Ng Hian vs. The Insular Collector of Customs

A minor child adopted in good faith by a stepmother entitled to enter the Philippine Islands may enter as her adopted son, even though minor children of a deceased resident Chinese merchant have no right to enter.

Ng Hian was the son of Juan Uy Tue (Ng Chion Tue) by his first Chinese wife. After that wife’s death, Juan married Marcosa S. Dy Jiongco, a woman born in the Philippine Islands of a Filipina mother and a Chinese father, who became Ng Hian’s stepmother. The controversy concerned the right of entry into the Philippine Islands of a minor child of a deceased resident Chinese merchant and of a child adopted by his stepmother.

On or about October 30, 1915, the steamship Tian arrived at the port of Manila carrying Marcosa S. Dy Jiongco and two children: Ng Tio, a girl nine years old, and Ng Hian, a boy sixteen years old and the petitioner in this case. Marcosa had been born in the Philippine Islands of a Filipina mother and a Chinese father, and she was married to a Chinaman named Juan Uy Tue, also known as Ng Chion Tue. Before that marriage, Juan had been married to a Chinese woman with whom he had children, including Ng Hian and another child named Ng Guan, who was residing in the Philippine Islands at the time of the petition. The Chinese wife died while Ng Hian was a very small child, and Juan thereafter legally married Marcosa. Ng Tio was the daughter of Juan’s brother, born of a Chinese father and mother, and her father had given her to Marcosa. Marcosa, as Ng Hian’s stepmother, adopted him and was bringing him to the Philippine Islands to study.

After the close of the investigation before the board of special inquiry, during which the foregoing facts were presented, the board refused the right of each child to enter the Philippine Islands. On November 17, 1915, a rehearing was granted to examine other witnesses upon the right of Ng Tio and Ng Hian to enter. At the close of the second hearing, the board admitted Ng Tio but denied Ng Hian the right to enter. Ng Hian appealed to the Collector of Customs, who affirmed the denial on November 23, 1915. The petition for the writ of habeas corpus in this case was presented on November 26, 1915.

The petition, answer, and the record made in the department of customs were presented to the Court of First Instance. The record established that Ng Hian had never been in the Philippine Islands before; that Marcosa was his stepmother; that she swore positively that she had adopted him; that the fact of adoption was not denied of record; and that nothing in the record showed or tended to show that she had not adopted him in good faith.

• Right of Minor Children of Deceased Resident Chinese Merchant: Respondent, through the Attorney-General, maintained that the minor children of a deceased resident Chinese merchant have no right to enter the territory of the Philippine Islands, citing Lee Jua vs. Collector of Customs, 32 Phil. Rep., 24; Tan Lin Jo vs. Collector of Customs, 32 Phil. Rep., 78; Cang Kai Guan vs. Collector of Customs, 32 Phil. Rep., 102; Yat Tian Un (Sun) vs. Collector of Customs, 32 Phil. Rep., 487; De Eng Hoa vs. Collector of Customs, 32 Phil. Rep., 490; and Ex parte Chan Fooi, 217 Fed. Rep., 308.

• Right of Minor Children of Deceased Resident Chinese Merchant: Whether minor children of a deceased resident Chinese merchant have a right to enter the territory of the Philippine Islands.
• Right of Adopted Son of Stepmother: Whether Ng Hian, as the adopted son of his stepmother Marcosa S. Dy Jiongco, has a right to enter the territory of the Philippine Islands.

• Right of Minor Children of Deceased Resident Chinese Merchant: No. The minor children of a deceased resident Chinese merchant have no right to enter the territory of the Philippine Islands, as consistently held in prior decisions.
• Right of Adopted Son of Stepmother: Yes. Ng Hian had the right to enter the Philippine Islands as the adopted son of his stepmother, the adoption having been shown to be bona fide and not denied.

• Right of Minor Children of Deceased Resident Chinese Merchant: The Court noted that the question presented by the Attorney-General had been answered in numerous decisions in the negative, citing Lee Jua vs. Collector of Customs, 32 Phil. Rep., 24; Tan Lin Jo vs. Collector of Customs, 32 Phil. Rep., 78; Cang Kai Guan vs. Collector of Customs, 32 Phil. Rep., 102; Yat Tian Un (Sun) vs. Collector of Customs, 32 Phil. Rep., 487; De Eng Hoa vs. Collector of Customs, 32 Phil. Rep., 490; and Ex parte Chan Fooi, 217 Fed. Rep., 308. That rule, however, did not dispose of Ng Hian’s claim because he entered not merely as the minor child of a deceased resident Chinese merchant but as the adopted son of his stepmother.
• Right of Adopted Son of Stepmother: The Court accepted as established that Ng Hian had never been in the Philippine Islands; that Marcosa was his stepmother; that she swore positively that she had adopted him; that the fact was not denied of record; and that nothing showed she had not adopted him in good faith. The question whether Marcosa could bring Ng Hian as her adopted son was discussed by federal courts. In Ex parte Fong Yim, 134 Fed. Rep., 938, it was held that a Chinese merchant domiciled in the United States has the right to bring into the country with his wife minor children legally adopted by him in China, where the adoption was bona fide and the children had lived as members of his family and been supported by him for several years. That court further explained that the genuineness of adoption is a question of fact open to investigation; that adoption in China was common and substantially without legal formalities; and that the rights and obligations of adopted children were similar to those of natural children. Since the United States Supreme Court had recognized the right of a Chinese merchant domiciled in the country to bring in his natural children, the same authority supported the right to introduce adopted children. On the theory that Ng Hian had been adopted by his stepmother and that she had a right to enter the territory of the United States without objection, the Court held that Ng Hian had a right to enter the Philippine Islands as her adopted son. The lower court’s judgment was affirmed, with costs.

• Right of entry of minor children of a deceased resident Chinese merchant — Minor children of a deceased resident Chinese merchant have no right to enter the territory of the Philippine Islands. The Court relied on a line of prior decisions and applied the rule to reject any claim based solely on that status.
• Right of entry of a bona fide adopted child — A minor child legally adopted in good faith by a person entitled to enter may enter as that person’s adopted child. The Court applied the rule to Ng Hian, holding that he could enter as the adopted son of his stepmother, Marcosa S. Dy Jiongco, because she swore positively to the adoption, the fact was not denied, and no bad faith appeared.
• Adoption as a question of fact — Whether an adoption is genuine is a question of fact open to investigation. The Court accepted the adoption as bona fide where it was positively sworn to, undenied, and unsupported by any record evidence of bad faith.
• Equivalence of adopted and natural children for right of entry — Where an adoption is bona fide and the adopted child has lived as a member of the family and been supported, the legal status of an adopted child is not different from that of a natural child for purposes of the right to bring the child into the country. The Court adopted the reasoning of Ex parte Fong Yim.

• "The question which the Attorney-General presents is whether or not the minor children of a deceased resident Chinese merchant have a right to enter the territory of the Philippine Islands. That question has been answered by this court in numerous decisions in the negative." — This passage states the issue presented and the prior negative rule on minor children of a deceased resident Chinese merchant.
• "A Chinese merchant domiciled in the United States has the right to bring into this country with his wife minor children legally adopted by him in China, where it is shown that the adoption was bona fide, and that the children have lived as members of his family and have been supported by him for several years." — This is the federal rule from Ex parte Fong Yim that the Court adopted and applied by analogy to Ng Hian’s adoption.
• "Of course, the question whether the adoption is a genuine one is a question of fact, open to investigation . . . . The evidence shows that the practice of adopting children in China is very common, that it takes place substantially without legal formalities, but that the rights and obligations of children adopted and recognized as such are similar to those of natural children." — This passage defines the genuineness of adoption as a question of fact and recognizes the equivalence of adopted and natural children for the right of entry.
• "Upon the theory, therefore, that Ng Hian had been adopted by his stepmother, and upon the theory that she has a right to enter territory of the United States, without objection, we are of the opinion and so hold that Ng Hian has a right to enter the territory of the Philippine Islands as her adopted son." — This is the ratio decidendi: Ng Hian’s right to enter rested on his bona fide adoption by his stepmother.

• Lee Jua vs. Collector of Customs, 32 Phil. Rep., 24 — Cited by the Court as one of the prior decisions holding that minor children of a deceased resident Chinese merchant have no right to enter the Philippine Islands.
• Tan Lin Jo vs. Collector of Customs, 32 Phil. Rep., 78 — Cited in support of the same negative rule.
• Cang Kai Guan vs. Collector of Customs, 32 Phil. Rep., 102 — Cited in support of the same negative rule.
• Yat Tian Un (Sun) vs. Collector of Customs, 32 Phil. Rep., 487 — Cited in support of the same negative rule.
• De Eng Hoa vs. Collector of Customs, 32 Phil. Rep., 490 — Cited in support of the same negative rule.
• Ex parte Chan Fooi, 217 Fed. Rep., 308 — Cited in support of the negative rule on the entry of minor children of a deceased resident Chinese merchant.
• Ex parte Fong Yim, 134 Fed. Rep., 938 — Relied on by the Court for the rule that a Chinese merchant domiciled in the United States may bring in minor children legally adopted in China where the adoption is bona fide and the children have lived as members of his family and been supported; the Court adopted its reasoning to allow Ng Hian’s entry as an adopted son.

Torres, Trent, and Araullo, JJ., concurred. Moreland, J., reserved his vote.