Tinga wants Taguig ordinance invalidated

MANILA, Philippines — Retired Supreme Court Justice Dante Tinga is set to challenge before the Supreme Court (SC) an ordinance passed by Taguig increasing the number of city councilors from eight to 12 per district.

The ordinance violates the Constitution and the law that created the city’s charter, Tinga said.

Tinga, a former congressman of Taguig, said he would petition the SC to strike down City Ordinance No. 144 and a resolution approved by the Commission on Elections.

He argued that neither the city council nor the Comelec has the authority to increase the number of council seats in the legislative district of Taguig-Pateros.

“The city ordinance and the Comelec resolution are unconstitutional because neither body has the power to legislate the matter,” Tinga pointed out. “Only Congress has the power to legislate such act.”

Tinga’s move comes after Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Miguel Zubiri nearly came to blows over a Senate resolution, which supported the increase in the number of councilors per district.

On Sept. 16, Taguig’s Sangguniang Panlungsod passed Ordinance No. 144, transferring the 10 enlisted men’s barrio or “embo” barangays from Makati to Taguig and Pateros and increasing the number of councilors per district.

While Tinga supports the transfer of the embo barangays, he maintained that increasing the number of councilors requires an amendment to the city’s charter, a power vested solely on Congress.