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BOARD OF SPECIAL INQUIRY
    Sec 26. Every alien who may not appear to the examining immigration officer at the port of arrival to be clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to land shall be detained for examination in relation thereto by a board of special inquiry.

    Sec 27. (a) Every board of special inquiry shall be composed of a Chairman and two members, who shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines alone and shall be removable at his pleasure. The Commissioner of Immigration may assign to such officers’ duties and functions in addition to those pertaining to them by reason of their membership in the board. At ports where it is not convenient or necessary to organize permanent boards of special inquiry, the President may designate any other employee of the Government to serve as a member of the board of special inquiry which might be organized therein from time to time.

    (b) A board of special inquiry shall have authority (1) to determine whether an alien seeking to enter or land in the Philippines shall be allowed to enter or land or shall be excluded, and (2) to make its findings and recommendations in all the cases provided for in section twenty-nine of this Act wherein the Commissioner of Immigration may admit an alien who is otherwise inadmissible. For this purpose, the board or any member thereof, may administer oaths and take evidence and in case of necessity may issue subpoena and/or subpoena duces tecum. The hearing of all cases brought before a board of special inquiry shall be conducted under rules of procedure to be prescribed by the Commissioner of Immigration. The decision of any two members of the board shall prevail and shall be final unless reversed on appeal by the Board of Commissioners as hereafter stated, or, in the absence of an appeal, unless reversed by the Board of Commissioners after a review by it, motu proprio of the entire proceedings within one year from the promulgation of said decision. At the conclusion of the hearing of any case, the board of special inquiry shall at once proceed to deliberate and decide on the merits thereof. The decision shall be promulgated and the findings and recommendation, in proper cases, submitted not later than two days from the date of the deliberation. Should the board of special inquiry need more time to make a written decision of findings and recommendation in view of the nature of the case, the chairman thereof shall report the case to the Commissioner of Immigration who may grant an extension of time if he considers it necessary.

    (c) An alien excluded by a board of special inquiry or a dissenting member thereof may appeal to the Board of Commissioners, whose decision in the case shall be final. The decision on appeal shall be put in writing and promulgated not less than seven days from the time the case is submitted for decision. In appeal cases, the alien shall have the right to be represented by an attorney or counsel who shall have access to the record of the board of special inquiry in the particular case on appeal. [As amended by Republic Act No. 503, Sec. 9]