SC finally rules - Tabuk and 15 others are really cities

By Estanislao Albano, Jr.

TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The David and Goliath match-up is over and it ended like the Biblical showdown of yore.
Voting 7-6, the Supreme Court (SC) dismissed with finality during its session in Baguio City last Tuesday the motion for reconsideration (MR) of the 122-strong League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) of the court’s February 15, 2011 ruling which upheld the constitutionality of the laws converting 16 muncipalities into the so-called 16 new cities.
In junking the MR, the court demolished the contention of the league that the 16 new cities are unqualified because their local incomes are way below the P100,000,000.00 local income required by RA 9009 for towns to become cities.
The court pointed out that Congress clearly intended the 16 erstwhile towns to be exempted from the P100,000,000.00 local income requirement set by RA 9009 which took effect on June 30, 2001 when the cityhood bills were already pending in Congress.
The decision which was penned by Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin also debunked the argument of the LCP that it is not hard to comply with RA 9009 citing as proof the recent conversion of some towns after having hurdled the income requirement by pointing out that almost half of the 122 members of the league have local incomes below P100,000,000.00.
The court also called the new income requirement arbitrary as it was not supported by research and empirical data and did not take into account the effects of its imposition.
“While the Constitution mandates that the creation of local government units must comply with the criteria laid down in the LGC (Local Government Code), it cannot be justified to insist that the Constitution must have to yield to every amendment to the LGC despite such amendment imminently producing effects contrary to the original thrusts of the LGC to promote autonomy, decentralization, countryside development, and the concomitant national growth,” the court said.
The LCP has been insisting that the cityhood laws violated Article X Section 10 of the Constitution which provides that “no province, city, municipality or barangay shall 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.”
Meantime, the two top officials of this city who have been grappling with the problems resulting from the drastic reduction of the city’s internal revenue allotment (IRA) since they assumed office June 30 of last year lauded the last ruling of the SC.
The P31M monthly IRA of the city which it started receiving in January 2008 was reduced to P11M in June 2009 after the SC issued an entry of judgment on its April 28, 2009 ruling denying the second MR of the 16 new cities of the October Nov. 18, 2008 decision declaring unconstitutional the 16 cityhood laws for violation of Section 6 and 10, Article X of the Constitution.
The sharp reduction of the IRA derailed the development projects as well as affected seriously the delivery of the newly improved services of the city to the detriment of constituents and until now, city officials still have their hands full trying to make both ends meet.
Vice Mayor Darwin Estranero who is new in politics was elated that with the ruling, Tabuk will soon enjoy all the privileges of a city one of which is the increased IRA.
“We are happy because the services we promised during the elections would be realized considering that if indeed the decision is final, our city IRA would soon come. We have been waiting for this because it is our only hope all plans for the city will be realized,” Estranero said.
“For one, we could allocate more funds to peace and order programs which hopefully, would improve our peace and order situation. The peace and order situation remains as one of the number one deterrent to the coming of more investors into the city. More investors would spell speedier economic growth for the city,” Estranero added.
Mayor Ferdinand Tubban who is also new to an elective position thanks God for the victory of the 16 new cities in the SC.
“We thank God that the Supreme Court has declared with finality that Tabuk is a city. There was a time when our quest for cityhood looked hopeless but that did not discourage us. Instead, we were challenged to entrust the matter to God because He is the source of all good,” Tubban said.
Tubban is in the midst of retrenching casual, contractual and job order employees of the LGU because for this year, the amount available for their wages is only P9.5M when the amount necessary to maintain the 416-strong non-regular workforce for the whole year is P19.8M.
Despite the reduction in the IRA, the LGU was able to maintain the services of the non-regular employees through belt-tightening measures, sacrifice of some projects and services and by using the allocations for the unfilled positions in the plantilla.
This year, however, this is no longer possible as the unfilled positions have already been abolished.
Tubban also recognized the people who contributed to the attainment of cityhood including former mayor Basilio Wandag during whose term the drive was set into motion and former congressman Laurence Wacnang who filed the bill in Congress.
“We also thank the many residents of the city who even when the situation seemed hopeless still helped us pray that finally, the Supreme Court will decide in our favor,” Tubban said.
Unlike in the original David and Goliath confrontation which was quickly resolved, however, the struggle between the 16 new cities and the LCP was long drawn and with each side experiencing changes in fortunes a couple of times.
The LCP took the first round when on November 18,2008 the SC declared the laws converting 16 municipalities into cities unconstitutional.
Undaunted by the setback, the 16 new cities fought on and on Dec. 21, 2009, they won a reversal.
But on August 24, 2010, the SC reversed itself anew. This, too, did not take out the fight from the 16 new cities who filed an MR which was granted on February 15, 2011.
Reacting to the reported plan of the LCP to file a second MR, City Legal Counsel Edward Kiser said that this would be an exercise in futility because Section 5, Rule 27 of the Rules of Court disallows a second motion once a ruling becomes final.
“It is clear in the resolution that their MR has been denied with finality. Furthermore, the decision is not only for the MR but for the whole case as it sustained with finality the constitutionality of the conversion of the 16 new cities. If they file an MR, it will be considered a prohibited pleading,” Kiser opined.**