Finding of probable cause

The application by the investigating prosecutor shall be upon motion of the complainant and upon a
preliminary determination of probable cause based on the complaint and attachments thereof. 3

Grounds for issuance

The PHDO shall be issued upon personal determination by the judge, in whose court the application is
filed, that probable cause exists, and there is a high probability that respondent will depart from the
Philippines to evade arrest and prosecution of crime against him or her.4

GROUNDS FOR DEPORTATION5

SEC. 37. (a) The following aliens shall be arrested upon the warrant of the Commissioner of Immigration
or of any other officer designated by him for the purpose and deported upon the warrant of the
Commissioner of Immigration after a determination by the Board of Commissioners of the existence of
the ground for deportation as charged against the alien:
1. Any alien who enters the Philippines after the effective date of this Act by means of false and
misleading statements or without inspection and admission by the immigration authorities at a
designated port of entry;
2. Any alien who enters the Philippines after the effective date of this Act, who was not lawfully
admissible at the time of entry;
3. Any alien who, after the effective date of this Act, is convicted in the Philippines and sentenced
for a term of one year or more for a crime involving moral turpitude committed within five years
after his entry to the Philippines, or who, at any time after such entry, is so convicted and
sentenced more than once;
4. Any alien who is convicted and sentenced for a violation of the law governing prohibited drugs;

1
A.M. No. 18-07-05 SC: Rule on Precautionary Hold Departure Order (PHDO)., Section 1.
2
Ibid., Section 2.
3
Ibid., Section 3.
4
Ibid., Section 4.
5
Philippine Immigration Act
 5. Any alien who practices prostitution or is an inmate of a house of prostitution or is
connected with the management of a house of prostitution, or is a procurer;
6. Any alien who becomes a public charge within five years after entry from causes not
affirmatively shown to have arisen subsequent to entry;
7. Any alien who remains in the Philippines in violation of any limitation or condition under
which he was admitted as a nonimmigrant;
8. Any alien who believes in, advises, advocates or teaches the overthrow by force and violence of
the Government of the Philippines, or of constituted law and authority, or who disbelieves in or is
opposed to organized government or who advises, advocates, or teaches the assault or
assassination of public officials because of their office, or who advises, advocates, or teaches the
unlawful destruction of property, or who is a member of or affiliated with any organization
entertaining, advocating or teaching such doctrines, or who in any manner whatsoever lends
assistance, financial or otherwise, to the dissemination of such doctrines.
9. Any alien who commits any of the acts described in sections forty-five and forty-six of this
Act, independent of criminal action which may be brought against him: Provided, That in the
case of an alien who, for any reason, is convicted and sentenced to suffer both imprisonment and
deportation, said alien shall first serve the entire period of his imprisonment before he is actually
deported: Provided however, That the imprisonment may be waived by the Commissioner of
Immigration with the consent of the Department Head, and upon payment by the alien concerned
of such amount as the Commissioner may fix and approved by the Department Head;
10. Any alien who, at any time within five years after entry, shall have been convicted of violating
the provisions of the Philippine Commonwealth Act Numbered Six Hundred and Fifty-Three,
otherwise known as the Philippine Alien Registration Act of 1941, or who, at any time after
entry, shall have been convicted more than once of violating the provisions of the same Act;
11. Any alien who engages in profiteering, hoarding, or black-marketing, independent of any
criminal action which may be brought against him;
12. Any alien who is convicted of any offense penalized under Commonwealth Act Numbered Four
hundred and seventy-three, otherwise known as the Revised Naturalization Laws of the
Philippines, or any law relating to acquisition of Philippine citizenship;
13. Any alien who defrauds his creditor by absconding or alienating properties to prevent them from
being attached or executed.

Section 45 in relation to Section 37 par.9

SEC. 45. Any individual who–

(a) When applying for an immigration document, personates another individual, or falsely appears in the
name of deceased individual, or evades the immigration laws by appearing under an assumed or fictitious
name; or

(b) issues or otherwise disposes of an immigration document to any person not authorized by law to
receive such document; or

(c) obtains, accepts or uses any immigration document, knowing it to be false; or

(d) being an alien, enters the Philippines without inspection and admission by the immigration
officials, or obtains entry into the Philippines by willful, false, or misleading representation or
willful concealment of a material fact; or

(e) being an alien shall, for any fraudulent purpose, represent himself to be a Philippine citizen in order to
evade any requirement of the immigration laws: or
(f) in any immigration matter, shall knowingly make under oath any false statement or representations; or

(g) attempts or conspires with another to commit any of the foregoing acts–

shall be guilty of an offense, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand
pesos, or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.

Summary Deportation Proceedings

Summary deportation proceedings shall apply in the following cases:

1. Overstaying found by virtue of a complain t or mission order. An overstaying foreigner is one

with an expired visa.
2. Undocumented. An undocumented foreigner is one who does not have a validly issued
passport/travel document or with a cancelled or expired passport.
3. A fugitive from justice. This refers to a foreigner who has been tagged as such by the authorized
personnel of a foreign embassy OR by the International Police OR whose passport was cancelled
by his embassy/consulate.
4. Has fully served the sentence in a crime which carries with it the penalty of deportation after
service of sentence
5. Has fully served the sentence of a crime mentioned in Section 37 (a) (3) or Section 37(a)(10) of
the Philippine Immigration Act. Section 37 (a) (3) refers to a crime involving moral turpitude
with imprisonment of more than 1 year while Section 37(a)(10) pertains to failure to register with
the Bureau of Immigration.

For overstaying and undocumented foreigners, a complaint may be filed with the Office of the
Commissioner (“OCOM”) of the Bureau of Immigration. If found sufficient in form, preliminary
investigation shall commence.

During preliminary investigation, the foreigner shall be directed to file his Counter-Affidavit or
Memorandum within ten (10) days from receipt. Thereafter, the Special Prosecutor shall resolve the
complaint and shall determine if there is sufficient evidence to issue a Charge Sheet 6.

Upon drafting of the Charge Sheet, the Legal Division shall draft the Summary Deportation Order
and forward the same to the Board Secretary, who will in turn include it in the agenda of the Board of
Commissioners. The said Board will decide thereon.

Summary deportation order is final and immediately executory

A summary deportation order shall be final and immediately executory upon signing/approval
thereof. The foreigner shall be included in the Bureau of Immigration Blacklist and he shall be barred
from re-entering the Philippines.

6
A Charge Sheet is an accusation in writing issued by the Special Prosecutor and approved by the Chief of the
Legal Division, charging a foreigner with violation of immigration laws. The foreigner’s name shall be included
in the Bureau of Immigration derogatory database to prevent him from leaving the country.
 RECOMMENDED COURSES OF ACTION:

1. Adultery Case – Motion for PHDO before the Prosecutor’s Office

2. Cyberlibel Case - Motion for PHDO upon filing of complaint before the Prosecutor’s Office
3. After conviction – file a complaint before the OCOM form to commence summary deportation
proceedings.