Abbas v.

COMELEC, 179 SCRA 287

Facts: Datu Firdausi Abbas, et.al. challenged the constitutionality of R.A. 6734 on the
following grounds:
1) R. A. 6734 conflicts with the Tripoli Agreement (what conflicts the case doesnt say)
2) R. A. 6734 provides for the unconditional creation of the ARMM and not through the mode
of a plebiscite as provided in the Constitution
3) The Constitution provides that ARMM shall be approved by a majority of votes cast in a
plebiscite by all voters residing in the provinces and cities affected, but R.A. 6734 says by a
majority or votes cast by the constituent units in a plebiscite and only those provinces and
cities where a majority of votes cast in favor of the Organic Act shall be included in the
Autonomous Region. R.A. 6734 thus conflicts the Constitution
4) R. A. 6734 includes provinces and cities which do not have the same cultural and
historical heritage and other relevant characteristics needed for admission to the ARMM
5) R. A. 6734 violates constitutional guarantee on freedom of exercise of religion as some its
provisions run counter to the Koran
6) The creation of an Oversight Committee to supervise the transfer of power to the ARMM is
contrary to the constitutional mandate that the creation of the autonomous region hinges
solely on the result of the plebiscite
7)R. A. 6734 says that only the provinces and cities voting favorably in such plebiscite
shall be included in the ARMM. The provinces and cities which in the plebiscite do not vote
for inclusion in the Autonomous Region shall remain in the existing administrative
regions: Provided however, that the President may, by administrative determination, merge
the existing regions. This provision, Abbas claims, is contrary to the Constitutional mandate
that, No province city, municipality or barangay may be created, divided, merged,abolished
or its boundary substantially altered, except in accordance with the criteria established with
thelocal government code and subject to approval by a majority of the votes cast in a
plebiscite in the unitsdirectly affected. (Art. 10, Sec. 10, 1987 Constitution)
Held: Abbas is wrong. Reasons:
1) R. A. 6734 as an enactment of Congress, is superior to the Tripoli Agreement, being a
subsequent law to the Tripoli Agreement (though in my opinion it wouldnt matter if R. A.
6734 was prior to the Tripoli Agreement)
2) The transitory provisions of R. A. 6734 does provide for a plebiscite (1 guess nobody reads
the transitory provisions)
3) The framers of the Constitution must have intended that the majority of votes must come
from each of the constituent units and not all the votes of the provinces and cities (I couldnt
understand how the justices arrived at this conclusion)
4) It is not for the Court to decide on the wisdom of the law concerning the inclusion of
provinces and cities which Abbas claims should not be included in a plebiscite
5) There is no actual controversy yet as to any violation of freedom of religion, only a
potential one
6) The creation of an Oversight Committee is merely procedural and in fact will aid in the
timely creation of the ARMM
7) The power of the President to merge administrative regions is inherent in his power of
general supervisionover local governments. Besides, administrative regions are not
territorial or political regions. Examples of administrative regions are Regions I to XII and the
NCR

Cordillera Broad Coalition vs COADate: January 29, 1990Petitioner: Cordillera Broad

Coalition Respondent: COA, et alPonente: CortesFacts:-EO 220, issued by the
President in the exercise of her legislative powers under Art. XVIII,sec. 6 of the
Constitution, created the CAR. It was created to accelerate economic and
social growth in the region and to prepare for the establishment of the autonomous
region in the Cordilleras. Its main function is to coordinate the planning and
implementation of programs and services in the region, particularly, to coordinate
with the local government units as well as with the executive departments of the
National Government in the supervision of field offices and in identifying, planning,
monitoring, and accepting projects and activities in the region. It shall also monitor
the implementation of all ongoing national and local government projects in the
region. The CAR shall have a Cordillera Regional Assembly as a policy-formulating
body and a Cordillera Executive Board as an implementing arm. The CAR and the
Assembly and Executive Board shalle xist until such time as the autonomous
regional government is established and organized. In these cases, petitioners
principally argue that by issuing E.O. No. 220 the President, inthe exercise of her
legislative powers prior to the convening of the first Congress under the
1987Constitution, has virtually pre-empted Congress from its mandated task of
enacting an organicact and created an autonomous region in the Cordilleras.
Issue:WON EO 220 is valid
RULING:Yes A reading of E.O. No. 220 will easily reveal that what it actually
envisions is the consolidation and coordination of the delivery of services of line
departments and agencies of the National Government in the areas covered by the
administrative region as a step preparatory to the grant of autonomy to the
Cordilleras. It does not create the autonomous region contemplated in the
Constitution. It merely provides for transitory measures in anticipation of the
enactment of an organic act and the creation of an autonomous region. In short, it
prepares the ground for autonomy. This does not necessarily conflict with the
provisions of the Constitution on autonomous regions, as we shall show later.
Moreover, the transitory nature of the CAR does not necessarily mean that it is, as
petitioner Cordillera Broad Coalition asserts, "the interim autonomous region in the
Cordilleras". The Constitution provides for a basic structure of government in the
autonomous region composed of an elective executive and legislature and special
courts with personal, family and property law jurisdiction. Using this as a guide, we
find that E.O. No. 220 did not establish an autonomous regional government. It
created a region, covering a specified area, for administrative purposes with the
main objective of coordinating the planning and implementation of programs and
services. To determine policy, it created a representative assembly, to convene
yearly only for a five-day regular session, tasked with, among others, identifying
priority projects and development programs. To serve as an implementing body, it
created the Cordillera Executive Board. The bodies created by E.O. No. 220 do not
supplant the existing local governmental structure, nor are they autonomous

government agencies. They merely constitute the mechanism for an "umbrella" that
brings together the existing local governments, the agencies of the National
Government, the ethno-linguistic groups or tribes, and non-governmental
organizations in a concerted effort to spur development in the Cordilleras.

Issue: WON CAR is a territorial and political subdivision.

Ruling: No We have seen earlier that the CAR is not the autonomous region in the
Cordilleras contemplated by the Constitution. Thus, we now address petitioners'
assertion that E.O. No. 220contravenes the Constitution by creating a new territorial
and political subdivision. After carefully considering the provisions of E.O. No. 220,
we find that it did not create a new territorial and political subdivision or merge
existing ones into a larger subdivision. Firstly, the CAR is not a public corporation or
a territorial and political subdivision. It does not have a separate juridical
personality, unlike provinces, cities and municipalities. Neither is it vested with the
powers that are normally granted to public corporations, e.g. the power to sue and
be sued, the power to own and dispose of property, the power to create its own
sources of revenue, etc. As stated earlier, the CAR was created primarily to
coordinate the planning and implementation of programs and services in the
covered areas. The creation of administrative regions for the purpose of expediting
the delivery of services is nothing new. The Integrated Reorganization Plan of 1972,
which was made as part of the law of the land by virtue of PD 1, established
11regions, later increased to 12, with definite regional centers and required
departments and agencies of the Executive Branch of the National Government to
set up field offices therein. The functions of the regional offices to be established
pursuant to the Reorganization Plan are: (1) to implement laws, policies, plans,
programs, rules and regulations of the department or agency in the regional areas;
(2) to provide economical, efficient and effective service to the people in the area;
(3) to coordinate with regional offices of other departments, bureaus and agencies
in the area; (4) to coordinate with local government units in the area; and (5) to
perform such other functions as may be provided by law.CAR is in the same genre
as the administrative regions created under the Reorganization Plan, albeit under
E.O. No. 220 the operation of the CAR requires the participation not only of the line
departments and agencies of the National Government but also the local
governments, ethno-linguistic groups and non-governmental organizations in
bringing about the desired objectives and the appropriation of funds solely for that
purpose.

Issue: WON the creation of the CAR contravened the constitutional guarantee of the
local autonomy for the provinces (Abra, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga-Apayao and
Mountain Province) andcity (Baguio City) which compose the CAR.

Ruling: No, It must be clarified that the constitutional guarantee of local autonomy
in the Constitution refers to the administrative autonomy of local government units
or, cast in more technical language, the decentralization of government authority.
Local autonomy is not unique to the1987 Constitution, it being guaranteed also
under the 1973 Constitution. And while there was no express guarantee under the
1935 Constitution, the Congress enacted the Local Autonomy Act(R.A. No. 2264)
and the Decentralization Act (R.A. No. 5185), which ushered the irreversible march
towards further enlargement of local autonomy in the country. On the other hand,
the creation of autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and the Cordilleras, which
is peculiar to the 1987 Constitution, contemplates the grant of political autonomy
and not just administrative autonomy to these regions. Thus, the provision in the
Constitution for an autonomous regional government with a basic structure
consisting of ane xecutive department and a legislative assembly and special courts
with personal, family and property law jurisdiction in each of the autonomous
regions. As we have said earlier, the CAR is a mere transitory coordinating agency
that would prepare the stage for political autonomy for the Cordilleras. It fills in the
resulting gap in the process of transforming a group of adjacent territorial and
political subdivisions already enjoying local or administrative autonomy into an
autonomous region vested with political autonomy.

573 SCRA 290 Political Law Local Government Reapportionment

Municipal Corporation Plebiscite
Cagayan de Oro used to have only one legislative district. But in 2006, CdO
Congressman Constantino Jaraula sponsored a bill to have two legislative
districts in CdO instead. The law was passed (RA 9371) hence two legislative
districts were created. Rogelio Bagabuyo assailed the validity of the said law and
he went immediately to the Supreme Court to enjoin the COMELEC from
enforcing the law in the upcoming elections. Bagabuyo was contending that the
2nd district was created without a plebiscite which he averred was required by
the Constitution.
ISSUE: Whether or not a plebiscite was required in the case at bar.
HELD: No, a plebiscite is not required in the case at bar. RA 9371 merely
increased the representation of Cagayan de Oro City in the House of
Representatives and Sangguniang Panglungsod pursuant to Section 5, Article VI
of the 1987 Constitution; the criteria established under Section 10, Article X of
the 1987 Constitution only apply when there is a creation, division, merger,
abolition or substantial alteration of boundaries of a province, city, municipality,
or barangay; in this case, no such creation, division, merger, abolition or
alteration of boundaries of a local government unit took place; and R.A. No.
9371 did not bring about any change in Cagayan de Oros territory, population
and income classification; hence, no plebiscite is required. What happened here
was a reapportionment of a single legislative district into two legislative
districts. Reapportionment is the realignment or change in legislative districts
brought about by changes in population and mandated by the constitutional
requirement of equality of representation.
Before, Cagayan de Oro had only one congressman and 12 city council members
citywide for its population of approximately 500,000. By having two legislative
districts, each of them with one congressman, Cagayan de Oro now effectively
has two congressmen, each one representing 250,000 of the citys population.
This easily means better access to their congressman since each one now
services only 250,000 constituents as against the 500,000