Alcantara v Director of Prisons

Alcantara v Director of Prisons Facts: This is a petition for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus and for the release of the petitioner on the ground that the latter is unlawfully imprisoned and restrained of his liberty by the respondent Director of Prison in the provincial jail at Vigan, Ilocos Sur for the crimes of illegal discharge of firearms and slight physical injuries. Petitioner now questions the validity of the decision of the Court of Appeals of Northern Luzon, on the sole ground that said court was only a creation of the so-called Republic of the Philippines during the Japanese military occupation of the Islands and has no jurisdiction to hear cases; Issues: Are the courts created on the birth Republic of the Philippines and/or during the time of Japanese occupancy have the legitimacy to hear cases Held: In the said case of Co Kim Cham vs. Valdez Tan Keh and Dizon, only political complexion cases are exempted from any liability just right after the war. Obviously, the sentence which petitioner is now serving has no political complexion. He was charged with and convicted of an offense punishable under the municipal law of the Commonwealth, the Revised Penal Code.