Under Section 461 of R.A. No. 7610, otherwise known as The Local Government Code, a province may be created if it has an average annual income of not less than P20 million based on 1991 constant prices as certified by the Department of Finance, and a population of not less than 250,000 inhabitants as certified by the NSO, or a contiguous territory of at least 2,000 square kilometers as certified by the Lands Management Bureau. The territory need not be contiguous if it comprises two or more islands or is separated by a chartered city or cities, which do not contribute to the income of the province.
Mainland 281,111 Surigao City 118,534 Siargao Island & Bucas Grande 93,354 Dinagat Island 106,951
I
WHETHER OR NOT REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9355, CREATING THE NEW PROVINCE OF DINAGAT ISLANDS, COMPLIED WITH THE CONSTITUTION AND STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS UNDER SECTION 461 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7160, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE OF 1991.II
WHETHER OR NOT THE CREATION OF DINAGAT AS A NEW PROVINCE BY THE RESPONDENTS IS AN ACT OF GERRYMANDERING.III
WHETHER OR NOT THE RESULT OF THE PLEBISCITE IS CREDIBLE AND TRULY REFLECTS THE MANDATE OF THE PEOPLE.8
SEC. 10. No province, city, municipality, or barangay may be created, divided, merged, abolished, or its boundary substantially altered, except in accordance with the criteria established in the local government code and subject to approval by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite in the political units directly affected."14
SEC. 461. 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 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 less than the minimum requirements prescribed herein.
(b) The territory need not be contiguous if it comprises 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, exclusive of special funds, trust funds, transfers, and non-recurring income.15
Sec. 3. No province, city, municipality or barrio (barangay in the 1987 Constitution) may be created, divided, merged, abolished, or its boundary substantially altered except in accordance with the criteria established in the local government code, and subject to the approval by a majority of the votes in a plebiscite in the unit or units affected.
SEC. 197.--Requisites for Creation.--A province may be created if it has a territory of at least three thousand five hundred square kilometers, a population of at least five hundred thousand persons, an average estimated annual income, as certified by the Ministry of Finance, of not less than ten million pesos for the last three consecutive years, and its creation shall not reduce the population and income of the mother province or provinces at the time of said creation to less than the minimum requirements under this section. The territory need not be contiguous if it comprises two or more islands.
The average estimated annual income shall include the income allotted for both the general and infrastructure funds, exclusive of trust funds, transfers and nonrecurring income.17
The last sentence of the first paragraph of Section 197 is most revealing. As so stated therein the "territory need not be contiguous if it comprises two or more islands." The use of the word territory in this particular provision of the Local Government Code and in the very last sentence thereof, clearly, reflects that "territory" as therein used, has reference only to the mass of land area and excludes the waters over which the political unit exercises control.
Said sentence states that the "territory need not be contiguous." Contiguous means (a) in physical contact; (b) touching along all or most of one side; (c) near, [n]ext, or adjacent (Webster's New World Dictionary, 1972 Ed., p. 307). "Contiguous," when employed as an adjective, as in the above sentence, is only used when it describes physical contact, or a touching of sides of two solid masses of matter. The meaning of particular terms in a statute may be ascertained by reference to words associated with or related to them in the statute (Animal Rescue League vs. Assessors, 138 A.L.R., p. 110). Therefore, in the context of the sentence above, what need not be "contiguous" is the "territory" -- the physical mass of land area. There would arise no need for the legislators to use the word contiguous if they had intended that the term "territory" embrace not only land area but also territorial waters. It can be safely concluded that the word territory in the first paragraph of Section 197 is meant to be synonymous with "land area" only. The words and phrases used in a statute should be given the meaning intended by the legislature (82 C.J.S., p. 636). The sense in which the words are used furnished the rule of construction (In re Winton Lumber Co., 63 p. 2d., p. 664).19
ART. 9. Provinces.--(a) Requisites for creation--A province shall not be created unless the following requisites on income and either population or land area are present:(1) Income -- An average annual income of not less than Twenty Million Pesos (P20,000,000.00) for the immediately preceding two (2) consecutive years based on 1991 constant prices, as certified by DOF. The average annual income shall include the income accruing to the general fund, exclusive of special funds, special accounts, transfers, and nonrecurring income; and
(2) Population or land area - Population which shall not be less than two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) inhabitants, as certified by National Statistics Office; or land area which must be contiguous with an area of at least two thousand (2,000) square kilometers, as certified by LMB. The territory need not be contiguous if it comprises two (2) or more islands or is separated by a chartered city or cities which do not contribute to the income of the province. The land area requirement shall not apply where the proposed province is composed of one (1) or more islands. The territorial jurisdiction of a province sought to be created shall be properly identified by metes and bounds.
Where a rule or regulation has a provision not expressly stated or contained in the statute being implemented, that provision does not necessarily contradict the statute. A legislative rule is in the nature of subordinate legislation, designed to implement a primary legislation by providing the details thereof. All that is required is that the regulation should be germane to the objects and purposes of the law; that the regulation be not in contradiction to but in conformity with the standards prescribed by the law.
In Section 5 of R.A. No. 9207, the Committee is granted the power to administer, formulate guidelines and policies, and implement the disposition of the areas covered by the law. Implicit in this authority and the statute's objective of urban poor housing is the power of the Committee to formulate the manner by which the reserved property may be allocated to the beneficiaries. Under this broad power, the Committee is mandated to fill in the details such as the qualifications of beneficiaries, the selling price of the lots, the terms and conditions governing the sale and other key particulars necessary to implement the objective of the law. These details are purposely omitted from the statute and their determination is left to the discretion of the Committee because the latter possesses special knowledge and technical expertise over these matters.
The Committee's authority to fix the selling price of the lots may be likened to the rate-fixing power of administrative agencies. In case of a delegation of rate-fixing power, the only standard which the legislature is required to prescribe for the guidance of the administrative authority is that the rate be reasonable and just. However, it has been held that even in the absence of an express requirement as to reasonableness, this standard may be implied. In this regard, petitioners do not even claim that the selling price of the lots is unreasonable.
The provision on the price escalation clause as a penalty imposed to a beneficiary who fails to execute a contract to sell within the prescribed period is also within the Committee's authority to formulate guidelines and policies to implement R.A. No. 9207. The Committee has the power to lay down the terms and conditions governing the disposition of said lots, provided that these are reasonable and just. There is nothing objectionable about prescribing a period within which the parties must execute the contract to sell. This condition can ordinarily be found in a contract to sell and is not contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order, or public policy.25
THE CHAIRMAN (Hon. Alfredo S. Lim): . . . There is no problem with the land area requirement and to the income requirement. The problem is with the population requirement.
x x x x
Now because of this question, we would like to make it of record the stand and reply of National Statistics Office. Can we hear now from Ms. Solita Vergara?
MS. VERGARA. We only certify population based on the counts proclaimed by the President. And in this case, we only certify the population based on the results of the 2000 census of population and housing.
THE CHAIRMAN. Is that...
MS. VERGARA. Sir, as per Batas Pambansa, BP 72, we only follow kung ano po 'yong mandated by the law. So, as mandated by the law, we only certify those counts proclaimed official by the President.
THE CHAIRMAN. But the government of Surigao del Norte is headed by Governor Robert Lyndon Ace Barbers and they conducted this census in year 2003 and yours was conducted in year 2000. So, within that time frame, three years, there could be an increase in population or transfer of residents, is that possible?
MS. VERGARA. Yes, sir, but then we only conduct census of population every 10 years and we conduct special census every five years. So, in this case, maybe by next year, we will be conducting the 2006.
THE CHAIRMAN. But next year will be quite a long time, the matter is now being discussed on the table. So, is that the only thing you could say that it's not authorized by National Statistics Office?
MS. VERGARA. Yes, sir. We have passed a resolution--orders to the provincial offices--to our provincial offices stating that we can provide assistance in the conduct, but then we cannot certify the result of the conduct as official.
THE CHAIRMAN. May we hear from the Honorable Governor Robert Lyndon Ace Barbers, your reply on the statement of the representative from National Statistics Office.
MR. BARBERS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, good morning.
Yes, your Honor, we have conducted a special census in the year 2003. We were accompanied by one of the employees from the Provincial National Statistics Office. However, we also admit the fact that our special census or the special census we conducted in 2003 was not validated or certified by the National Statistics Office, as provided by law. So, we admit on our part that the certification that I have issued based on the submission of records of each locality or each municipality from Dinagat Island[s] were true and correct based on our level, not on National Statistics Office level.
But with that particular objection of Executive Director Ericta on what we have conducted, I believe, your Honor, it will be, however, moot and academic in terms of the provision under the Local Government Code on the requirements in making one area a province because what we need is a minimum of 20 million, as stated by the Honorable Chairman and, of course, the land area. Now, in terms of the land area, Dinagat Island[s] is exempted because xxx the area is composed of more than one island. In fact, there are about 47 low tide and high tide, less than 40? xxxx
THE CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Governor. xxxx
x x x x
THE CHAIRMAN. Although the claim of the governor is, even if we hold in abeyance this questioned requirement, the other two requirements, as mandated by law, is already achieved - the income and the land area.
MS. VERGARA. We do not question po the results of any locally conducted census, kasi po talagang we provide assistance while they're conducting their own census. But then, ang requirement po kasi is, basta we will not certify--we will not certify any population count as a result noong kanilang locally conducted census. Eh, sa Local Government Code po, we all know na ang xxx nire-require nila is a certification provided by National Statistics Office. 'Yon po 'yong requirement, di ba po?
THE CHAIRMAN. Oo. But a certification, even though not issued, cannot go against actual reality because that's just a bureaucratic requirement. Ang ibig kong sabihin, ipagpalagay, a couple - isang lalaki, isang babae -nagmamahalan sila. As an offshoot of this undying love, nagkaroon ng mga anak, hindi ba, pero hindi kasal, it's a live-in situation. Ang tanong ko lang, whether eventually, they got married or not, that love remains. And we cannot deny also the existence of the offspring out of that love, di ba? Kaya...'yon lang. Okay. So, we just skip on this....
MS. VERGARA. Your Honor.
REP. ECLEO (GLENDA). Mr. Chairman.
THE CHAIRMAN. Please, Ms. Vergara.
MS. VERGARA. 'Yong sinasabi n'yo po, sir, bale we computed the estimated population po ng Dinagat Province for the next years. So, based on our computation, mari-reach po ng Dinagat Province'yong requirement na 250,000 population by the year 2065 pa po based on the growth rates during the period of ....
THE CHAIRMAN. 2065?
MS. VERGARA. 2065 po.
xxxx
THE CHAIRMAN. . . . [T]his is not the center of our argument since, as stated by the governor, kahit ha huwag na munang i-consider itong population requirement, eh, nakalagpas naman sila doon sa income and land area, hindi ba?
Okay. Let's give the floor to Congresswoman Ecleo.
REP. ECLEO (GLENDA). Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
This is in connection with the special census. Before this was done, I went to the NSO. I talked to Administrator Ericta on the population. Then, I was told that the population, official population of Dinagat is 106,000. So, I told them that I want a special census to be conducted because there are so many houses that were not reached by the government enumerators, and I want to have my own or our own special census with the help of the provincial government. So, that is how it was conducted. Then, they told me that the official population of the proposed province will be on 2010. But at this moment, that is the official population of 106,000, even if our special census, we came up with 371,000 plus.
So, that is it.
THE CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Congresswoman.
Your insights will be reflected in my reply to Senate President Drilon, so that he can also answer the letter of Bishop Cabahug.
MS. VERGARA. Mr. Chairman, may clarifications lang din po ako.
THE CHAIRMAN. Please.
MS. VERGARA. 'Yon po sa sinasabi naming estimated population, we only based the computation doon sa growth rate lang po talaga, excluding the migration. xxxx
MR. CHAIRMAN. No'ng mga residents.
MS. VERGARA. Yes, sir, natural growth lang po talaga siya.36
Whether the creation of the Province of Dinagat Islands
is an act of gerrymandering
Endnotes:
1 On November 14, 2006, petitioners Rodolfo Navarro, Victor F. Bernal, Rohito C. Madelo, Clemente G. Sandigan, Jr., Jerry R. Centro, Jose V. Begil, Jr., Rene O. Medina and Jamar D. Gavino filed before this Court a Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition with Prayer for Temporary Restraining Order against Secretary Eduardo Ermita, the Senate of the Philippines, the House of Representatives, the COMELEC and the Provincial Government and Provincial Treasurer of Surigao del Norte. Petitioners sought for the declaration of R.A. No. 9355 as unconstitutional and invalid, and prayed that the COMELEC be enjoined from conducting a plebiscite pending resolution on the constitutionality of R.A. No. 9355. The petition, docketed as G.R. No. 175158, was dismissed on technical grounds.
2 Annex "B-1," rollo, p. 89.
3 Annexes "B," "B-1" to "B-2," id. at 88-90.
4 Annex "C," id. at 91.
5 Annex "E," id. at 124.
6 Id.
7 Memorandum of respondent Governor Robert Ace S. Barbers, rollo, p. 676.
8 Memorandum of Petitioners, id. at 462-463.
9 G.R. No. 132527, July 29, 2005, 465 SCRA 47.
10 Id.
11 Province of Batangas v. Romulo, G.R. No. 152774, May 27, 2004, 429 SCRA 736.
12 Id.
13 Italics supplied.
14 Emphasis supplied.
15 Emphasis supplied.
16 No. L-73155, July 11. 1986, 142 SCRA 727.
17 Emphasis supplied.
18 Tan v. Commission on Elections, supra note 16 at 749.
19 Id. at 749-750. (Emphasis supplied.)
20 The IRR was formulated by the Oversight Committee pursuant to Sec. 533 of the Local Government Code:
SEC. 533. Formulation of Implementing Rules and Regulations. - (a) Within one (1) month after the approval of this Code, the President shall convene the Oversight Committee as herein provided for. The said Committee shall formulate and issue the appropriate rules and regulations necessary for the efficient and effective implementation of any and all provisions of this Code, thereby ensuring compliance with the principles of local autonomy as defined under the Constitution.
(b) The Committee shall be composed of the following:
(1) The Executive Secretary, who shall be the Chairman;
(2) Three (3) members of the Senate to be appointed by the President of the Senate, to include the Chairman of the Committee on Local Government;
(3) Three (3) members of the House of Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker, to include the Chair-man of the Committee on Local Government;
(4) The Cabinet, represented by the following:
(i) Secretary of the Interior and Local Government;
(ii) Secretary of Finance;
(iii) Secretary of Budget and Management; and
(5) One (1) representative from each of the following:
(i) The League of Provinces;
(ii) The League of Cities;
(iii) The League of Municipalities; and
(iv) The Liga ng mga Barangay.
21 League of Cities of the Philippines v. Commission on Elections, G.R. Nos. 176951, 177499, 178056, November 18, 2008, 571 SCRA 263.
22 Hijo Plantation, Inc. v. Central Bank, G.R. No. L-34526, August 9, 1988, 164 SCRA 192.
23 Local Government Code, Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - (a) It is hereby declared the policy of the State that the territorial and political subdivisions of the State shall enjoy genuine and meaningful local autonomy to enable them to attain their fullest development as self-reliant communities and make them more effective partners in the attainment of national goals. Toward this end, the State shall provide for a more responsive and accountable local government structure instituted through a system of decentralization whereby local government units shall be given more powers, authority, responsibilities, and resources. The process of decentralization shall proceed from the National Government to the local government units.
(b) It is also the policy of the State to ensure the accountability of local government units through the institution of effective mechanisms of recall, initiative and referendum.
(c) It is likewise the policy of the State to require all national agencies and offices to conduct periodic consultations with appropriate local government units, nongovernmental and people's organizations, and other concerned sectors of the community before any project or program is implemented in their respective jurisdictions.
24 G.R. No. 163980, August 2, 2006, 497 SCRA 581.
25 Id. at 599-601.
26 G.R. No. 109455, November 11, 1993, 227 SCRA 728.
27 SEC. 494. Ex Officio Membership in Sanggunians. -- The duly-elected presidents of the liga [ng mga barangay] at the municipal, city and provincial levels, including the component cities and municipalities of Metropolitan Manila, shall serve as ex-officio members of the sangguniang bayan, sangguniang panglungsod, and sangguniang panlalawigan, respectively. They shall serve as such only during their term of office as presidents of the liga chapters, which in no case shall be beyond the term of office of the sanggunian concerned.
28 SEC. 491. Purpose of Organization. --There shall be an organization of all barangays, to be known as the Liga ng mga Barangay, for the primary purpose of determining the representation of the liga in the sanggunians and for ventilating, articulating and crystallizing issues affecting barangay governmental administration and securing, through proper and legal means, solutions thereto.
29 ART. 210. Liga ng mga barangay. -
x x x x
(d) Ex Officio Membership in the Sanggunian -
(3)The incumbent presidents of the municipal, city, and provincial chapters of the liga shall continue to serve as ex officio members of the sanggunian concerned until the expiration of their term of office, unless sooner revoked for cause.
x x x x
(f) Organizational Structure -
(1) x x x Pending election of the presidents of the municipal, city, provincial, and metropolitan chapters of the liga, the incumbent presidents of the association of barangay councils in the municipality, city, province, and Metropolitan Manila shall continue to act as presidents of the corresponding liga chapters under this Rule.
30 League of Cities of the Philippines v. Commission on Elections, supra note 17.
31 Id.
32 Id.
33 Rollo, p. 93. (Emphasis supplied.)
34 SEC. 7. Creation and conversion. - As a general rule, the creation of a local government unit or its conversion from one level to another shall be based on verifiable indicators of viability and projected capacity to provide services, to wit:
(a) Income. - It must be sufficient, based on acceptable standards, to provide for all essential government facilities and services and special functions commensurate with the size of its population, as expected of the local government unit concerned;
(b) Population. - It shall be determined as the total number of inhabitants within the territorial jurisdiction of the local government unit concerned; and
(c) Land area. - It must be contiguous, unless it comprises two (2) or more islands or is separated by a local government unit independent of the others; properly identified by metes and bounds with technical descriptions and sufficient to provide for such basic services and facilities to meet the requirements of its populace.
Compliance with the foregoing indicators shall be attested to by the Department of Finance (DOF), the National Statistics Office (NSO), and the Lands Management Bureau (LMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
SEC. 461. 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 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 less than the minimum requirements prescribed herein. (Emphasis supplied.)
35 Sec. 461, supra.
36 Annex "A," rollo, pp. 51-61.
37 Annex "AA," id. at 498. (Emphasis supplied.)
38 Emphasis supplied.
39 See League of Cities of the Philippines v. Commission on Elections, supra note 17.
40 Id.
41 Ceniza v. Commission on Elections, L-52304, January 28, 1980, 95 SCRA 775.
42 Bernas, The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines: A Commentary, 625 (2006).
43 Id.
44 Cayetano, v. Commission on Elections, G.R. No. 166388, January 23, 2006, 479 SCRA 513.
NACHURA, J.:
The ponencia of Justice Peralta seeks to strike down an act of both the legislative and the executive branches--the law creating the province of Dinagat Islands. I register my dissent to the ponencia for I find this judicial interference unnecessary and, in fact, unwarranted in law. Petitioners have not presented a genuine constitutional issue requiring this Court's intervention. In petitioners' earlier and similarly-worded petition--G. R. No. 175158¾the Court found no compelling reason to brush aside technicalities of procedure and resolve the merits of the case. Just like G.R. No. 175158, the present petition deserves the same dismissive treatment from the Court.
I begin with a brief restatement of the pertinent antecedent events.
On October 2, 2006, the President of the Republic approved Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9355,1 the law creating the province of Dinagat Islands. On December 3 of the same year, the Commission on Elections conducted the plebiscite for the ratification of the said creation. This yielded 69,943 affirmative votes and 63,502 negative votes.2 Having gotten the nod of the people, the President appointed the interim set of provincial officials who consequently took their oath of office on January 26, 2007. Thereafter, in the May 14, 2007 National and Local Elections, the Dinagatnons elected their new set of provincial officials who assumed office on July 1, 2007.3
Not amenable to the advancement of their locality, petitioners, former politicians in the mother province of Surigao del Norte, filed before this Court, on November 10, 2006, G.R. No. 175158, a petition for certiorari and prohibition assailing the constitutionality of the creation of the province.4 As aforementioned, the Court dismissed the petition on technical grounds--defect in the verification and certification of non-forum shopping and failure by the petitioners' counsel to indicate an updated Integrated Bar of the Philippines official receipt. On motion for reconsideration, the Court rejected petitioners' entreaty for liberality in the application of procedural rules.5
Unperturbed, petitioners filed their new petition, the instant case, contending in the main that R.A. No. 9355 is unconstitutional. They posit that the creation of Dinagat Islands did not meet either the land area or the population requirement for the creation of a province. At the time of the passage of the law, the land area of the locality was only 802.12 square kilometers, and its population, only 106,951.6 It is petitioners' submission that the enactment of R.A. No. 9355 violates Section 461 of R.A. No. 7160 or the Local Government Code (LGC) of 1991,7 and Section 10, Article X of the Constitution.
I find no merit in petitioners' contention.
Article X, Section 10 of the Constitution provides that--
Section. 10. No province, city, municipality, or barangay may be created, divided, merged, abolished, or its boundary substantially altered, except in accordance with the criteria established in the local government code and subject to approval by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite in the political units directly affected.
Section 461. 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 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 less than the minimum requirements prescribed herein.
(b) The territory need not be contiguous if it comprises 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, exclusive of special funds, trust funds, transfers, and non-recurring income.
Art. 9. Provinces.--(a) Requisites for creation--A province shall not be created unless the following requisites on income and either population or land area are present:
x x x x
(2) Population or land area--Population which shall not be less than two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) inhabitants, as certified by NSO; or land area which must be contiguous with an area of at least two thousand (2,000) square kilometers, as certified by LMB. The territory need not be contiguous if it comprises two (2) or more islands or is separated by a chartered city or cities which do not contribute to the income of the province. The land area requirement shall not apply where the proposed province is composed of one (1) or more islands. The territorial jurisdiction of a province sought to be created shall be properly identified by metes and bounds.
The creation of a new province shall not reduce the land area, population, and income of the original LGU or LGUs at the time of said creation to less than the prescribed minimum requirements. All expenses incidental to the creation shall be borne by the petitioners.11
Section 461. 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 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 less than the minimum requirements prescribed herein.
(b) The territory need not be contiguous if it comprises 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, exclusive of special funds, trust funds, transfers, and non-recurring income.12
(i) a contiguous territory of at least two thousand (2,000) square kilometers, as certified by the Lands Management Bureau[.]13
HON. ALFELOR: Income is mandatory. We can even have this doubled because we thought...
CHAIRMAN CUENCO: In other words, the primordial consideration here is the economic viability of the new local government unit, the new province?
x x x x
HON. LAGUADA: The reason why we are willing to increase the income, double than the House version, because we also believe that economic viability is really a minimum. Land area and population are functions really of the viability of the area, because where you have an income level which would be the trigger point for economic development, population will naturally increase because there will be an immigration. However, if you disallow the particular area from being converted into a province because of population problems in the beginning, it will never be able to reach the point where it could become a province simply because it will never have the economic take off for it to trigger off that economic development.
Now, we're saying that maybe Fourteen Million Pesos is a floor area where it could pay for overhead and provide a minimum of basic services to the population. Over and above that, the provincial officials should be able to trigger off economic development which will attract immigration, which will attract new investments from the private sector. This is now the concern of the local officials. But if we are going to tie the hands of the proponents, simply by telling them, "Sorry, you are now at 150 thousand or 200 thousand," you will never be able to become a province because nobody wants to go to your place. Why? Because you never have any reason for economic viability.
x x x x
CHAIRMAN PIMENTEL: Okay, what about land area?
HON. LUMAUIG: 1,500 square kilometers
HON. ANGARA: Walang problema 'yon, in fact that's not very critical, 'yong land area because...
CHAIRMAN PIMENTEL: Okay, ya, our, the Senate version is 3.5, 3,500 square meters, ah, square kilometers.
HON. LAGUADA: Ne, Ne. A province is constituted for the purpose of administrative efficiency and delivery of basic services.
CHAIRMAN PIMENTEL: Right.
HON. LAGUADA: Actually, when you come down to it, when government was instituted, there is only one central government and then everybody falls under that. But it was later on subdivided into provinces for purposes of administrative efficiency.
CHAIRMAN PIMENTEL: Okay.
HON. LAGUADA: Now, what we're seeing now is that the administrative efficiency is no longer there precisely because the land areas that we are giving to our governors is so wide that no one man can possibly administer all of the complex machineries that are needed.
Secondly, when you say "delivery of basic services," as pointed out by Cong. Alfelor, there are sections of the province which have never been visited by public officials, precisely because they don't have the time nor the energy anymore to do that because it's so wide. Now, by compressing the land area and by reducing the population requirement, we are, in effect, trying to follow the basic policy of why we are creating provinces, which is to deliver basic services and to make it more efficient in administration.
CHAIRMAN PIMENTEL: Yeah, that's correct, but on the assumption that the province is able to do it without being a burden to the national government. That's the assumption.
HON. LAGUADA: That's why we're going into the minimum income level. As we said, if we go on a minimum income level, then we say, "this is the trigger point at which this administration can take place."18
Verily, economic viability is the primordial consideration in the constitution of provinces, not population or territory. As to a province composed of a group of islands separated by stretches of water, like the one in this case, the proposition must apply with greater force. A contrary position would prove to be growth-retardant to an economically viable group of islands which have not yet politically separated from the larger mass of land where the provincial capital sits. In a practical sense, it would also be too cumbersome for the inhabitants to travel great lengths and over unpredictable waters just to reach the capital, do their business and avail of basic government services and facilities that ordinarily do not reach beyond the immediate outskirts of the capital. Thus, Section 461, as discussed above, exempts a proposed province composed of several islands from complying with both the contiguity and land area components of the territorial requirement for its creation. It is this interpretation that, logically, impelled both the executive and legislative departments to enact R.A. No. 9355, the law creating the province of Dinagat Islands. We must accord persuasive effect to this contemporaneous interpretation by the two equal branches of government, and abide by the clear intent of the framers of the law.
Cawaling, Jr. v. Commission on Elections19 fittingly instructs that every statute enjoys the presumption of constitutionality, owing to the doctrine of separation of powers which imposes upon the three coordinate departments of the Government a becoming courtesy for each other's acts. Every law, being the joint act of the Legislature and the Executive, has passed careful scrutiny to ensure that it is in accord with the fundamental law. Of course, the Court may, nevertheless, declare a law, or portions thereof, unconstitutional, where a petitioner has shown that there is a clear and unequivocal breach of the Constitution, not merely a doubtful or argumentative one. Here, as revealed in the above discussion, petitioners have not shown that Dinagat Islands does not meet the criteria laid down in Section 461 of the LGC for the creation of a province; thus, they cannot assert that R.A. No. 9355 clearly and unequivocally breaches Article X, Section 10 of the Constitution. Absent a genuine constitutional issue, the petition fails in substance. The petition also breaches procedural standards because when the inquiry is focused on the legal existence of a body politic, the action is reserved to the State in a proceeding for quo warranto,20 not through a petition for certiorari.
In light of the above disquisition, I vote for the dismissal of the petition.
1 Passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on August 28, 2006 and August 14, 2006, respectively.
2 Rollo, pp. 124-127.
3 Id. at 143.
4 Rollo (G.R. No. 175158), pp. 3-20.
5 In its November 28, 2006 Resolution in G.R. No. 175158, the Court dismissed the petition for certiorari as the verification and certification of non-forum shopping were defective or insufficient and the IBP Official Receipt of the counsel for petitioners was dated December 19, 2005. The Court later dismissed the petition with finality in its February 13, 2007 Resolution. The Court further issued the Entry of Judgment on April 11, 2007. (Id. at 77A and 112.)
6 Rollo, p. 25.
7 Became effective on January 1, 1992.
8 Rollo, p. 207.
9 Id. at 209.
10 Id. at 498.
11 Emphasis and underscoring supplied.
12 Underscoring supplied.
13 Emphasis supplied.
14 Board of Supervisors of Houghton County v. Blacker, 92 Mich. 638, 646; 52 N.W. 951, 953 (1892); Vestal v. City of Little Rock, 15 S.W. 891, 892 (1891).
15 United States v. Hunter, 80 F.2d 968, 970 (1936). This case clarifies that when the intervening water is the high seas over which neither of the lands has exclusive jurisdiction, they are not contiguous territories though no dry land intervenes.
16 No. L-73155, July 11, 1986, 142 SCRA 727, 749-750.
17 Section 2 of the LGC provides:
Section 2. Declaration of Policy.--(a) It is hereby declared the policy of the State that the territorial and political subdivisions of the State shall enjoy genuine and meaningful local autonomy to enable them to attain their fullest development as self-reliant communities and make them more effective partners in the attainment of national goals. Toward this end, the State shall provide for a more responsive and accountable local government structure instituted through a system of decentralization whereby local government units shall be given more powers, authority, responsibilities, and resources. The process of decentralization shall proceed from the National Government to the local government units.
(b) It is also the policy of the State to ensure the accountability of local government units through the institution of effective mechanisms of recall, initiative and referendum.
(c) It is likewise the policy of the State to require all national agencies and offices to conduct periodic consultations with appropriate local government units, nongovernmental and people's organizations, and other concerned sectors of the community before any project or program is implemented in their respective jurisdictions.
18 Bicameral Conference Committee Meeting of the Committee on Local Government, May 22, 1991, 4th Regular Session, pp. 57-67.
19 420 Phil. 524, 530-531 (2001).
20 Herrera, Remedial Law, Vol. III (1999 ed.), pp. 295-296.