8/12/2019 Bagabuyo vs COMELEC Digest

1/1

Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 5: Composition of the House of Representatives;

Apportionment and Representation: Following the return of every census, Congress shall make a

reapportionment)

Bagabuyo vs COMELEC

Date of Promulgation: December 8, 2008Ponente: BrionMotion: Certiorari, Prohibition and Mandamus with a prayer for issuance of TRO and writ of preliminary injunction

FactsOn October 10, 2006, Cagayan de Oros then Congressman Constantino G. Jaraula filed and sponsored House Bill No. 5859:

An Act Providing for the Apportionment of the Lone Legislative District of the City of Cagayan De Oroor RANo. 9371.It increased Cagayan de Oros legislative district from one to two. For the election of May 2007, CDOs voters

would be classified as belonging to either the first or the second district, depending on their place of residence. On March 132007, COMELEC promulgated a resolution implementing the said act. Bagabuyo filed a petition at the Supreme Court askinfor the nullification of RA 9371 and Resolution No. 7837 on constitutional grounds. Petitioner argued that COMELEC cannoimplement a law without the commencement of a plebiscite which is indispensable for the division and conversion of a localgovt. unit.

Issue:Whether or not the law, of which pertains to the legislative apportionment of a city, involve the division and conversion of a

local government unit, necessitating a plebiscite

Ruling: Petition is DISMISSED.

The Court upheld respondents arguments saying that such law only increased the representation of CDO in the House ofRepresentatives and Sangguniang Panglungsod. Creation, division, merger, abolition, and alteration of boundarieunder Art. X Sec. 10 requires the commencement of a plebiscite, while legislative apportionment or reapportionment unde

Art. VI, Sec.5 need not. There was also no change in CDOs territory, population, income and classfication.

Legislative apportionmentis defined by Blacks Law Dictionary asthe determination of the number of representativwhich a State, county or other subdivision may send to a legislative body.It is the allocation of seats in a legislative body

proportion to the population; the drawing of voting district lines so as to equalize population and voting power among tdistricts.Reapportionment, on the other hand, is the realignment or change in legislative districts brought about

changes in population and mandated by the constitutional requirement of equality of representation. RA 9371 does not hathe effect of dividing the City of Cagayan de Oro into two political and corporate units and territories. Rather than divide tcity either territorially or as a corporate entity, the effect is merely to enhance voter representation by giving each city votmore and greater say, both in Congress and in theSangguniang Panglunsod.

The City, for its part, now has twice the number of congressmen speaking for it and voting in the halls of Congress. Since ttotal number of congressmen in the country has not increased to the point of doubling its numbers, the presence of twcongressman (instead of one) from the same city cannot but be a quantitative and proportional improvement in threpresentation of Cagayan de Oro City in Congress.