Municipal officials celebrate SC's reversal of cityhood ruling

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines  — Local officials led by the mayors of the three towns seeking cityhood are happy and now celebrating the Supreme Court ruling that allowed 16 municipalities to become cities.

The mayors of Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte; Bayugan, Agusan del Sur; and Tandag, Surigao del Sur said the residents are excited that their towns would now be converted into cities.

Cabadbaran Mayor Dale Corvera said his constituents are happy that the SC reversed its ruling and finally allowed the 16 municipalities to become cities and have the opportunity to develop like other members of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP).

“We pray that this time, the Supreme Court decision will be final and executory because there should be an end to all these legal squabbling and not sow confusion among us, the 16 LGUs (local government units),” Corvera said.

Corvera said that with the recent SC ruling many development projects initiated by the Cabadbaran municipal government would continue after the town’s programs were deferred because of the Aug. 24, 2010 decision of the Supreme Court that ruled the conversion of the 16 towns into cities was unconstitutional.

Cabadbaran is the capital town of Agusan del Norte province and one of the oldest municipalities of the province.

Bayugan Mayor Kim Lope Asis said all his constituents were elated by the recent SC decision that reversed the Court’s ruling last August.

Asis claimed that because of that ruling their budget had been reduced significantly forcing other projects to stop.

Tandag Mayor Alexander Pimentel said the residents were relieved over the Supreme Court decision that finally favored their long overdue dream of becoming a city.

Pimentel said because of the recent SC ruling more new development projects would be implemented. 

“There must be an end to these legal contests, the Supreme Court must finally have a say if not it will cause confusion to us all which is not good,” Pimentel said.

Tandag is the capital town of Surigao del Sur where most national government agencies have set up office.

The other new cities approved by the SC include Batac (Ilocos Norte), Baybay (Leyte), Bogo (Cebu), Catbalogan (Samar), Borongan (Eastern Samar), Tayabas (Quezon province), Lamitan (Basilan), Tabuk (Kalinga), Mati (Davao Oriental), Guihulngan (Negros Oriental), Carcar (Cebu), El Salvador (Misamis Oriental), and Naga (Cebu).

The SC has reversed itself for the third time on the constitutionality of laws passed by the 11th Congress that paved the way for the conversion into cities of 16 municipalities.

The Court reverted back to its second ruling issued in December 2009, which declared the cityhood laws constitutional and reversed a supposed final ruling in November 2008.

In its fourth ruling so far on the case, the SC said that Republic Acts 9389, 9390, 9391, 9392, 9393, 9394, 9398, 9404, 9405, 9407, 9408, 9409, 9434, 9435, 9436, and 9491 (cityhood laws) did not violate Article X Section 10, and the equal protection clause under Article III Section 1 of the Constitution.

The constitutional provision states 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.”

It granted the motion filed by respondent municipalities seeking reconsideration of the Court’s resolution issued in August last year.

Meantime, the chairman of the House committee on good government criticized the SC yesterday for flip-flopping on the conversion of 16 towns into cities. “Why this flip-flopping? This could be a dangerous precedent,” Iloilo City Rep. Jerry Trenas, former president of the LCP said. – With Jess Diaz, Edu Punay