ARTICLE III

BILL OF RIGHTS
Section 15. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended except in
cases of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it.

Marcos vs Manglapus
179 SCRA 669 (1989)
FACTS:
Former President Marcos, after his and his family spent three-year exile in Hawaii, USA,
sought to return to the Philippines. The call is about to request of Marcos family to order the
respondents to issue travel order to them and to enjoin the petition of the President's decision to
bar their return to the Philippines.

ISSUE:
Whether Marcos and his family have the right to travel and liberty of abode, in light of
the attendant circumstances in the present case

HELD:
Political Law; Bill of Rights; Liberty of Abode; Right to Travel; The right to return to
ones country is not among the rights specifically guaranteed under the Bill of Rights, though it
may well be considered as a generally accepted principle of international law which is part of the
law of the land.The right to return to ones country is not among the rights specifically
guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, which treats only of the liberty of abode and the right to travel,
but it is our well-considered view that the right to return may be considered, as a generally
accepted principle of international law and, under our Constitution, is part of the law of the land
[Art. II, Sec. 2 of the Constitution]. However, it is distinct and separate from the right to travel
and enjoys a different protection under the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights,
i.e.,against being arbitrarily deprived thereof [Art. 12 (4)].
The constitutional guarantees invoked by petitioners are not absolute and inflexible, they
admit of limits and must be adjusted to the requirements of equally important public interests.
The resolution of the problem is made difficult because the persons who seek to return to the
country are the deposed dictator and his family at whose door the travails of the country are laid
and from whom billions of dollars believed to be ill-gotten wealth are sought to be recovered.
The constitutional guarantees they invoke are neither absolute nor inflexible. For the exercise of
even the preferred freedoms of speech and of expression, although couched in absolute terms,
admits of limits and must be adjusted to the requirements of equally important public interests.
The Constitution declares among the guiding principles the prime duty of the Government is to
serve and protect the people and that the maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life,
liberty and property, and the promotion of the general welfare are essential for the enjoyment by
all the people by the blessings of democracy.
The SC, by an 8-7 vote, sustained the refusal of the government to allow the Marcosess
return, on the ground that it would endanger national security.