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BAI SANDRA S. A. SEMA v. COMELEC

FACTS:

The case involves the annulment of Resolution No. 7902 of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) which treated Cotabato City as part of the legislative district of the Province of Shariff Kabunsuan. Cotabato City is not part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) but of Region XII. On August 28, 2006, the ARMM Regional Assembly created the Province of Shariff Kabunsuan. The voters of Maguindanao ratified the creation of Shariff Kabunsuan in a plebiscite held on October 29, 2006. The Sangguniang Panlungsod of Cotabato City requested the COMELEC to clarify its status, leading to the issuance of various resolutions by the COMELEC. The petitioners, including Sema, questioned the jurisdiction and authority of the COMELEC in issuing these resolutions. The parties, including the COMELEC, the Office of the Solicitor General, Sema, and Dilangalen, argued on the constitutionality of certain provisions of RA 9054, the power of the ARMM Regional Assembly to create provinces, and the entitlement of a province created by the ARMM Regional Assembly to a representative in the House of Representatives. The Court ruled that certain provisions of RA 9054 are unconstitutional, declared the creation of the Province of Shariff Kabunsuan void, and upheld the validity of COMELEC Resolution No. 7902. The Court also held that the writ of Prohibition is appropriate in testing the constitutionality of election laws.

ISSUES:

  1. Whether the ARMM Regional Assembly has the power to create the Province of Shariff Kabunsuan.

  2. Whether the delegation to the ARMM Regional Assembly of the power to create provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays conflicts with any provision of the Constitution.

  3. Whether Congress can validly delegate to the ARMM Regional Assembly the power to create legislative districts for the House of Representatives.

  4. Whether the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Regional Assembly has the authority to create a legislative district for a national office, specifically a legislative district representative to Congress.

  5. Whether the Province of Shariff Kabunsuan is automatically entitled to one member in the House of Representatives.

  6. Whether the creation of the legislative district of Shariff Kabunsuan through a regional law is valid.

  7. Can the ARMM Regional Assembly create provinces and cities within the ARMM without regard to the criteria fixed by law?

  8. Can the ARMM Regional Assembly increase the membership of the House of Representatives beyond the maximum limit fixed in the Constitution?

  9. Can the power to create or reapportion legislative districts be delegated by Congress to the regional assemblies?

  10. Whether the creation of municipalities and barangays that do not comply with the criteria established in Section 461 of RA 7160 is unconstitutional.

  11. Whether Section 19, Article VI of RA 9054 granting the ARMM Regional Assembly the power to create provinces and cities is unconstitutional.

  12. Whether COMELEC Resolution No. 7902 preserving the geographic and legislative district of the First District of Maguindanao with Cotabato City is valid.

RULING:

  1. The creation of local government units, such as provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays, must comply with three conditions: (1) the creation must follow the criteria fixed in the Local Government Code; (2) it must not conflict with any provision of the Constitution; and (3) there must be a plebiscite in the political units affected. Under the Local Government Code, only an Act of Congress can create provinces, cities, or municipalities. Thus, the ARMM Regional Assembly does not have the power to create the Province of Shariff Kabunsuan.

  2. The delegation of the power to create municipalities and barangays to regional legislative bodies, including the ARMM Regional Assembly, does not conflict with any provision of the Constitution as long as Section 10, Article X of the Constitution is followed. However, the creation of provinces and cities requires the creation of legislative districts. A province cannot be created without a legislative district, as it would violate Section 5 (3), Article VI of the Constitution. Therefore, since the power to create a province inherently involves the power to create a legislative district, the delegation to the ARMM Regional Assembly of the power to create provinces conflicts with the Constitution.

  3. Congress has the exclusive power to increase the allowable membership in the House of Representatives and to reapportion legislative districts. The power to create or reapportion legislative districts is vested exclusively in Congress and cannot be delegated to the ARMM Regional Assembly. Therefore, Congress cannot validly delegate to the ARMM Regional Assembly the power to create legislative districts for the House of Representatives.

  4. No, the ARMM Regional Assembly does not have the authority to create a legislative district for a national office.

  5. The Province of Shariff Kabunsuan is not automatically entitled to one member in the House of Representatives. The creation of a legislative district does not come into existence merely by the creation of a province. It can only be triggered by an act of Congress.

  6. The creation of the legislative district of Shariff Kabunsuan through a regional law is invalid. Only Congress has the power to create or trigger the creation of a legislative district. The creation of a province by the ARMM Regional Assembly does not have the power to create legislative districts.

  7. No, the ARMM Regional Assembly cannot create provinces and cities within the ARMM without regard to the criteria fixed by law.

  8. No, the ARMM Regional Assembly cannot increase the membership of the House of Representatives beyond the maximum limit fixed in the Constitution.

  9. No, the power to create or reapportion legislative districts cannot be delegated by Congress to the regional assemblies.

  10. The Court did not pass upon the constitutionality of the creation of municipalities and barangays that do not comply with the criteria established in Section 461 of RA 7160 because the creation of such municipalities and barangays does not involve the creation of legislative districts. The resolution of this issue was left to an appropriate case.

  11. The Court ruled that Section 19, Article VI of RA 9054, granting the ARMM Regional Assembly the power to create provinces and cities, is void for being contrary to Section 5 of Article VI and Section 20 of Article X of the Constitution, as well as Section 3 of the Ordinance appended to the Constitution. Only Congress can create provinces and cities since the creation of these entities necessarily includes the creation of legislative districts, a power vested in Congress. The ARMM Regional Assembly cannot create a province without a legislative district because every province is mandated to have a legislative district. Additionally, the ARMM Regional Assembly does not have the power to enact laws creating national offices like the office of a district representative of Congress since its legislative powers operate only within its territorial jurisdiction.

  12. The Court declared that COMELEC Resolution No. 7902, which preserves the geographic and legislative district of the First District of Maguindanao with Cotabato City, is valid. It complies with Section 5 of Article VI and Section 20 of Article X of the Constitution, as well as Section 1 of the Ordinance appended to the Constitution.

PRINCIPLES:

  • The creation of local government units must comply with the criteria established in the Local Government Code, the Constitution, and must undergo a plebiscite in the affected political units.

  • The power to create provinces and cities inherently involves the power to create legislative districts.

  • Congress has the exclusive power to create or reapportion legislative districts for the House of Representatives and this power cannot be delegated to regional or local legislative bodies.

  • The power to create or reapportion legislative districts is vested exclusively in Congress. It is a national power that can only be exercised through a national law passed by Congress.

  • The creation of the ARMM and the grant of legislative powers to its Regional Assembly did not divest Congress of its exclusive authority to create legislative districts for a national office.

  • The office of a legislative district representative to Congress is a national office, and its occupant is a national official. It would be incongruous for a regional legislative body to create a national office when its legislative powers extend only to its regional territory.

  • The legislative powers of a local or regional legislative body are limited to creating local or regional offices, respectively, and it cannot create a national office.

  • Each province is mandated to have at least one representative in Congress. The creation of a province without a legislative district is unconstitutional.

  • The creation of a legislative district must comply with the constitutional requirement that it be contiguous, compact, and adjacent territory. Each city with a population of at least two hundred fifty thousand, or each province, shall have at least one representative.

  • The creation of a legislative district does not come into existence merely by the creation of a province but must be triggered by an act of Congress.

  • The power to create or trigger the creation of a legislative district belongs exclusively to Congress.

  • Only an act of Congress can create or trigger the creation of a legislative district by operation of the Constitution. No other legislative body, including the ARMM Regional Assembly, has the power to do so.

  • The power to create or reapportion legislative districts must be exercised by Congress itself and cannot be delegated.

  • Organic acts of autonomous regions cannot prevail over the Constitution.

  • The legislative powers of regional assemblies are limited and subject to the provisions of the Constitution and national laws.

  • The creation of municipalities and barangays that do not comply with the criteria established in Section 461 of RA 7160 is not subject to constitutional scrutiny as it does not involve the creation of legislative districts.

  • Only Congress has the power to create provinces and cities because the creation of these entities necessarily includes the creation of legislative districts.

  • The ARMM Regional Assembly does not have the power to create provinces without legislative districts or enact laws creating national offices like the office of a district representative of Congress.

  • COMELEC resolutions that comply with the constitutional provisions regarding the creation of legislative districts are considered valid.