Navarro v. Ermita

EN BANC
[G.R. No. 180050. February 10, 2010.]
RODOLFO G. NAVARRO, VICTOR F. BERNAL, and RENE O. MEDINA ,

petitioners, vs . EXECUTIVE SECRETARY EDUARDO ERMITA,
representing the President of the Philippines; Senate of the
Philippines, represented by the SENATE PRESIDENT; House of
Representatives, represented by the HOUSE SPEAKER; GOVERNOR
ROBERT ACE S. BARBERS, representing the mother province of
Surigao del Norte; GOVERNOR GERALDINE ECLEO VILLAROMAN,
representing the new Province of Dinagat Islands , respondents.
DECISION
PERALTA , J : p
This is a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court seeking to
nullify Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9355, otherwise known as An Act Creating the Province of
Dinagat Islands, for being unconstitutional.
Petitioners Rodolfo G. Navarro, Victor F. Bernal, and Rene O. Medina aver that
they are taxpayers and residents of the Province of Surigao del Norte. They have served
the Province of Surigao del Norte once as Vice- Governor and members of the
Provincial Board, respectively. They claim to have previously led a similar petition,
which was dismissed on technical grounds. 1 They allege that the creation of the
Dinagat Islands as a new province, if uncorrected, perpetuates an illegal act of
Congress, and unjustly deprives the people of Surigao del Norte of a large chunk of its
territory, Internal Revenue Allocation and rich resources from the area.
The facts are as follows:
The mother province of Surigao del Norte was created and established under
R.A. No. 2786 on June 19, 1960. The province is composed of three main groups of
islands: (1) the Mainland and Surigao City; (2) Siargao Island and Bucas Grande; and (3)
Dinagat Island, which is composed of seven municipalities, namely, Basilisa, Cagdianao,
Dinagat, Libjo, Loreto, San Jose, and Tubajon.
Based on the o cial 2000 Census of Population and Housing conducted by the
National Statistics O ce (NSO), 2 the population of the Province of Surigao del Norte
as of May 1, 2000 was 481,416, broken down as follows: aCSHDI
Mainland 281,111
Surigao City 118,534
Siargao Island & Bucas Grande 93,354
Dinagat Island 106,951
Under Section 461 of R.A. No. 7610, otherwise known as The Local Government
Code, a province may be created if it has an average annual income of not less than P20
million based on 1991 constant prices as certi ed by the Department of Finance, and a
population of not less than 250,000 inhabitants as certi ed by the NSO, or a contiguous
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territory of at least 2,000 square kilometers as certi ed by the Lands Management
Bureau. The territory need not be contiguous if it comprises two or more islands or is
separated by a chartered city or cities, which do not contribute to the income of the
province.
On April 3, 2002, the O ce of the President, through its Deputy Executive
Secretary for Legal Affairs, advised the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of the Province of
Surigao del Norte of the de cient population in the proposed Province of Dinagat
Islands. 3
In July 2003, the Provincial Government of Surigao del Norte conducted a special
census, with the assistance of an NSO District Census Coordinator, in the Dinagat
Islands to determine its actual population in support of the house bill creating the
Province of Dinagat Islands. The special census yielded a population count of 371,576
inhabitants in the proposed province. The NSO, however, did not certify the result of the
special census. On July 30, 2003, Surigao del Norte Provincial Governor Robert Lyndon
S. Barbers issued Proclamation No. 01, which declared as o cial, for all purposes, the
2003 Special Census in Dinagat Islands showing a population of 371,576. 4
The Bureau of Local Government Finance certi ed that the average annual
income of the proposed Province of Dinagat Islands for calendar year 2002 to 2003
based on the 1991 constant prices was P82,696,433.23. The land area of the proposed
province is 802.12 square kilometers.
On August 14, 2006 and August 28, 2006, the Senate and the House of
Representatives, respectively, passed the bill creating the Province of Dinagat Islands.
It was approved and enacted into law as R.A. No. 9355 on October 2, 2006 by President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
On December 2, 2006, a plebiscite was held in the mother Province of Surigao del
Norte to determine whether the local government units directly affected approved of
the creation of the Province of Dinagat Islands into a distinct and independent province
comprising the municipalities of Basilisa, Cagdianao, Dinagat, Libjo (Albor), Loreto, San
Jose, and Tubajon. The result of the plebiscite yielded 69,943 a rmative votes and
63,502 negative votes. 5
On December 3, 2006, the Plebiscite Provincial Board of Canvassers proclaimed
that the creation of Dinagat Islands into a separate and distinct province was rati ed
and approved by the majority of the votes cast in the plebiscite. 6
CSAcTa
On January 26, 2007, a new set of provincial o cials took their oath of o ce
following their appointment by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Another set of
provincial o cials was elected during the synchronized national and local elections
held on May 14, 2007. On July 1, 2007, the elected provincial o cials took their oath of
office; hence, the Province of Dinagat Islands began its corporate existence. 7
Petitioners contended that the creation of the Province of Dinagat Islands under
R.A. No. 9355 is not valid because it failed to comply with either the population or land
area requirement prescribed by the Local Government Code.
Petitioners prayed that R.A. No. 9355 be declared unconstitutional, and that all
subsequent appointments and elections to the new vacant positions in the newly
created Province of Dinagat Islands be declared null and void. They also prayed for the
return of the municipalities of the Province of Dinagat Islands and the return of the
former districts to the mother Province of Surigao del Norte.

Petitioners raised the following issues:
I
WHETHER OR NOT REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9355, CREATING THE NEW PROVINCE OF
DINAGAT ISLANDS, COMPLIED WITH THE CONSTITUTION AND STATUTORY
REQUIREMENTS UNDER SECTION 461 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7160, OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE OF 1991.
II
WHETHER OR NOT THE CREATION OF DINAGAT AS A NEW PROVINCE BY THE

RESPONDENTS IS AN ACT OF GERRYMANDERING.
III
WHETHER OR NOT THE RESULT OF THE PLEBISCITE IS CREDIBLE AND TRULY

REFLECTS THE MANDATE OF THE PEOPLE. 8
In her Memorandum, respondent Governor Geraldine B. Ecleo-Villaroman of the

Province of Dinagat Islands raises procedural issues. She contends that petitioners do
not have the legal standing to question the constitutionality of the creation of the
Province of Dinagat, since they have not been directly injured by its creation and are
without substantial interest over the matter in controversy. Moreover, she alleges that
the petition is moot and academic because the existence of the Province of Dinagat
Islands has already commenced; hence, the petition should be dismissed. THCSAE
The contention is without merit.

In Coconut Oil Re ners Association, Inc. v. Torres, 9 the Court held that in cases
of paramount importance where serious constitutional questions are involved, the
standing requirements may be relaxed and a suit may be allowed to prosper even
where there is no direct injury to the party claiming the right of judicial review. In the
same vein, with respect to other alleged procedural aws, even assuming the existence
of such defects, the Court, in the exercise of its discretion, brushes aside these
technicalities and takes cognizance of the petition considering its importance and in
keeping with the duty to determine whether the other branches of the government have
kept themselves within the limits of the Constitution. 1 0
Further, supervening events, whether intended or accidental, cannot prevent the
Court from rendering a decision if there is a grave violation of the Constitution. 1 1 The
courts will decide a question otherwise moot and academic if it is capable of repetition,
yet evading review. 1 2
The main issue is whether or not R.A. No. 9355 violates Section 10, Article X of
the Constitution.
Petitioners contend that the proposed Province of Dinagat Islands is not
quali ed to become a province because it failed to comply with the land area or the
population requirement, despite its compliance with the income requirement. It has a
total land area of only 802.12 square kilometers, which falls short of the statutory
requirement of at least 2,000 square kilometers. Moreover, based on the NSO 2000
Census of Population, the total population of the proposed Province of Dinagat Islands
is only 106,951, while the statutory requirement is a population of at least 250,000
inhabitants.
Petitioners allege that in enacting R.A. No. 9355 into law, the House of
Representatives and the Senate erroneously relied on paragraph 2 of Article 9 of the
Rules and Regulations Implementing the Local Government Code of 1991, which states
that "[t]he land area requirement shall not apply where the proposed province is
composed of one (1) or more islands." 1 3 The preceding italicized provision contained
in the Implementing Rules and Regulations is not expressly or impliedly stated as an
exemption to the land area requirement in Section 461 of the Local Government Code.
Petitioners assert that when the Implementing Rules and Regulations con ict with the
law that they seek to implement, the law prevails. ADTCaI
On the other hand, respondents contend in their respective Memoranda that the
Province of Dinagat Islands met the legal standard for its creation.
First, the Bureau of Local Government Finance certi ed that the average annual
income of the proposed Province of Dinagat Islands for the years 2002 to 2003 based
on the 1991 constant prices was P82,696,433.25.
Second, the Lands Management Bureau certi ed that though the land area of the
Province of Dinagat Islands is 802.12 square kilometers, it is composed of one or more
islands; thus, it is exempt from the required land area of 2,000 square kilometers under
paragraph 2 of Article 9 of the Rules and Regulations Implementing the Local
Government Code.
Third, in the special census conducted by the Provincial Government of Surigao
del Norte, with the assistance of a District Census Coordinator of the NSO, the number
of inhabitants in the Province of Dinagat Islands as of 2003, or almost three years
before the enactment of R.A. No. 9355 in 2006, was 371,576, which is more than the
minimum requirement of 250,000 inhabitants.
In his Memorandum, respondent Governor Ace S. Barbers contends that
although the result of the special census conducted by the Provincial Government of
Surigao del Norte on December 2, 2003 was never certi ed by the NSO, it is credible
since it was conducted with the aid of a representative of the NSO. He alleged that the
lack of certi cation by the NSO was cured by the presence of NSO o cials, who
testi ed during the deliberations on House Bill No. 884 creating the Province of Dinagat
Islands, and who questioned neither the conduct of the special census nor the validity
of the result.
The Ruling of the Court
The petition is granted.
The constitutional provision on the creation of a province in Section 10, Article X
of the Constitution states:
SEC. 10. No province, city, municipality, or barangay may 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." 1 4
Pursuant to the Constitution, the Local Government Code of 1991 prescribed the
criteria for the creation of a province, thus:
SEC. 461. Requisites for Creation. — (a) A province may be created if it
has an average annual income, as certi ed by the Department of Finance, of not
less than Twenty million pesos (P20,000,000.00) based on 1991 constant prices
and either of the following requisites : cHaCAS
(i) a contiguous territory of at least two thousand (2,000) square

kilometers , as certified by the Lands Management Bureau; or
(ii) a population of not less than two hundred fty thousand (250,000)
inhabitants as certified by the National Statistics Office:
Provided, That, the creation thereof shall not reduce the land area,
population, and income of the original unit or units at the time of said creation to
less than the minimum requirements prescribed herein.
(b) The territory need not be contiguous if it comprises two (2)
or more islands or is separated by a chartered city or cities which do not
contribute to the income of the province.
(c) The average annual income shall include the income accruing to
the general fund, exclusive of special funds, trust funds, transfers, and non-
recurring income. 1 5
As a clari cation of the territorial requirement, the Local Government Code

requires a contiguous territory of at least 2,000 square kilometers , as certi ed
by the Lands Management Bureau. However, the territory need not be contiguous
if it comprises two (2) or more islands or is separated by a chartered city or
cities that do not contribute to the income of the province .
If a proposed province is composed of two or more islands, does "territory,"
under Sec. 461 of the Local Government Code, include not only the land mass above the
water, but also that which is beneath it?
To answer the question above, the discussion in Tan v. Commission on Elections
(COMELEC) 1 6 is enlightening.
In Tan v. COMELEC, petitioners therein contended that Batas Pambansa Blg. 885,
creating the new Province of Negros del Norte, was unconstitutional for it was not in
accord with Art. XI, Sec. 3 of the Constitution, and Batas Pambansa Blg. 337, the former
Local Government Code. Although what was applicable then was the 1973 Constitution
and the former Local Government Code, the provisions pertinent to the case are
substantially similar to the provisions in this case.
Art. XI, Sec. 3 of the 1973 Constitution provides:
Sec. 3. No province, city, municipality or barrio (barangay in the 1987
Constitution) may 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 the approval by a majority of the votes in a
plebiscite in the unit or units affected.
TcEaAS
The requisites for the creation of a province in Sec. 197 of Batas Pambansa Blg.
337 are similar to the requisites in Sec. 461 of the Local Government Code of 1991, but
the requirements for population and territory/land area are lower now, while the income
requirement is higher. Sec. 197 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 337, the former Local
Government Code, provides:
SEC. 197. Requisites for Creation. — A province may be created if it
has a territory of at least three thousand ve hundred square kilometers, a
population of at least ve hundred thousand persons, an average estimated
annual income , as certi ed by the Ministry of Finance, of not less than ten
million pesos for the last three consecutive years, and its creation shall not reduce
the population and income of the mother province or provinces at the time of said
creation to less than the minimum requirements under this section. The territory
need not be contiguous if it comprises two or more islands .
The average estimated annual income shall include the income allotted for
both the general and infrastructure funds, exclusive of trust funds, transfers and
nonrecurring income. 1 7
In Tan v. COMELEC, petitioners therein led a case for Prohibition for the
purpose of stopping the COMELEC from conducting the plebiscite scheduled on
January 3, 1986. Since the Court was in recess, it was unable to consider the petition on
time. Petitioners led a supplemental pleading, averring that the plebiscite sought to be
restrained by them was held as scheduled, but there were still serious issues raised in
the case affecting the legality, constitutionality and validity of such exercise which
should properly be passed upon and resolved by the Court.
At issue in Tan was the land area of the new Province of Negros del Norte, and
the validity of the plebiscite, which did not include voters of the parent Province of
Negros Occidental, but only those living within the territory of the new Province of
Negros del Norte.
The Court held that the plebiscite should have included the people living in the
area of the proposed new province and those living in the parent province. However, the
Court did not direct the conduct of a new plebiscite, because the factual and legal basis
for the creation of the new province did not exist as it failed to satisfy the land area
requirement; hence, Batas Pambansa Blg. 885, creating the new Province of Negros del
Norte, was declared unconstitutional. The Court found that the land area of the new
province was only about 2,856 square kilometers, which was below the statutory
requirement then of 3,500 square kilometers. HAaECD
Respondents in Tan insisted that when the Local Government Code speaks of the
required territory of the province to be created, what is contemplated is not only the
land area, but also the land and water over which the said province has jurisdiction and
control. The respondents submitted that in this regard, the marginal sea within the
three mile limit should be considered in determining the extent of the territory of the
new province.
The Court stated that "[s]uch an interpretation is strained, incorrect and
fallacious." 1 8 It held:
The last sentence of the rst paragraph of Section 197 is most revealing. As so
stated therein the "territory need not be contiguous if it comprises two or more
islands." The use of the word territory in this particular provision of the Local
Government Code and in the very last sentence thereof, clearly, re ects that
" territory " as therein used, has reference only to the mass of land area and
excludes the waters over which the political unit exercises control .
Said sentence states that the "territory need not be contiguous." Contiguous
means (a) in physical contact; (b) touching along all or most of one side; (c) near, [n]ext,
or adjacent (Webster's New World Dictionary, 1972 Ed., p. 307). "Contiguous ," when
employed as an adjective, as in the above sentence, is only used when it
describes physical contact, or a touching of sides of two solid masses of
matter . The meaning of particular terms in a statute may be ascertained by reference
to words associated with or related to them in the statute (Animal Rescue League vs.
Assessors, 138 A.L.R., p. 110). Therefore, in the context of the sentence above, what
need not be "contiguous" is the "territory" — the physical mass of land area. There
would arise no need for the legislators to use the word contiguous if they had
intended that the term "territory" embrace not only land area but also
territorial waters. It can be safely concluded that the word territory in the
rst paragraph of Section 197 is meant to be synonymous with "land area"
only . The words and phrases used in a statute should be given the meaning intended by
the legislature (82 C.J.S., p. 636). The sense in which the words are used furnished the
rule of construction (In re Winton Lumber Co., 63 p. 2d., p. 664). 1 9
The discussion of the Court in Tan on the de nition and usage of the terms
"territory," and "contiguous," and the meaning of the provision, "The territory need not be
contiguous if it comprises two or more islands," contained in Sec. 197 of the former
Local Government Code, which provides for the requisites in the creation of a new
province, is applicable in this case since there is no reason for a change in their
respective de nitions, usage, or meaning in its counterpart provision in the present
Local Government Code contained in Sec. 461 thereof.
The territorial requirement in the Local Government Code is adopted in the Rules
and Regulations Implementing the Local Government Code of 1991 (IRR), 2 0 thus:
ART. 9. Provinces. — (a) Requisites for creation — A province shall not
be created unless the following requisites on income and either population or land
area are present:
(1) Income — An average annual income of not less than Twenty

Million Pesos (P20,000,000.00) for the immediately preceding two (2) consecutive
years based on 1991 constant prices, as certi ed by DOF. The average annual
income shall include the income accruing to the general fund, exclusive of special
funds, special accounts, transfers, and nonrecurring income; and DICSaH
(2) Population or land area — Population which shall not be less than
two hundred fty thousand (250,000) inhabitants, as certi ed by National
Statistics Office; or land area which must be contiguous with an area of at
least two thousand (2,000) square kilometers, as certi ed by LMB. The
territory need not be contiguous if it comprises two (2) or more islands
or is separated by a chartered city or cities which do not contribute to
the income of the province. The land area requirement shall not apply
where the proposed province is composed of one (1) or more islands .
The territorial jurisdiction of a province sought to be created shall be properly
identified by metes and bounds.
However, the IRR went beyond the criteria prescribed by Section 461 of the Local
Government Code when it added the italicized portion above stating that "[t]he land
area requirement shall not apply where the proposed province is composed of one (1)
or more islands." Nowhere in the Local Government Code is the said provision stated or
implied. Under Section 461 of the Local Government Code, the only instance when the
territorial or land area requirement need not be complied with is when there is already
compliance with the population requirement. The Constitution requires that the criteria
for the creation of a province, including any exemption from such criteria , must all
be written in the Local Government Code. 2 1 There is no dispute that in case of
discrepancy between the basic law and the rules and regulations implementing the said
law, the basic law prevails, because the rules and regulations cannot go beyond the
terms and provisions of the basic law. 2 2
Hence, the Court holds that the provision in Sec. 2, Art. 9 of the IRR stating that "
[t]he land area requirement shall not apply where the proposed province is composed
of one (1) or more islands" is null and void.
Respondents, represented by the O ce of the Solicitor General, argue that rules
and regulations have the force and effect of law as long as they are germane to the
objects and purposes of the law. They contend that the exemption from the land area
requirement of 2,000 square kilometers is germane to the purpose of the Local
Government Code to develop political and territorial subdivisions into self-reliant
communities and make them more effective partners in the attainment of national
goals. 2 3 They assert that in Holy Spirit Homeowners Association, Inc. v. Defensor, 2 4
the Court declared as valid the implementing rules and regulations of a statute, even
though the administrative agency added certain provisions in the implementing rules
that were not found in the law.
In Holy Spirit Homeowners Association, Inc. v. Defensor, the provisions in the
implementing rules and regulations, which were questioned by petitioner therein, merely
lled in the details in accordance with a known standard. The law that was questioned
was R.A. No. 9207, otherwise known as "National Government Center (NGC) Housing
and Land Utilization Act of 2003." It was therein declared that the "policy of the State
[was] to secure the land tenure of the urban poor. Toward this end, lands located in the
NGC, Quezon City shall be utilized for housing, socioeconomic, civic, educational,
religious and other purposes." Section 5 of R.A. No. 9207 created the National
Government Center Administration Committee, which was tasked to administer,
formulate the guidelines and policies and implement the land disposition of the areas
covered by the law. IHTASa
Petitioners therein contended that while Sec. 3.2 (a.1) of the IRR xed the selling
rate of a lot at P700.00 per sq. m., R.A. No. 9207 did not provide for the price. In
addition, Sec. 3.2 (c.1) of the IRR penalizes a bene ciary who fails to execute a contract
to sell within six (6) months from the approval of the subdivision plan by imposing a
price escalation, while there is no such penalty imposed by R.A. No. 9207. Thus, they
conclude that the assailed provisions con ict with R.A. No. 9207 and should be
nullified.
In Holy Spirit Homeowners Association, Inc., the Court held:
Where a rule or regulation has a provision not expressly stated or
contained in the statute being implemented, that provision does not necessarily
contradict the statute. A legislative rule is in the nature of subordinate legislation,
designed to implement a primary legislation by providing the details thereof. All
that is required is that the regulation should be germane to the objects
and purposes of the law; that the regulation be not in contradiction to
but in conformity with the standards prescribed by the law .
In Section 5 of R.A. No. 9207, the Committee is granted the power to
administer, formulate guidelines and policies, and implement the disposition of
the areas covered by the law. Implicit in this authority and the statute's objective
of urban poor housing is the power of the Committee to formulate the manner by
which the reserved property may be allocated to the bene ciaries. Under this
broad power, the Committee is mandated to ll in the details such as the
quali cations of bene ciaries, the selling price of the lots, the terms and
conditions governing the sale and other key particulars necessary to implement
the objective of the law. These details are purposely omitted from the statute and
their determination is left to the discretion of the Committee because the latter
possesses special knowledge and technical expertise over these matters.
The Committee's authority to x the selling price of the lots may be likened
to the rate-fixing power of administrative agencies. In case of a delegation of rate-
xing power, the only standard which the legislature is required to prescribe for
the guidance of the administrative authority is that the rate be reasonable and
just. However, it has been held that even in the absence of an express requirement
as to reasonableness, this standard may be implied. In this regard, petitioners do
not even claim that the selling price of the lots is unreasonable.
The provision on the price escalation clause as a penalty imposed to a
bene ciary who fails to execute a contract to sell within the prescribed period is
also within the Committee's authority to formulate guidelines and policies to
implement R.A. No. 9207. The Committee has the power to lay down the terms
and conditions governing the disposition of said lots, provided that these are
reasonable and just. There is nothing objectionable about prescribing a period
within which the parties must execute the contract to sell. This condition can
ordinarily be found in a contract to sell and is not contrary to law, morals, good
customs, public order, or public policy. 2 5
Hence, the provisions in the implementing rules and regulations that were
questioned in Holy Spirit Homeowners Association, Inc. merely lled in the necessary
details to implement the objective of the law in accordance with a known standard, and
were thus germane to the purpose of the law. IcDCaT
In this case, the pertinent provision in the IRR did not ll in any detail in
accordance with a known standard provided for by the law. Instead, the IRR added an
exemption to the standard or criteria prescribed by the Local Government Code in
the creation of a province as regards the land area requirement, which exemption is
not found in the Code . As such, the provision in the IRR that the land area
requirement shall not apply where the proposed province is composed of one or more
islands is not in conformity with the standard or criteria prescribed by the Local
Government Code; hence, it is null and void.
Contrary to the contention of respondents, the extraneous provision cannot be
considered as germane to the purpose of the law to develop territorial and political
subdivisions into self-reliant communities because, in the rst place, it already con icts
with the criteria prescribed by the law in creating a territorial subdivision.
Further, citing Galarosa v. Valencia, 2 6 the Office of the Solicitor General contends
that the IRRs issued by the Oversight Committee composed of members of the
legislative and executive branches of the government are entitled to great weight and
respect, as they are in the nature of executive construction.
The case is not in point. In Galarosa, the issue was whether or not Galarosa could
continue to serve as a member of the Sangguniang Bayan beyond June 30, 1992, the
date when the term of o ce of the elective members of the Sangguniang Bayan of
Sorsogon expired. Galarosa was the incumbent president of the Katipunang Bayan or
Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) of the Municipality of Sorsogon, Province of
Sorsogon; and was appointed as a member of the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) of
Sorsogon pursuant to Executive Order No. 342 in relation to Sec. 146 of Batas
Pambansa Blg. 337, the former Local Government Code.
Sec. 494 of the Local Government Code of 1991 2 7 states that the duly elected
presidents of the liga [ng mga barangay] at the municipal, city and provincial levels,
including the component cities and municipalities of Metropolitan Manila, shall serve as
ex o cio members of the sangguniang bayan, sangguniang panglungsod, and
sangguniang panlalawigan, respectively. They shall serve as such only during their term
of o ce as presidents of the liga chapters which, in no case, shall be beyond the term
of o ce of the sanggunian concerned. The section, however, does not x the speci c
duration of their term as liga president. The Court held that this was left to the by-laws
of the liga pursuant to Art. 211 (g) of the Rules and Regulations Implementing the Local
Government Code of 1991. Moreover, there was no indication that Secs. 491 2 8 and
494 should be given retroactive effect to adversely affect the presidents of the ABC;
hence, the said provisions were to be applied prospectively. HaTAEc
The Court stated that there is no law that prohibits ABC presidents from holding
over as members of the Sangguniang Bayan. On the contrary, the IRR, prepared and
issued by the Oversight Committee upon speci c mandate of Sec. 533 of the Local
Government Code, expressly recognizes and grants the hold-over authority to the ABC
presidents under Art. 210, Rule XXIX. 2 9 The Court upheld the application of the hold-
over doctrine in the provisions of the IRR and the issuances of the DILG, whose purpose
was to prevent a hiatus in the government pending the time when the successor may be
chosen and inducted into office.
The Court held that Sec. 494 of the Local Government Code could not have been
intended to allow a gap in the representation of the barangays, through the presidents
of the ABC, in the sanggunian. Since the term of o ce of the punong barangays elected
in the March 28, 1989 election and the term of o ce of the presidents of the ABC had
not yet expired, and taking into account the special role conferred upon, and the
broader powers and functions vested in the barangays by the Code, it was inferred that
the Code never intended to deprive the barangays of their representation in the
sangguniang bayan during the interregnum when the liga had yet to be formally
organized with the election of its officers.
Under the circumstances prevailing in Galarosa, the Court considered the
relevant provisions in the IRR formulated by the Oversight Committee and the pertinent
issuances of the DILG in the nature of executive construction, which were entitled to
great weight and respect.
Courts determine the intent of the law from the literal language of the law within
the law's four corners. 3 0 If the language of the law is plain, clear and unambiguous,
courts simply apply the law according to its express terms. 3 1 If a literal application of
the law results in absurdity, impossibility or injustice, then courts may resort to extrinsic
aids of statutory construction like the legislative history of the law, 3 2 or may consider
the implementing rules and regulations and pertinent executive issuances in the nature
of executive construction.
In this case, the requirements for the creation of a province contained in Sec. 461
of the Local Government Code are clear, plain and unambiguous, and its literal
application does not result in absurdity or injustice. Hence, the provision in Art. 9 (2) of
the IRR exempting a proposed province composed of one or more islands from the
land-area requirement cannot be considered an executive construction of the criteria
prescribed by the Local Government Code. It is an extraneous provision not intended by
the Local Government Code and, therefore, is null and void. SaIACT
Whether R.A. No. 9355 complied with the requirements of Section 461 of the
Local Government Code in creating the Province of Dinagat Islands
It is undisputed that R.A. No. 9355 complied with the income requirement
speci ed by the Local Government Code. What is disputed is its compliance with the
land area or population requirement.
R.A. No. 9355 expressly states that the Province of Dinagat Islands "contains an
approximate land area of eighty thousand two hundred twelve hectares (80,212 has.) or
802.12 sq. km., more or less, including Hibuson Island and approximately forty-seven
(47) islets . . . ." 3 3 R.A. No. 9355, therefore, failed to comply with the land area
requirement of 2,000 square kilometers.
The Province of Dinagat Islands also failed to comply with the population
requirement of not less than 250,000 inhabitants as certi ed by the NSO. Based on the
2000 Census of Population conducted by the NSO, the population of the Province of
Dinagat Islands as of May 1, 2000 was only 106,951.
Although the Provincial Government of Surigao del Norte conducted a special
census of population in Dinagat Islands in 2003, which yielded a population count of
371,000, the result was not certi ed by the NSO as required by the Local Government
Code. 3 4 Moreover, respondents failed to prove that with the population count of
371,000, the population of the original unit (mother Province of Surigao del Norte)
would not be reduced to less than the minimum requirement prescribed by law at the
time of the creation of the new province. 3 5
Respondents contended that the lack of certi cation by the NSO was cured by
the presence of the o cials of the NSO during the deliberations on the house bill
creating the Province of Dinagat Islands, since they did not object to the result of the
special census conducted by the Provincial Government of Surigao del Norte.
The contention of respondents does not persuade.
Although the NSO representative to the Committee on Local Government
deliberations dated November 24, 2005 did not object to the result of the provincial
government's special census, which was conducted with the assistance of an NSO
district census coordinator, it was agreed by the participants that the said result was
not certi ed by the NSO, which is the requirement of the Local Government Code.
Moreover, the NSO representative, Statistician II Ma. Solita C. Vergara, stated that
based on their computation, the population requirement of 250,000 inhabitants would
be attained by the Province of Dinagat Islands by the year 2065. The computation was
based on the growth rate of the population, excluding migration. aSIETH
The pertinent portion of the deliberation on House Bill No. 884 creating the Province
of Dinagat reads:
THE CHAIRMAN (Hon. Alfredo S. Lim):
. . . There is no problem with the land area requirement and to the income
requirement. The problem is with the population requirement.
xxx xxx xxx

Now because of this question, we would like to make it of record the stand
and reply of National Statistics O ce. Can we hear now from Ms. Solita
Vergara?
MS. VERGARA.
We only certify population based on the counts proclaimed by the

President. And in this case, we only certify the population based on the
results of the 2000 census of population and housing.
THE CHAIRMAN.
Is that. . .
MS. VERGARA.
Sir, as per Batas Pambansa, BP 72, we only follow kung ano po 'yong
mandated by the law. So, as mandated by the law, we only certify those
counts proclaimed official by the President.
THE CHAIRMAN.
But the government of Surigao del Norte is headed by Governor Robert
Lyndon Ace Barbers and they conducted this census in year 2003 and
yours was conducted in year 2000. So, within that time frame, three years,
there could be an increase in population or transfer of residents, is that
possible?
MS. VERGARA.
Yes, sir, but then we only conduct census of population every 10 years and
we conduct special census every ve years. So, in this case, maybe by next
year, we will be conducting the 2006. DHIETc
THE CHAIRMAN.
But next year will be quite a long time, the matter is now being discussed
on the table. So, is that the only thing you could say that it's not authorized
by National Statistics Office?
MS. VERGARA.
Yes, sir. We have passed a resolution — orders to the provincial offices — to

our provincial o ces stating that we can provide assistance in the
conduct, but then we cannot certify the result of the conduct as official.
THE CHAIRMAN.
May we hear from the Honorable Governor Robert Lyndon Ace Barbers,
your reply on the statement of the representative from National Statistics
Office.
MR. BARBERS.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, good morning.

Yes, your Honor, we have conducted a special census in the year 2003. We
were accompanied by one of the employees from the Provincial National
Statistics O ce. However, we also admit the fact that our special
census or the special census we conducted in 2003 was not
validated or certi ed by the National Statistics O ce, as
provided by law . So, we admit on our part that the certi cation that I
have issued based on the submission of records of each locality or each
municipality from Dinagat Island[s] were true and correct based on our
level, not on National Statistics Office level.

But with that particular objection of Executive Director Ericta on what we
have conducted, I believe, your Honor, it will be, however, moot and
academic in terms of the provision under the Local Government Code on
the requirements in making one area a province because what we need is a
minimum of 20 million, as stated by the Honorable Chairman and, of
course, the land area. Now, in terms of the land area, Dinagat Island[s] is
exempted because xxx the area is composed of more than one island. In
fact, there are about 47 low tide and high tide, less than 40? . . .
THE CHAIRMAN.
Thank you, Governor. . . .

xxx xxx xxx
THE CHAIRMAN.
Although the claim of the governor is, even if we hold in abeyance this
questioned requirement, the other two requirements, as mandated by law,
is already achieved — the income and the land area. TCDHIc
MS. VERGARA.
We do not question po the results of any locally conducted

census, kasi po talagang we provide assistance while they're
conducting their own census. But then, ang requirement po kasi
is, basta we will not certify — we will not certify any population
count as a result noong kanilang locally conducted census. Eh, sa
Local Government Code po, we all know na ang . . . nire-require
nila is a certi cation provided by National Statistics O ce. 'Yon
po 'yong requirement, di ba po ?
THE CHAIRMAN.
Oo. But a certi cation, even though not issued, cannot go against actual
reality because that's just a bureaucratic requirement. Ang ibig kong
sabihin, ipagpalagay, a couple — isang lalaki, isang babae —
nagmamahalan sila. As an offshoot of this undying love, nagkaroon ng
mga anak, hindi ba, pero hindi kasal, it's a live-in situation. Ang tanong ko
lang, whether eventually, they got married or not, that love remains. And we
cannot deny also the existence of the offspring out of that love, di ba?
Kaya . . . 'yon lang. Okay. So, we just skip on this. . . .
MS. VERGARA.
Your Honor.
REP. ECLEO (GLENDA).

Mr. Chairman.
THE CHAIRMAN.
Please, Ms. Vergara.
MS. VERGARA.
'Yong sinasabi n'yo po, sir, bale we computed the estimated

population po ng Dinagat Province for the next years. So, based
on our computation, mari-reach po ng Dinagat Province 'yong
requirement na 250,000 population by the year 2065 pa po based
on the growth rates during the period of . . .
THE CHAIRMAN. TEcCHD
2065?
MS. VERGARA.
2065 po.
xxx xxx xxx

THE CHAIRMAN.
. . . [T]his is not the center of our argument since, as stated by the governor,
kahit ha huwag na munang i-consider itong population requirement, eh,
nakalagpas naman sila doon sa income and land area, hindi ba?
Okay. Let's give the floor to Congresswoman Ecleo.
REP. ECLEO (GLENDA).

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
This is in connection with the special census. Before this was

done, I went to the NSO. I talked to Administrator Ericta on the
population. Then, I was told that the population, o cial
population of Dinagat is 106,000 . So, I told them that I want a special
census to be conducted because there are so many houses that were not
reached by the government enumerators, and I want to have my own or our
own special census with the help of the provincial government. So, that is
how it was conducted. Then, they told me that the o cial population of
the proposed province will be on 2010. But at this moment, that is the
o cial population of 106,000, even if our special census, we
came up with 371,000 plus .
So, that is it.
THE CHAIRMAN.
Thank you, Congresswoman.

Your insights will be re ected in my reply to Senate President Drilon, so
that he can also answer the letter of Bishop Cabahug.
MS. VERGARA.
Mr. Chairman, may clarifications lang din po ako.
THE CHAIRMAN.
Please.
MS. VERGARA.
'Yon po sa sinasabi naming estimated population, we only based the

computation doon sa growth rate lang po talaga, excluding the migration. .
.. TCcDaE

MR. CHAIRMAN.
No'ng mga residents.
MS. VERGARA.
Yes, sir, natural growth lang po talaga siya. 3 6
To reiterate, when the Dinagat Islands was proclaimed a new province on

December 3, 2006, it had an o cial population of only 106,951 based on the NSO
2000 Census of Population. Less than a year after the proclamation of the new
province, the NSO conducted the 2007 Census of Population. The NSO certi ed that as
of August 1, 2007, Dinagat Islands had a total population of only 120,813 , 3 7 which
was still below the minimum requirement of 250,000 inhabitants. 3 8
In ne, R.A. No. 9355 failed to comply with either the territorial or the population
requirement for the creation of the Province of Dinagat Islands.
The Constitution clearly mandates that the creation of local government units
must follow the criteria established in the Local Government Code. 3 9 Any derogation
of or deviation from the criteria prescribed in the Local Government Code violates Sec.
10, Art. X of the Constitution. 4 0
Hence, R.A. No. 9355 is unconstitutional for its failure to comply with the criteria
for the creation of a province prescribed in Sec. 461 of the Local Government Code.
Whether the creation of the Province of Dinagat Islands is an act of
gerrymandering
Petitioners contend that the creation of the Province of Dinagat Islands is an act
of gerrymandering on the ground that House Bill No. 884 excluded Siargao Island, with
a population of 118,534 inhabitants, from the new province for complete political
dominance by Congresswoman Glenda Ecleo-Villaroman. According to petitioners, if
Siargao were included in the creation of the new province, the territorial requirement of
2,000 square kilometers would have been easily satis ed and the enlarged area would
have a bigger population of 200,305 inhabitants based on the 2000 Census of
Population by the NSO. But House Bill No. 884 excluded Siargao Island, because its
inclusion would result in uncertain political control. Petitioners aver that, in the past,
Congresswoman Glenda Ecleo-Villaroman lost her congressional seat twice to a
member of an in uential family based in Siargao. Therefore, the only way to complete
political dominance is by gerrymandering, to carve a new province in Dinagat Islands
where the Philippine Benevolent Members Association (PMBA), represented by the
Ecleos, has the numbers. THaAEC
The argument of petitioners is unsubstantiated.

"Gerrymandering" is a term employed to describe an apportionment of
representative districts so contrived as to give an unfair advantage to the party in
power. 4 1 Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission,
de ned "gerrymandering" as the formation of one legislative district out of separate
territories for the purpose of favoring a candidate or a party. 4 2 The Constitution
proscribes gerrymandering, as it mandates each legislative district to comprise, as far
as practicable, a contiguous, compact and adjacent territory. 4 3
As stated by the O ce of the Solicitor General, the Province of Dinagat Islands
consists of one island and about 47 islets closely situated together, without the
inclusion of separate territories. It is an unsubstantiated allegation that the province
was created to favor Congresswoman Glenda Ecleo-Villaroman.
Allegations of fraud and irregularities during the plebiscite cannot be
resolved in a special civil action for certiorari
Lastly, petitioners alleged that R.A. No. 9355 was rati ed by a doubtful mandate
in a plebiscite held on December 2, 2005, where the "yes votes" were 69,9343, while the
"no votes" were 63,502. They contend that the 100% turnout of voters in the precincts
of San Jose, Basilisa, Dinagat, Cagdianao and Libjo was contrary to human experience,
and that the results were statistically improbable. Petitioners admit that they did not
le any electoral protest questioning the results of the plebiscite, because they lacked
the means to finance an expensive and protracted election case.
Allegations of fraud and irregularities in the conduct of a plebiscite are factual in
nature; hence, they cannot be the subject of this special civil action for certiorari under
Rule 65 of the Rules of Court, which is a remedy designed only for the correction of
errors of jurisdiction, including grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess
of jurisdiction. 4 4 Petitioners should have led the proper action with the Commission
on Elections. However, petitioners admittedly chose not to avail themselves of the
correct remedy.
WHEREFORE , the petition is GRANTED . Republic Act No. 9355, otherwise
known as [An Act Creating the Province of Dinagat Islands], is hereby declared
unconstitutional. The proclamation of the Province of Dinagat Islands and the election
of the o cials thereof are declared NULL and VOID . The provision in Article 9 (2) of
the Rules and Regulations Implementing the Local Government Code of 1991 stating,
"The land area requirement shall not apply where the proposed province is composed
of one (1) or more islands," is declared NULL and VOID .
No costs. TCSEcI
SO ORDERED.
Puno, C.J., Carpio, Corona, Carpio Morales, Velasco, Jr., Nachura, Leonardo-De
Castro, Brion, Bersamin, Del Castillo, Abad, Villarama, Jr., Perez and Mendoza, JJ.,
concur.
Separate Opinions
NACHURA , J., dissenting :
The ponencia of Justice Peralta seeks to strike down an act of both the
legislative and the executive branches — the law creating the province of Dinagat
Islands. I register my dissent to the ponencia for I nd this judicial interference
unnecessary and, in fact, unwarranted in law. Petitioners have not presented a genuine
constitutional issue requiring this Court's intervention. In petitioners' earlier and
similarly-worded petition — G.R. No. 175158 3/4 the Court found no compelling reason
to brush aside technicalities of procedure and resolve the merits of the case. Just like
G.R. No. 175158, the present petition deserves the same dismissive treatment from the
Court.
I begin with a brief restatement of the pertinent antecedent events.
On October 2, 2006, the President of the Republic approved Republic Act (R.A.)
No. 9355, 1 the law creating the province of Dinagat Islands. On December 3 of the
same year, the Commission on Elections conducted the plebiscite for the rati cation of
the said creation. This yielded 69,943 a rmative votes and 63,502 negative votes. 2
Having gotten the nod of the people, the President appointed the interim set of
provincial o cials who consequently took their oath of o ce on January 26, 2007.
Thereafter, in the May 14, 2007 National and Local Elections, the Dinagatnons elected
their new set of provincial officials who assumed office on July 1, 2007. 3
Not amenable to the advancement of their locality, petitioners, former politicians
in the mother province of Surigao del Norte, led before this Court, on November 10,
2006, G.R. No. 175158, a petition for certiorari and prohibition assailing the
constitutionality of the creation of the province. 4 As aforementioned, the Court
dismissed the petition on technical grounds — defect in the veri cation and
certification of non-forum shopping and failure by the petitioners' counsel to indicate an
updated Integrated Bar of the Philippines o cial receipt. On motion for
reconsideration, the Court rejected petitioners' entreaty for liberality in the application
of procedural rules. 5 CIScaA
Unperturbed, petitioners led their new petition, the instant case, contending in
the main that R.A. No. 9355 is unconstitutional. They posit that the creation of Dinagat
Islands did not meet either the land area or the population requirement for the creation
of a province. At the time of the passage of the law, the land area of the locality was
only 802.12 square kilometers, and its population, only 106,951. 6 It is petitioners'
submission that the enactment of R.A. No. 9355 violates Section 461 of R.A. No. 7160
or the Local Government Code (LGC) of 1991, 7 and Section 10, Article X of the
Constitution.
I find no merit in petitioners' contention.
Article X, Section 10 of the Constitution provides that —
Section. 10. No province, city, municipality, or barangay may 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.
For the creation of a province, the LGC provides:

Section 461. Requisites for Creation. — (a) A province may be created
if it has an average annual income, as certi ed by the Department of Finance, of
not less than Twenty million pesos (P20,000,000.00) based on 1991 constant
prices and either of the following requisites:
kilometers, as certified by the Lands Management Bureau; or
population and income of the original unit or units at the time of said creation to
(b) The territory need not be contiguous if it comprises two (2) or more
islands or is separated by a chartered city or cities which do not contribute to the
income of the province.
recurring income. SDTIHA
Here, the Department of Finance certi ed that the province of Dinagat Islands
has an average annual income of P82,696,433.22 based on 1991 constant prices. 8 As
it already meets the primordial income criterion for a province, Dinagat Islands needed
only to comply with either the land area or the population criterion.
At this point, I concur with the ponencia that Dinagat Islands does not satisfy the
250,000 population requirement. When the law for its creation was passed in 2006, the
province only had a population of 106,951 inhabitants (based on the 2000 Census of
Population and Housing) as certi ed by the National Statistics O ce. 9 Further, the
2007 Census of Population reveals that it has only 120,813 inhabitants as of August 1,
2007. 1 0
I cannot, however, subscribe to the ponencia's holding that Dinagat Islands fails
to comply with the territorial requirement because it only has an aggregate land area of
802.12 sq km. Let it be emphasized that the province is comprised of the
municipalities of Basilisa, Cagdianao, Dinagat, Libjo (Albor), Loreto, San Jose and
Tubajon, and includes Hibuson Island and approximately 47 islets under the jurisdiction
of the said municipalities. This fact relieves it from complying with the criterion that its
territory must be contiguous and at least 2,000 sq km in area. Article 9 (a) (2) of the
Rules and Regulations Implementing (IRR) the LGC of 1991 pertinently provides that the
territory need not be contiguous and the land area requirement shall not apply where
the proposed province is composed of islands, thus:
Art. 9. Provinces. — (a) Requisites for creation — A province shall not
be created unless the following requisites on income and either population or land
area are present:
xxx xxx xxx

(2) Population or land area — Population which shall not be less than
two hundred fty thousand (250,000) inhabitants, as certi ed by NSO; or land
area which must be contiguous with an area of at least two thousand (2,000)
square kilometers, as certi ed by LMB. The territory need not be contiguous
if it comprises two (2) or more islands or is separated by a chartered
city or cities which do not contribute to the income of the province. The
land area requirement shall not apply where the proposed province is
composed of one (1) or more islands . The territorial jurisdiction of a province
sought to be created shall be properly identified by metes and bounds.
The creation of a new province shall not reduce the land area, population,
and income of the original LGU or LGUs at the time of said creation to less than
the prescribed minimum requirements. All expenses incidental to the creation
shall be borne by the petitioners. 1 1
aIcDCT
The ponencia, however, declares that the portion in the IRR, which reads, "[t]he
land area requirement shall not apply where the proposed province is composed of one
(1) or more islands," is null and void for going beyond the standard or criterion
prescribed by Section 461 of the LGC, and, thus, cannot be used as basis for Dinagat
Islands' compliance with the territorial requirement. The ponencia suggests that for the
creation of a province, even one composed of islands like the one in this petition, the
2,000-sq km territorial area requirement should still be met despite the reality that its
territory is not contiguous, precisely because portions of its territory are separated by
bodies of water.
I do not agree with the ponencia's proposition. The province of Dinagat Islands,
composed as it is of a group of islands, is exempt from compliance not only with the
territorial contiguity requirement but also with the 2,000-sq km land area criterion. This
proceeds from no less than Section 461 of the LGC, which, for ready reference, I again
quote —
Section 461. Requisites for Creation. — (a) A province may be created
if it has an average annual income, as certi ed by the Department of Finance, of
not less than Twenty million pesos (P20,000,000.00) based on 1991 constant
prices and either of the following requisites:

kilometers, as certified by the Lands Management Bureau; or
population and income of the original unit or units at the time of said creation to
(b) The territory need not be contiguous if it comprises two (2) or more
islands or is separated by a chartered city or cities which do not contribute to the
income of the province.
recurring income. 1 2
Significant in the provision is paragraph (b), underscored above, as it provides for

an exemption from the territorial criterion mentioned in paragraph (a). TAacCE
The stipulation in paragraph (b), however, quali es not merely the word
"contiguous" in paragraph (a) (i) in the same provision, but rather the entirety of the
latter paragraph . Paragraph (a) (i) of the provision, for ready reference, reads:
(i) a contiguous territory of at least two thousand (2,000)
square kilometers , as certified by the Lands Management Bureau[.]1 3
This whole paragraph on contiguity and land area, I repeat for emphasis, is the one
being referred to in the exemption from the territorial requirement in paragraph (b).
Thus, if the province to be created is composed of islands, like the one in this case,
then, its territory need not be contiguous and need not have an area of at least 2,000 sq
km. This is because, as the law is worded, contiguity and land area are not two
distinct and separate requirements . They qualify each other. For instance, a
territory which is contiguous but which is less than 2,000 sq km in land area will not
qualify for provincehood and, conversely, a territory which is 2,000 sq km in area but
which is not contiguous cannot become a province, following the general rule in
paragraph (a)(1). In other words, contiguity and land area are two components of a
single requirement — one cannot exist and serve no purpose without the other, so
much so that a release from compliance with one component results,
naturally and logically, in the corresponding exemption from the other .
Indeed, an exemption from one of the two component requirements in paragraph
(a) (i) necessitates an exemption from the other component requirement because the
nonattendance of one results in the absence of a reason for the other component
requirement to effect a quali cation. In other words, a component requirement cannot
apply without the other because they qualify each other — one cannot be
dissociated from the other .
By rough analogy, the two components are like dicephalic conjoined twins — two
heads are attached to a single body. If one head is separated from the other, then the
twins die. In the same manner, the law, by providing in paragraph (b) of Section 461 that
the territory need not be contiguous if the same is comprised of islands, must be
interpreted as intended to exempt such territory from the land area
component requirement of 2,000 sq km . Because the two component
requirements are inseparable, the elimination of contiguity from the territorial criterion
has the effect of a coexistent eradication of the land area component. The territory of
the province of Dinagat Islands, therefore, comprising the major islands of Dinagat and
Hibuson, and approximately 47 islets, need not be contiguous and need not have an
area of at least 2,000 sq km following Section 461 of the LGC. EDACSa
It will result in super uity, if not absurdity, if paragraph (b) of the provision is
interpreted as referring only to the component requirement of contiguity and not to
both component requirements of contiguity and land area. This is because contiguity
does not always mean in contact by land. Thus, in so far as islands are concerned, they
are deemed contiguous although separated by wide spans of navigable deep waters, 1 4
with the exception of the high seas, because all lands separated by water touch one
another, in a sense, beneath the water. 1 5 The provision, then, as worded, only means
that the exemption in paragraph (b) refers to both the component requirements on
territory, that is, contiguity and land area, and not merely to the rst, standing alone. For,
indeed, why will the law still exempt the islands from the requirement of contiguity
when they are already legally contiguous?
By inference, Section 461, in effect, signi es that, if the proposed province is
composed of islands, its territory includes not only the land mass above the water but
that which is beneath it. Indeed, theoretically, if this entire territory is measured — the
one above and beneath the water, then the 2,000 sq km land area would be met with
facility. Separate units of measure are, however, used to calculate dry land and that
which is covered by water. For expediency, the law, in providing for the criteria for the
creation of a province, has exempted groups of islands from the territorial requirement,
and this exemption includes the two component requirements of contiguity and land
area.
Parenthetically, the Court, more than two decades ago, in Tan v. Commission on
Elections, 1 6 declared in passing that territory means only the mass of land area and
excludes the waters over which a political unit exercises control. This pronouncement in
Tan is an obiter dictum, the main issue in the petition for prohibition being the propriety
of excluding from the plebiscite for the rati cation of the creation of Negros del Norte
the inhabitants of the mother province of Negros Occidental. Therefore, Tan does not
preclude the proper interpretation of Section 461 of the LGC as exempting groups of
islands from the territorial requirement for the creation of provinces.
This interpretation of Section 461 is further in line with the law's thrust of
enabling the territorial and political subdivisions of the state to attain their fullest
development in order to make them more effective partners in the attainment of
national goals. 1 7 The Philippines is composed of 7,107 islands, most of them are small
and surrounded by vast bodies of water. The constitution of provinces is aimed at
administrative e ciency, effective governance, more equitable delivery of basic
services, and economic development. If this Court is to prevent a group of islands, with
skyrocketing revenues, from organizing themselves into a province on account alone of
their small aggregate land mass, then it would be impeding their advancement as self-
reliant communities and, in the process, would hamper the growth of the national
economy — an eventuality obviously not envisioned by both the Constitution and the
LGC. IDaCcS
Congress, in fact, during its deliberations on what would later on be enacted as

the LGC, had paid, if at all it did, little attention to the territorial requirement for the
creation of provinces. Instead, it focused on the income requirement and
acknowledged the same to be the primordial criterion of viability, thus —
HON. ALFELOR:
Income is mandatory. We can even have this doubled because we thought
...
CHAIRMAN CUENCO:
In other words, the primordial consideration here is the economic viability

of the new local government unit, the new province?
xxx xxx xxx
HON. LAGUADA:
The reason why we are willing to increase the income, double than the
House version, because we also believe that economic viability is really a
minimum. Land area and population are functions really of the viability of
the area, because where you have an income level which would be the
trigger point for economic development, population will naturally increase
because there will be an immigration. However, if you disallow the
particular area from being converted into a province because of population
problems in the beginning, it will never be able to reach the point where it
could become a province simply because it will never have the economic
take off for it to trigger off that economic development.
Now, we're saying that maybe Fourteen Million Pesos is a oor area where
it could pay for overhead and provide a minimum of basic services to the
population. Over and above that, the provincial o cials should be able to
trigger off economic development which will attract immigration, which
will attract new investments from the private sector. This is now the
concern of the local o cials. But if we are going to tie the hands of the
proponents, simply by telling them, "Sorry, you are now at 150 thousand or
200 thousand," you will never be able to become a province because
nobody wants to go to your place. Why? Because you never have any
reason for economic viability.
xxx xxx xxx
CHAIRMAN PIMENTEL:
Okay, what about land area?
HON. LUMAUIG:

1,500 square kilometers IcHDCS
HON. ANGARA:
Walang problema 'yon, in fact that's not very critical, 'yong land area
because . . .
CHAIRMAN PIMENTEL:
Okay, ya, our, the Senate version is 3.5, 3,500 square meters, ah, square
kilometers.
HON. LAGUADA:
Ne, Ne. A province is constituted for the purpose of administrative

efficiency and delivery of basic services.
CHAIRMAN PIMENTEL:
Right.
HON. LAGUADA:
Actually, when you come down to it, when government was instituted, there
is only one central government and then everybody falls under that. But it
was later on subdivided into provinces for purposes of administrative
efficiency.
CHAIRMAN PIMENTEL:
Okay.
HON. LAGUADA:
Now, what we're seeing now is that the administrative e ciency is no
longer there precisely because the land areas that we are giving to our
governors is so wide that no one man can possibly administer all of the
complex machineries that are needed.
Secondly, when you say "delivery of basic services," as pointed out by
Cong. Alfelor, there are sections of the province which have never been
visited by public o cials, precisely because they don't have the time nor
the energy anymore to do that because it's so wide. Now, by compressing
the land area and by reducing the population requirement, we are, in effect,
trying to follow the basic policy of why we are creating provinces, which is
to deliver basic services and to make it more efficient in administration.
CHAIRMAN PIMENTEL: AEIHCS
Yeah, that's correct, but on the assumption that the province is able to do it
without being a burden to the national government. That's the assumption.
HON. LAGUADA:
That's why we're going into the minimum income level. As we said, if we
go on a minimum income level, then we say, "this is the trigger point at
which this administration can take place." 1 8
Verily, economic viability is the primordial consideration in the constitution of

provinces, not population or territory. As to a province composed of a group of islands
separated by stretches of water, like the one in this case, the proposition must apply
with greater force. A contrary position would prove to be growth-retardant to an
economically viable group of islands which have not yet politically separated from the
larger mass of land where the provincial capital sits. In a practical sense, it would also
be too cumbersome for the inhabitants to travel great lengths and over unpredictable
waters just to reach the capital, do their business and avail of basic government
services and facilities that ordinarily do not reach beyond the immediate outskirts of
the capital. Thus, Section 461, as discussed above, exempts a proposed province
composed of several islands from complying with both the contiguity and land area
components of the territorial requirement for its creation. It is this interpretation that,
logically, impelled both the executive and legislative departments to enact R.A. No.
9355, the law creating the province of Dinagat Islands. We must accord persuasive
effect to this contemporaneous interpretation by the two equal branches of
government, and abide by the clear intent of the framers of the law.
Cawaling, Jr. v. Commission on Elections 1 9 ttingly instructs that every statute
enjoys the presumption of constitutionality, owing to the doctrine of separation of
powers which imposes upon the three coordinate departments of the Government a
becoming courtesy for each other's acts. Every law, being the joint act of the
Legislature and the Executive, has passed careful scrutiny to ensure that it is in accord
with the fundamental law. Of course, the Court may, nevertheless, declare a law, or
portions thereof, unconstitutional, where a petitioner has shown that there is a clear and
unequivocal breach of the Constitution, not merely a doubtful or argumentative one.
Here, as revealed in the above discussion, petitioners have not shown that Dinagat
Islands does not meet the criteria laid down in Section 461 of the LGC for the creation
of a province; thus, they cannot assert that R.A. No. 9355 clearly and unequivocally
breaches Article X, Section 10 of the Constitution. Absent a genuine constitutional
issue, the petition fails in substance. The petition also breaches procedural standards
because when the inquiry is focused on the legal existence of a body politic, the action
is reserved to the State in a proceeding for quo warranto, 2 0 not through a petition for
certiorari.
In light of the above disquisition, I vote for the dismissal of the petition. AIHECa
Footnotes
1. On November 14, 2006, petitioners Rodolfo Navarro, Victor F. Bernal, Rohito C. Madelo,
Clemente G. Sandigan, Jr., Jerry R. Centro, Jose V. Begil, Jr., Rene O. Medina and Jamar
D. Gavino filed before this Court a Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition with Prayer for
Temporary Restraining Order against Secretary Eduardo Ermita, the Senate of the
Philippines, the House of Representatives, the COMELEC and the Provincial Government
and Provincial Treasurer of Surigao del Norte. Petitioners sought for the declaration of
R.A. No. 9355 as unconstitutional and invalid, and prayed that the COMELEC be enjoined
from conducting a plebiscite pending resolution on the constitutionality of R.A. No.
9355. The petition, docketed as G.R. No. 175158, was dismissed on technical grounds.
2. Annex "B-1," rollo, p. 89.
3. Annexes "B," "B-1" to "B-2," id. at 88-90.

4. Annex "C," id. at 91.
5. Annex "E," id. at 124.
6. Id.
7. Memorandum of respondent Governor Robert Ace S. Barbers, rollo, p. 676.
8. Memorandum of Petitioners, id. at 462-463.
9. G.R. No. 132527, July 29, 2005, 465 SCRA 47.
10. Id.
11. Province of Batangas v. Romulo, G.R. No. 152774, May 27, 2004, 429 SCRA 736.
12. Id.
13. Italics supplied.
14. Emphasis supplied.
16. No. L-73155, July 11. 1986, 142 SCRA 727.

18. Tan v. Commission on Elections, supra note 16 at 749.
19. Id. at 749-750. (Emphasis supplied.)
20. The IRR was formulated by the Oversight Committee pursuant to Sec. 533 of the Local
Government Code:
SEC. 533. Formulation of Implementing Rules and Regulations. — (a) Within one (1)
month after the approval of this Code, the President shall convene the Oversight
Committee as herein provided for. The said Committee shall formulate and issue the
appropriate rules and regulations necessary for the efficient and effective
implementation of any and all provisions of this Code, thereby ensuring compliance with
the principles of local autonomy as defined under the Constitution.
(b) The Committee shall be composed of the following:
(1) The Executive Secretary, who shall be the Chairman;
(2) Three (3) members of the Senate to be appointed by the President of the Senate, to
include the Chairman of the Committee on Local Government;
(3) Three (3) members of the House of Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker,
to include the Chairman of the Committee on Local Government;
(4) The Cabinet, represented by the following:
(i) Secretary of the Interior and Local Government;
(ii) Secretary of Finance;

(iii) Secretary of Budget and Management; and
(5) One (1) representative from each of the following:
(i) The League of Provinces;

(ii) The League of Cities;
(iii) The League of Municipalities; and
(iv) The Liga ng mga Barangay.
21. League of Cities of the Philippines v. Commission on Elections, G.R. Nos. 176951,
177499, 178056, November 18, 2008, 571 SCRA 263.
22. Hijo Plantation, Inc. v. Central Bank, G.R. No. L-34526, August 9, 1988, 164 SCRA 192.
23. Local Government Code, Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. — (a) It is hereby declared the
policy of the State that the territorial and political subdivisions of the State shall enjoy
genuine and meaningful local autonomy to enable them to attain their fullest
development as self-reliant communities and make them more effective partners in the
attainment of national goals. Toward this end, the State shall provide for a more
responsive and accountable local government structure instituted through a system of
decentralization whereby local government units shall be given more powers, authority,
responsibilities, and resources. The process of decentralization shall proceed from the
National Government to the local government units.
(b) It is also the policy of the State to ensure the accountability of local government units
through the institution of effective mechanisms of recall, initiative and referendum.
(c) It is likewise the policy of the State to require all national agencies and offices to
conduct periodic consultations with appropriate local government units,
nongovernmental and people's organizations, and other concerned sectors of the
community before any project or program is implemented in their respective
jurisdictions.
24. G.R. No. 163980, August 2, 2006, 497 SCRA 581.
25. Id. at 599-601.
26. G.R. No. 109455, November 11, 1993, 227 SCRA 728.
27. SEC. 494. Ex Officio Membership in Sanggunians. — The duly-elected presidents of the
liga [ng mga barangay] at the municipal, city and provincial levels, including the
component cities and municipalities of Metropolitan Manila, shall serve as ex-officio
members of the sangguniang bayan, sangguniang panglungsod, and sangguniang
panlalawigan, respectively. They shall serve as such only during their term of office as
presidents of the liga chapters, which in no case shall be beyond the term of office of the
sanggunian concerned.
28. SEC. 491. Purpose of Organization. — There shall be an organization of all barangays,
to be known as the Liga ng mga Barangay, for the primary purpose of determining the
representation of the liga in the sanggunians and for ventilating, articulating and
crystallizing issues affecting barangay governmental administration and securing,
through proper and legal means, solutions thereto.
29. ART. 210. Liga ng mga barangay. —

xxx xxx xxx
(d) Ex Officio Membership in the Sanggunian —
(3) The incumbent presidents of the municipal, city, and provincial chapters of the liga
shall continue to serve as ex officio members of the sanggunian concerned until the
expiration of their term of office, unless sooner revoked for cause.

xxx xxx xxx
(f) Organizational Structure —
(1) . . . Pending election of the presidents of the municipal, city, provincial, and
metropolitan chapters of the liga, the incumbent presidents of the association of
barangay councils in the municipality, city, province, and Metropolitan Manila shall
continue to act as presidents of the corresponding liga chapters under this Rule.
30. League of Cities of the Philippines v. Commission on Elections, supra note 17.
31. Id.
32. Id.
33. Rollo, p. 93. (Emphasis supplied.)
34. SEC. 7. Creation and conversion. — As a general rule, the creation of a local government
unit or its conversion from one level to another shall be based on verifiable indicators of
viability and projected capacity to provide services, to wit:
(a) Income. — It must be sufficient, based on acceptable standards, to provide for all
essential government facilities and services and special functions commensurate with
the size of its population, as expected of the local government unit concerned;
(b) Population. — It shall be determined as the total number of inhabitants within the
territorial jurisdiction of the local government unit concerned; and
(c) Land area. — It must be contiguous, unless it comprises two (2) or more islands or is
separated by a local government unit independent of the others; properly identified by
metes and bounds with technical descriptions and sufficient to provide for such basic
services and facilities to meet the requirements of its populace.
Compliance with the foregoing indicators shall be attested to by the
Department of Finance (DOF), the National Statistics Office (NSO) , and the
Lands Management Bureau (LMB) of the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR) .
SEC. 461. Requisites for Creation. — (a) A province may be created if it has an average
annual income, as certified by the Department of Finance, of not less than Twenty
million pesos (P20,000,000.00) based on 1991 constant prices and either of the
following requisites:
(i) a contiguous territory of at least two thousand (2,000) square kilometers, as certified
by the Lands Management Bureau; or
(ii) a population of not less than two hundred fifty thousand (250,000)
Provided, That, the creation thereof shall not reduce the land area, population, and
income of the original unit or units at the time of said creation to less than the minimum
requirements prescribed herein. (Emphasis supplied.)
35. Sec. 461, supra.
36. Annex "A," rollo, pp. 51-61.

37. Annex "AA," id. at 498. (Emphasis supplied.)

39. See League of Cities of the Philippines v. Commission on Elections, supra note 17.
40. Id.
41. Ceniza v. Commission on Elections, L-52304, January 28, 1980, 95 SCRA 775.
42. Bernas, The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines: A Commentary, 625 (2006).
43. Id.
44. Cayetano, v. Commission on Elections, G.R. No. 166388, January 23, 2006, 479 SCRA
513.
NACHURA, J., dissenting:
1. Passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on August 28, 2006 and August
14, 2006, respectively.
2. Rollo, pp. 124-127.

3. Id. at 143.
4. Rollo (G.R. No. 175158), pp. 3-20.
5. In its November 28, 2006 Resolution in G.R. No. 175158, the Court dismissed the petition
for certiorari as the verification and certification of non-forum shopping were defective
or insufficient and the IBP Official Receipt of the counsel for petitioners was dated
December 19, 2005. The Court later dismissed the petition with finality in its February 13,
2007 Resolution. The Court further issued the Entry of Judgment on April 11, 2007. (Id.
at 77A and 112.)
6. Rollo, p. 25.
7. Became effective on January 1, 1992.
8. Rollo, p. 207.
9. Id. at 209.
10. Id. at 498.
11. Emphasis and underscoring supplied.
12. Underscoring supplied.

14. Board of Supervisors of Houghton County v. Blacker, 92 Mich. 638, 646; 52 N.W. 951,
953 (1892); Vestal v. City of Little Rock, 15 S.W. 891, 892 (1891).
15. United States v. Hunter, 80 F.2d 968, 970 (1936). This case clarifies that when the
intervening water is the high seas over which neither of the lands has exclusive
jurisdiction, they are not contiguous territories though no dry land intervenes.
16. No. L-73155, July 11, 1986, 142 SCRA 727, 749-750.
17. Section 2 of the LGC provides:

Section 2. Declaration of Policy . — (a) It is hereby declared the policy of the State that
the territorial and political subdivisions of the State shall enjoy genuine and meaningful
local autonomy to enable them to attain their fullest development as self-reliant
communities and make them more effective partners in the attainment of national
goals. Toward this end, the State shall provide for a more responsive and accountable
local government structure instituted through a system of decentralization whereby local
government units shall be given more powers, authority, responsibilities, and resources.
The process of decentralization shall proceed from the National Government to the local
government units.
(b) It is also the policy of the State to ensure the accountability of local government units
through the institution of effective mechanisms of recall, initiative and referendum.
(c) It is likewise the policy of the State to require all national agencies and offices to
conduct periodic consultations with appropriate local government units,
nongovernmental and people's organizations, and other concerned sectors of the
community before any project or program is implemented in their respective
jurisdictions.
18. Bicameral Conference Committee Meeting of the Committee on Local Government, May
22, 1991, 4th Regular Session, pp. 57-67.
19. 420 Phil. 524, 530-531 (2001).

20. Herrera, Remedial Law, Vol. III (1999 ed.), pp. 295-296.

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EN BANC

[G.R. No. 180050. February 10, 2010.]

RODOLFO G. NAVARRO, VICTOR F. BERNAL, and RENE O. MEDINA ,

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WHETHER OR NOT THE CREATION OF DINAGAT AS A NEW PROVINCE BY THE

WHETHER OR NOT THE RESULT OF THE PLEBISCITE IS CREDIBLE AND TRULY

In her Memorandum, respondent Governor Geraldine B. Ecleo-Villaroman of the

The contention is without merit.

(i) a contiguous territory of at least two thousand (2,000) square

As a clari cation of the territorial requirement, the Local Government Code

(1) Income — An average annual income of not less than Twenty

xxx xxx xxx

We only certify population based on the counts proclaimed by the

Yes, sir. We have passed a resolution — orders to the provincial offices — to

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, good morning.

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Thank you, Governor. . . .

We do not question po the results of any locally conducted

REP. ECLEO (GLENDA).

'Yong sinasabi n'yo po, sir, bale we computed the estimated

xxx xxx xxx

REP. ECLEO (GLENDA).

This is in connection with the special census. Before this was

Thank you, Congresswoman.

'Yon po sa sinasabi naming estimated population, we only based the

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No'ng mga residents.

To reiterate, when the Dinagat Islands was proclaimed a new province on

The argument of petitioners is unsubstantiated.

For the creation of a province, the LGC provides:

xxx xxx xxx

(i) a contiguous territory of at least two thousand (2,000) square

Significant in the provision is paragraph (b), underscored above, as it provides for

Congress, in fact, during its deliberations on what would later on be enacted as

In other words, the primordial consideration here is the economic viability

xxx xxx xxx

xxx xxx xxx

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Ne, Ne. A province is constituted for the purpose of administrative

Verily, economic viability is the primordial consideration in the constitution of

3. Annexes "B," "B-1" to "B-2," id. at 88-90.

16. No. L-73155, July 11. 1986, 142 SCRA 727.

(ii) Secretary of Finance;

(i) The League of Provinces;

29. ART. 210. Liga ng mga barangay. —

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36. Annex "A," rollo, pp. 51-61.

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2. Rollo, pp. 124-127.

13. Emphasis supplied.

17. Section 2 of the LGC provides:

19. 420 Phil. 524, 530-531 (2001).

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