SC issues TRO vs Quezon plebiscite

The Supreme Court (SC) has issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from proclaiming the results of any plebiscite that may be held on the proposed division of Quezon into two separate provinces under Republic Act 9495, which creates Quezon del Sur.

In a two-page resolution, the SC said the TRO will remain in effect “until further orders.”

The Comelec had scheduled the plebiscite on Dec. 13.

Last Nov. 17, the Save Quezon Province Movement led by Frumencio Pulgar, a former Quezon provincial board member, and Hobart Dator, a businessman, filed a petition for certiorari before the SC questioning the constitutionality of RA 9495.

The petitioners asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order and prevent the holding of the plebiscite, which would ratify the creation of the Quezon del Sur and rename the “mother province” of Quezon as Quezon del Norte.

In their 40-page petition, Pulgar and Dator asked the SC to stop the plebiscite, arguing that RA 9495, which Congress passed in September last year, was unconstitutional.

“RA 9495 is constitutionally infirm because of its failure to comply with the provisions of the implementing rules and regulations of RA 7160 (Local Government Code),” the petition said.

RA 9425 mandates the division of the province into Quezon del Norte and Quezon del Sur.

Quezon del Norte would be composed of 17 towns and the cities of Lucena and Tayabas from the first and second districts, while Quezon del Sur would include 22 towns from the third and fourth districts.

Named as respondents in the petition were Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, the budget secretary, and the Comelec.

The petitioners argued that RA 9495 is also constitutionally infirm as no sufficient standard was laid down for the powers that the interim appointees may exercise.

The SC ordered the respondents to file their comments on the alleged unconstitutionality of RA 9495 within 10 days upon notice of the order.