08/08/2026
The (SC) has clarified that a Precautionary Hold Departure Order (PHDO) may be issued only in cases involving crimes punishable by a minimum penalty of at least six years and one day of imprisonment, or when the respondent is a foreigner, regardless of the penalty.
In a Decision written by Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh, the SCโs Third Division ruled that a PHDO cannot be maintained when the crime under investigation does not meet these requirements.
The case arose from a complaint for ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ง๐ข under the ๐๐ฆ๐ท๐ช๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ฆ and violation of ๐๐ข๐ต๐ข๐ด ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐ข ๐๐ญ๐จ. 22 (BP 22) filed against petitioner Faustine Feliz Abad (Abad) in connection with her purchase of airline tickets from respondent GHT Travel and Tours (GHT).
The City Prosecutor found probable cause to charge Abad with two counts of violation of BP 22, but found insufficient evidence to charge her with ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ง๐ข. Two Informations for BP 22 were then filed before the Metropolitan Trial Court of Manila.
The prosecution also sought a PHDO against Abad with the Regional Trial Court (RTC), claiming that she was a flight risk. The RTC granted the request.
Abad later sought to have the PHDO lifted. The RTC denied her request, noting, among others, that GHT had appealed the dismissal of the ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ง๐ข charge to the Secretary of Justice and that Abad was a permanent resident of the United States.
Ruling that the PHDO should have been lifted, the SC cited the Rule on PHDO that it issued on August 7, 2018, which provides that a PHDO may be issued while a criminal complaint is undergoing preliminary investigation when the crime involved carries a minimum penalty of at least six years and one day of imprisonment. It may also be issued against a foreigner regardless of the penalty.
The SC explained that the ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ง๐ข charge, which could have carried a penalty exceeding six years and one day, was dismissed for lack of probable cause. The only charges filed against Abad were two counts of BP 22 violations, each punishable by imprisonment of 30 days to one year.
Thus, the BP 22 charges did not meet the penalty requirement for the issuance of a PHDO.
Read the full text of the Press Release at https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/?p=170320.
Read the full text of the Decision at https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/?p=165691.
Copying of this content is subject to the SC PIOโs Credit Attribution Policy: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/credit-attribution-policy/.
