IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION FOR A WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS, BERNABE BUSCAYNO, JOSE

MA. SISON and JULIET SISON, petitioners,

vs.
MILITARY COMMISSIONS NOS. 1, 2, 6 and 25, GENERAL FABIAN VER, GENERAL FIDEL RAMOS,
LIEUTENANT COLONEL VIRGILIO SALDAJENO, CAPTAIN MELCHOR A. ACOSTA and REVIEW BOARD OF
THE ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondents.

G.R. No. L-58284

November 19, 1981

FACTS:
Petitioners Bernabe Buscayno, J o s e M a r i a S i s o n a n d J u l i e t S i s o n , w e r e c h a r g e d w i t h subversion by
the Military Commission in different charge sheets on different dates for acts committed prior to the effectivity
of Presidential Decree No. 885 on May 11, 1976 amending Republic Act No. 1700, the Anti-Subversion Law. The
three petitioners were all charged with rebellion in an amended charge sheet but only the subversion and murder
cases against Buscayno were decided by the Military Commission with the penalty of death by firing squad
although the decision is still subject to review.
Bernabe Buscayno alias Commander Dante and Jose Maria Sison alias Amado Guerrero, alleged
subversives classified as "PKP/HMB/CPP/MAMAO and Traditional Armed Group personalities," were wanted by
the authorities since 1971.
B u s c a y n o a n d Sison were included in the so-called "National Target List" of active participants in
the conspiracy to seize political and state power and to take over the governm ent b y force whose
arrest was ordered under General Order No. 2 dated September 22, 1972.
On October 2, 1981, Buscayno and the Sison spouses filed the instant omnibus, inter alia, catchall petition for
habeas corpus. They also prayed that they be granted bail.

ISSUE:
Whether or not the petitioners’ detention invalid and whether or not they be granted bail?

RULING:
NO. The Court ruled that the petitioners’ have not been illegally deprived of their liberty and that there is no
justification to order their release.
The Court further ruled that the Presidential Proclamation No. 2045 dated January 17, 1981, which terminated
martial law, sanctions the continued confinement of the petitioners.
It provides (77 OG 441): ... Now, therefore, I, Ferdinand E. Marcos, President/Prime Minister of the Philippines, ...
proclaim the termination of the state of martial law throughout the Philippines;
Provided, that the call to the Armed Forces of the Philippines to prevent or suppress lawless violence, insurrection,
rebellion and subversion shall continue to be in force and effect; and
Provided, that in the two autonomous regions in Mindanao, upon the request of the residents therein, the
suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall continue; and in all other places the suspension of
the privilege of the writ shall also continue with respect to persons at present detained as well as others
who may hereafter be similarly detained for the crimes of insurrection or rebellion, subversion conspiracy
or proposal to commit such crimes, and for all other crimes and offenses committed by them in
furtherance or on the occasion thereof, or incident thereto, or in connection therewith;
General Order No. 8 is also hereby revoked and the military tribunals created pursuant thereto are hereby
dissolved upon final determination of cases pending therein which may not be transferred to the civil courts
without irreparable prejudice to the state in view of the rules on double jeopardy, or other circumstances
which render further prosecution of the cases difficult, if not impossible;
Hence, Proclamation No. 2045 explicitly provides that persons, like petitioners who are under detention for rebellion
and the capital offense of subversion, cannot enjoy the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. Because the privilege
of the writ of habeas corpus is suspended as to them, they are not entitled to bail (Lansang vs. Garcia, L-33964,
December 11, 1971 and eight other cases, 42 SCRA 448).

Notes:
Sec. 12, Art. IX, 1973 Constitution: The Prime Minister shall be commander-in-chief of all armed forces of the
Philippines, and whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress
lawless violence, invasion, insurrection, or rebellion. In case of invasion, or rebellion, or imminent danger thereof
when the public safety requires, it he may suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, or place the
Philippines or any part thereof under martial law.

Par. 2, Sec. 12, Art. XVII, 1973 Constitution: All proclamations, orders, decrees, instructions, and acts promulgated,
issued, or done by the incumbent President shall be part of the law of the land, and shall remain valid, legal,
binding, and effective even after the lifting of the Martial Law or the ratification of this Constitution unless modified,
revoked, or superseded by subsequent proclamations, orders, decrees, instructions, or unless expressly or
implicitly modified or repealed by the regular National Assembly.