FACTS:
Petitioner filed a petition for habeas corpus, asserting that a Filipino citizen who adhered to the enemy, giving the latter aid and comfort during the Japanese occupation cannot be prosecuted for the crime of treason for the reasons: (1) that the sovereignty of the legitimate government of the Philippines and the correlative allegiance of the Filipino citizens thereto was then suspended; (2) there was a change of sovereignty over the islands upon the proclamation of the Philippine Republic.
ISSUE(S):
Whether or not enemy occupation has the effect of suspending the allegiance of a Filipino citizen to their government.
HELD:
NO. Absolute and permanent allegiance of the inhabitants of a territory occupied by the enemy of their legitimate government or sovereign is not abrogated or severed by the enemy occupation, because the sovereignty of the government or government de jure is not transferred thereby to the occupier, as held in the case of Co Kim Chan vs Valdez Tan Keh.
