Case Digest (G.R. No. 189793)
Facts:
Senator Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III and Mayor Jesse Robredo v. Commission on Elections, G.R. No. 189793, April 07, 2010, the Supreme Court En Banc, Perez, J., writing for the Court. Petitioners Senator Benigno S.C. Aquino III and Mayor Jesse Robredo filed an original petition for certiorari and prohibition under Rule 65 seeking to nullify Republic Act No. 9716 and to restrain the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) from implementing it.
RA 9716 (House Bill No. 4264) was approved by the Senate (13 in favor, 2 against), signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on October 12, 2009, published in the Manila Standard and took effect October 31, 2009. The law reapportioned the first and second legislative districts of the Province of Camarines Sur, creating an additional (fifth) district by recomposing municipalities from the existing first and second districts. Using 2007 census figures, the law produced proposed district populations including a new first district of about 176,383 and other districts ranging from ~276,777 to 439,043.
Petitioners challenged RA 9716 as unconstitutional for allegedly violating the population-standard in Article VI, Section 5(3) of the 1987 Constitution, which references “each city with a population of at least two hundred fifty thousand, or each province, shall have at least one representative,” arguing the Constitution mandates 250,000 persons as the minimum for any legislative district and thus a new district must have at least 250,000 inhabitants.
Respondents (COMELEC, represented by Chairman Jose A.R. Melo and commissioners) defended the law on procedural and substantive grounds: procedurally, they argued the petition was improperly brought under Rule 65 and that petitioners lacked locus standi; substantively, they contended the 250,000 figure in Section 5(3) applies only to cities and not to provinces, and that population is not the sole determinative factor in reapportionment.
The Court treated the case on its merits as an original Rule 65 action because of the constitutional importance of the issues. After reviewing the constitutional text, the Constitutional Commission records, and relevant precedents (notably Mariano v. COMELEC and Bagabuyo v. COMELEC), the Court denied the petition and upheld RA 9716 as a valid exercise of congressional reapportionment. Separate opinions were filed: a dissent by Justice Carpio (joined by Chief Justice Puno...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Was the invocation of Rule 65 proper and do petitioners have locus standi to assail RA 9716 in an original certiorari and prohibition petition?
- Does the 250,000 population figure in Article VI, Section 5(3) of the 1987 Constitution constitute a mandatory minimum population requirement for the creation of any legislative district in a province?
- If not, was RA 9716 a valid reapportionment of Camarines Sur or was it void for grave a...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)