G.R. No. 133064 September 16 1999
FACTS:
1994, RA
No. 7720 effected the conversion of the municipality of Santiago,
Isabela, into an independent component city. July 4th, RA No. 7720 was approved
by the people of Santiago in a plebiscite. 1998, RA No. 8528 was enacted and it
amended RA No. 7720 that practically downgraded the City of Santiago from an
independent component city to a component city. Petitioners
assail the constitutionality of RA No. 8528 for the lack of provision to submit
the law for the approval of the people of Santiago in a proper plebiscite.
Respondents
defended the constitutionality of RA No. 8528 saying that the said act merely
reclassified the City of Santiago from an independent component city into a
component city. It allegedly did not involve any “creation, division, merger,
abolition, or substantial alteration of boundaries of local government units,”
therefore, a plebiscite of the people of Santiago is unnecessary. They also
questioned the standing of petitioners to file the petition and argued that the
petition raises a political question over which the Court lacks jurisdiction.
ISSUE: Whether or not the Court has jurisdiction over the petition at bar.
RULING:
Yes. RA No. 8528 is declared unconstitutional. That Supreme Court has the jurisdiction over said petition because it involves not a political question but a justiciable issue, and of which only the court could decide whether or not a law passed by the Congress is unconstitutional.
That when an
amendment of the law involves creation, merger, division, abolition or
substantial alteration of boundaries of local government units, a plebiscite in
the political units directly affected is mandatory.
Petitioners
are directly affected in the imple-mentation of RA No. 8528. Miranda
was the mayor of Santiago City, Afiado was the President of the Sangguniang
Liga, together with 3 other petitioners were all residents and voters in the
City of Santiago. It is their right to be heard in the conversion of their city
through a plebiscite to be conducted by the COMELEC. Thus, denial of their right
in RA No. 8528 gives them proper standing to strike down the law as
unconstitutional.
Sec. 1 of Art.
VIII of the Constitution states that: the judicial power shall be vested in one
Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be established by law. Judicial
power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies
involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine
whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or
excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instru-mentality of the
Government.
