Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
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*EN BANC.
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Election Laws; Semas prior avowal that she was running for
the Shariff Kabunsuan with Cotabato City legislative district, and
her campaign for election to that district, belie the existence of
injury on her part caused by the COMELEC resolution that
affirmed that very legislative district.It would indeed be difficult
to assess injury for purposes of locus standi on the part of Sema
by reason of the assailed COMELEC Resolution, which after all,
reaffirms the very legislative district whose seat in Congress she
had sought to be elected to. Her standing to raise the present
petition is materially affected by her express consent and active
campaign for election from the legislative district which she now
seeks to invalidate. A party challenging the constitutionality of a
law, act or statute must show not only that the law is invalid, but
also that he or she has sustained or is in immediate, or imminent
danger of sustaining some direct injury as a result of its
enforcement, that party has been or is about to be, denied some
right or privilege to which he or she is lawfully entitled. Semas
prior avowal that she was running for the Shariff Kabunsuan
with Cotabato City legislative district, and her campaign for
election to that district, belie the existence of injury on her part
caused by the COMELEC resolution that affirmed that very
legislative district.
Same; Commission on Elections (COMELEC); The
COMELEC does not have the requisite power to call elections, as
the same is part of the plenary legislative power.Marquez does
not have a valid cause of action before this Court. His prayer is to
compel the COMELEC to provide for new congressional elections
for Cotabato City.The relief sought does not lie simply because
Rep. Dilangalen, by virtue of his electoral victory, lawfully
represents the City in addition to the Province of Shariff
Kabunsuan. From another perspective, the COMELEC does not
have the requisite power to call elections, as the same is part of
the plenary legislative power. Only Congress, which was not
impleaded as a party to Marquezs petition, has the power to set
congressional elections only for Cotabato City, if ever. Even
assuming that Congress was impleaded, it would be improper for
this Court to compel Congress by judicial fiat to pass a law or
resolution for the holding of such elections.
Constitutional Law; Delegation of Powers; A logical corollary to
the doctrine of separation of powers is the principle of non-
delegation of powers, as expressed in the Latin maxim potestas
delegata non delegare potest (what has been delegated cannot be
delegated).The
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years following the return of the census, but this Court has
likewise recognized that reapportionment can also be made
through a special law, such as in the charter of a new city. Still,
even in exercising this limited power through the constitutionally
mandated reapportionment, Congress cannot substitute its own
discretion for the standards set forth in Section 5, Article VI. And
should general reapportionment made by Congress violate the
parameters set forth by the Constitution, such act may be
invalidated by the Court, as it did in Macias v. COMELEC, 3
SCRA 1 (1961).
Same; Same; The Constitution clearly provided that the House
of Representatives shall be composed of not more than 250
members unless otherwise provided by law.The Court has
previously recognized that such law increasing the membership of
the House of Representatives need not be one specifically devoted
for that purpose alone, but it may be one that creates a province
or charters a city with a population of more than 250,000. In
Tobias v. Abalos, 239 SCRA 106 (1994), the Court pronounced
that the law converting Mandaluyong into a city could likewise
serve the purpose of increasing the composition of the House of
Representatives: As to the contention that the assailed law
violates the present limit on the number of representatives as set
forth in the Constitution, a reading of the applicable provision,
Article VI, Section 5 (1), as aforequoted, shows that the present
limit of 250 members is not absolute. The Constitution clearly
provides that the House of Representatives shall be composed of
not more than 250 members, unless otherwise provided by law.
The inescapable import of the latter clause is that the present
composition of Congress may be increased, if Congress itself so
mandates through a legislative enactment. Therefore, the
increase in congressional representation mandated by R.A. No.
7675 is not unconstitutional.
Same; Same; Delegation of Powers; The power to increase the
composition of the House of Representatives is restricted by the
Constitution to a law passed by Congress, which may not delegate
such law-making power to the Regional Assembly.I have already
pointed out that when the Constitution specifically designates a
particular function to Congress, only Congress may exercise such
function, as the same is non-delegable. The power to increase the
composition of the House of Representatives is restricted by the
Constitution to a law passed by Congress, which may not delegate
such law-making power to the Regional Assembly. If we were to
rule that Congress
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CARPIO, J.:
The Case
The Facts
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726 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
Sema vs. Commission on Elections
The Issues
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731
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28See Section 2, Article VIII of the 1973 Constitution and Section 5, Article VI
of the 1935 Constitution.
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SEC. 2. The Commission on Elections shall exercise the following
powers and functions:
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(2) Exercise exclusive original jurisdiction over all contests
relating to the elections, returns, and qualifications of all elective
regional, provincial, and city officials, and appellate jurisdiction
over all contests involving elective municipal officials decided by
trial courts of general jurisdiction, or involving elective barangay
officials decided by trial courts of limited jurisdiction. (Emphasis
supplied)
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33See note 3.
34 Section 461 provides: Requisites for Creation.(a)A province may
be created if it has an average annual income, as certified by the
Department of Finance, of not less than Twenty million pesos
(P20,000,000.00) based on 1991 constant prices and either of the following
requisites:
(i) a contiguous territory of at least two thousand (2,000)
square kilometers, as certified by the Lands Management Bureau;
or
(ii) a population of not less than two hundred fifty thousand
(250,000) inhabitants as certified by the National
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Statistics Office: Provided, That, the creation thereof shall not reduce the land area,
population, and income of the original unit or units at the time of said creation to
(b) The territory need not be contiguous if it comprise two (2) or more islands or is
separated by a chartered city or cities which do not contribute to the income of the
province.
(c) The average annual income shall include the income accruing to the general fund,
35Atty. Edgardo Carlos B. Vistan II, counsel for petitioner in G.R. No. 177597.
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Justice Carpio:
So, [the] Regional Assembly of [the] ARMM can create and create x x x
provinces x x x and, therefore, they can have thirty-five (35) new
representatives in the House of Representatives without Congress
agreeing to it, is that what you are saying? That can be done, under
your theory[?]
Atty. Vistan II:
Yes, Your Honor, under the correct factual circumstances.
Justice Carpio:
Under your theory, the ARMM legislature can create thirty-five (35)
new provinces, there may be x x x [only] one hundred thousand
(100,000) [population], x x x, and they will each have one
representative x x x to Congress without any national law, is that
what you are saying?
Atty. Vistan II:
Without law passed by Congress, yes, Your Honor, that is what we are
saying.
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Justice Carpio:
So, they can also create one thousand (1000) new provinces,
sen[d] one thousand (1000) representatives to the House of
Representatives without a national law[,] that is legally
possible, correct?
Atty. Vistan II:
Yes, Your Honor.36 (Emphasis supplied)
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743
VOL. 558, JULY 16, 2008 743
Sema vs. Commission on Elections
SEPARATE OPINION
(Dissenting and Concurring)
TINGA, J.:
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749
II.
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7 See Albaa v. Commission on Elections, 478 Phil. 941, 949; 435 SCRA
98, 105 (2004); Acop v. Guingona, Jr., 433 Phil. 62, 67; 383 SCRA 577, 581
(2002); Sanlakas v. Executive Secretary, 466 Phil. 482, 505-506; 421 SCRA
656.
750
III.
The laws we are presently impelled to interpret involve
multiple instances of Congress delegating power to the
Regional Assembly. Explicity, Rep. Act No. 9054 delegates
to the Regional Assembly the power to create provinces and
other local government units, though subject to certain
specified limitations. The majority likewise asserts that
through that mechanism, Congress has also delegated to
the Regional Assembly the power to create legislative
districts.
The fundamental principles on delegation of powers bear
review.
The Constitution expressly vests legislative power in the
Congress of the Philippines, consisting of a Senate and a
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some other person or body but must rest with the legislature
itself. Thus, the legislature cannot delegate to a commission the
power to determine the form of government, powers and functions
of proposed municipalities since these matters require legislative
judgment. But the details of organization of its own
government can be left to a municipality, limited only by
general state law; and such basic state powers as the
police power, taxing power, and power of eminent domain
can be, and almost always are, delegated to local
governments for their use for local purposes. The rule
against delegation of state legislative authority is no
barrier to the delegation of powers of local self
government to local units. x x x12
12 O. Reynolds, Jr., Local Government Law (2nd ed., 2001), at pp. 184-
185. Emphasis supplied, citations omitted.
13 Const., Art. II, Sec. 26.
14 Const., Art. II, Sec. 28.
15 Const., Art. IV, Sec. 23.
16 Const., Art. VI, Sec. 8.
17 Const., Art. VI, Sec. 29.
18 Const., Art. VI, Sec. 23.
19 Const., Art. VI, Sec. 32.
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IV.
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33 Id., at p. 17.
34 Supra note 23, at p. 227.
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VI.
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37 124 Phil. 1226; 18 SCRA 606 (1966).
768
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These issues have been laid to rest in the recent case of Tobias
v. Abalos. In said case, we ruled that reapportionment of
legislative districts may be made through a special law, such as in
the charter of a new city. The Constitution clearly provides that
Congress shall be composed of not more than two hundred fifty
(250) members, unless otherwise fixed by law. As thus worded,
the Constitution did not preclude Congress from increasing its
membership by passing a law, other than a general
reapportionment law. This is exactly what was done by Congress
in enacting R.A. No. 7854 and providing for an increase in
Makatis legislative district.44
42 Id., at p. 112.
43 G.R. Nos. 118577 and 118627, 7 March 1995, 242 SCRA 211.
44 Id., at p. 217.
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VII.
IX.