Datu Abas Kida v.

Senate (2012)
Note: This digest focuses only on the issue of quorom
Facts:
Constitutionality of RA 10153 which:
o postponed the regional elections in ARMM which were scheduled to be held on
the second Monday of August 2011 to the second Monday of May 2013
o in order for the ARMM elections to be synchronized with Philippine national
elections
o Recognized the Presidents power to appoint OICs to temporarily assume these
positions upon the expiration of the terms of the elected officials
Datu Kida, et al, alleged that RA 10153 is invalid because it did not conform to the
voting requirements set forth by RA 9054, the organic act which created the ARMM,
which states that:
Art. 17, Sec1. Consistent with the provisions of the Constitution, this Organic Act
may be reamended or revised by the Congress of the Philippines upon a vote of
two-thirds (2/3) of the Members of the House of Representatives and of the
Senate voting separately.
o This means that the law that created the ARMM may be amended or revised only
upon 2/3 vote of the Congress and Senate
SC declared the 2/3 vote requirement or the supermajority requirement is
unconstitutional as only a majority vote is required by the Constitution for Congress to
have a quorum and to pass, amend, revise law
ISSUE: WON the 2/3 voting requirement set forth by RA 9054 is unconstitutional? - YES
HELD:
Supermajority vote requirement makes RA No. 9054 an irrepealable law
Under our Constitution, each House of Congress has the power to approve bills by a
mere majority vote, provided there is quorum.
In requiring all laws which amend RA No. 9054 to comply with a higher voting
requirement than the Constitution provides (2/3 vote), Congress, which enacted RA No.
9054, clearly violated the very principle which we sought to establish in Duarte.
To reiterate, the act of one legislature is not binding upon, and cannot tie the hands of,
future legislatures
Section 1, Article XVII of RA 9054 erects a high vote threshold for each House of
Congress to surmount, effectively and unconstitutionally, taking RA 9054 beyond the
reach of Congress amendatory powers.
One Congress cannot limit or reduce the plenary legislative power of succeeding
Congresses by requiring a higher vote threshold than what the Constitution requires to
enact, amend or repeal laws.
No law can be passed fixing such a higher vote threshold because Congress has no
power, by ordinary legislation, to amend the Constitution