City mayors to protest SC flip-flop on cityhood case

Hopping mad at the flip-flopping rulings that reinstated the cityhood of 16 municipalities, the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) voted on Tuesday to declare Monday, March 14, a “Day of Prayer and Protest" before marching on Wednesday to the Supreme Court (SC) to file a motion for reconsideration and appeal for stability in decisions of the high court. “All the mayors are outraged by the Supreme Court decision. They demanded that we meet as a group so that we can take a unified stand on the issue," said LCP President Oscar Rodriguez, who is mayor of San Fernando City, Pampanga, at a press conference an hour prior to the LCP’s special general assembly at the Century Park hotel in Manila. Rodriguez was referring to the Feb. 15 ruling of the Supreme Court, which reversed its original decision declaring the creation of the 16 new cities as unconstitutional. Before the mayors convened in an executive session, they agreed to express their frustration over the assailed decision in any manner each mayor sees fit after holding the flag ceremonies at their respective city halls on Monday – by closing city hall, or by leaving only a skeletal force for basic transactions, or by continuous prayer by city hall employees, among other ways. The LCP said it will document all their protest activities. LCP Secretary General Hernani Braganza, who is mayor of Alaminos City, Pangasinan, said other city mayors had agreed to act in their respective localities. “We will undertake individual actions but we will also attempt to synchronize our activities," Braganza said. The mayors also agreed to raise their flags at half-mast to “mourn" the SC’s flip-flopping decisions in the cityhood laws controversy. The day of protest is but one of the activities the mayors are lining up to encourage their supporters to voice their sentiments against the SC’s latest reversal of its decision.

"Grassroots-based campaign" Rodriguez explained how the country’s 122 city mayors will launch a “planned grassroots-based campaign" to drum up public support for their group’s cause. The city mayors are encouraging their Sangguniang Panglunsod (city council) members and barangay (village) captains to pass resolutions condemning the SC decision and send these to the high court. Three LCP officials—Mayors Evelyn Uy of Dipolog City, Allan Celino of Roxas City, and Dan Lim of Tagbilaran City—said their respective city councils have finished the deliberation on the resolutions. “We will bring the resolution to the SC as soon as it is approved," said Mayor Celino, who added he is also convening lawyers in Capiz province to discuss the issue and voice their sentiments. “Magkakaroon kami ng noise barrage, wearing of arm bands and t-shirt in protest of the illegal conversion of municipalities into cities," said Mayor Peter Miguel of Koronadal, South Cotabato. “I am not concerned with the reduction of internal revenue allotment of our city as a result of the conversion. My primary reason for protesting is the flip-flop decision of the Supreme Court," he clarified. ‘Motion for reconsideration’ of city-conversion Former Senator Aquilino Pimentel – considered the ‘Father of the Local Government Code’ – was a special guest at the LCP general assembly, where he lamented the SC’s flip-flopping decisions. He stressed that under Section 10, Article X of the Constitution, any changes in the qualifications needed for conversion into cities are allowed but only by amending the Local Government Code and not, as in the case of the 16 cities, by passing separate city-conversion laws. Together with De La Salle University College of Law dean Manuel Diokno, who is one of the legal counsels of the LCP, Pimentel pointed out that the previous SC ruling striking down as unconstitutional the laws converting the 16 municipalities into cities had already reached “entry of judgment" stage way back in May 21, 2009. Diokno explained to the mayors present at the LCP general assembly that the SC judgment against the cityhood of the 16 municipalities was not only “final and executory" but also had already been “executed." He then expressed wonder at how the case which he thought had been settled was “resurrected" by the high tribunal. Puerto Princesa, Palawan Mayor Edward Hagedorn lamented that the recent SC decision would wreak havoc on his city’s development plans that are dependent on P20 million coming from the national government’s Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) to the city. Braganza warned that the 122 cities stand to lose as much as P3.7 billion in IRA once municipalities could easily be converted into cities in the same manner as the 16 municipalities. “We have made the decision to file a motion for reconsideration, hoping that the Supreme Court justices would see the light of day and stick to its original decision declaring the creation of 16 new cities as unconstitutional," Braganza said. - KBK, GMA News