City mayors to SC: Reinstate 16 cities as municipalities

(Updated 4:51 p.m.) A group of city mayors on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to revert to its 2008 ruling stating that 16 municipalities later declared as cities are ineligible to become cities. In its 40-page motion for reconsideration, the League of Cities in the Philippines (LCP) said the Supreme Court should once again rule as unconstitutional the 16 laws declaring the 16 municipalities as cities. In a show of force, more than 40 city mayors led a protest march to the Supreme Court before filing the appeal. They were joined by hundreds of their supporters and residents of the local governments they head. The LCP is seeking that the following cities be made municipalities again:

• Lamitan in Basilan;
• Baybay in Leyte;
• Bogo in Cebu;
• Catbalogan in Samar
• Tandag in Surigao del Sur;
• Borongan in Samar;
• Tayabas in Quezon;
• Tabuk in Kalinga;
• Bayugan in Agusan del Sur;
• Batac in Ilocos Norte;
• Mati in Davao Oriental;
• Guihulngan in Negros Oriental;
• Cabadbaran in Agusan del Norte;
• El Salvador in Misamis Oriental;
• Carcar in Cebu; and
• Naga in Cebu.

The group said the national government’s Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) for the 122 cities will be reduced because of the addition of the 16 new cities. First ruling in 2008 already final In their appeal, the city mayors — led by LCP president Oscar Rodriguez of San Fernando City, Pampanga — argued that the court’s November 2008 ruling declaring the 16 cityhood laws as unconstitutional was already final and executory. Hence, the court should not have entertained the municipalities' appeals when the Nov. 2008 ruling was handed down, they said. [See timeline of the cityhood cases] “The Court can no longer modify, alter, or amend a judgment that had long become final, executory, and continues to be implemented and executed," the LCP said. “Because the decision of Nov. 18, 2008 had become final by operation of law as well as explicit order of the Honorable Court, the entry of judgment was issued on May 21, 2009. Accordingly, the decision of Nov. 18, 2008 was executed and implemented (and its finality acknowledged)," it added. The LCP then asked the high court to set aside its recent Feb. 15, 2011 decision that ruled that the 16 cityhood laws do not violate the 1987 Constitution. “It is most respectfully prayed that this Honorable Court reconsider and set aside its resolution dated Feb. 15, 2011 and reinstate the 18 November 2008 resolution declaring the 16 cityhood laws unconstitutional," the LCP said. Flip-flopping court The court’s Feb. 15, 2011 ruling is its fourth judgment on the cityhood case. The first decision was rendered on Nov. 18, 2008, declaring as unconstitutional several laws converting the municipalities into cities. The second decision was made on Dec. 21, 2009, reversing the Nov. 2008 decision and ruling that the towns can be declared as cities. Last Aug. 24, 2010, the Supreme Court made its second reversal and reinstated its Nov. 2008 decision. In its latest ruling, the high court made another reversal and granted the appeal of the 16 municipalities, which are now cities once again. But the LCP, in its motion for reconsideration, said despite the clear pronouncement that the Nov. 18, 2008 decision was already final and executory, respondent municipalities still filed another motion for reconsideration appealing the Aug. 24, 2010 decision that was in favor of the LCP. Why the municipalities should not be cities The LCP maintained that the 16 cityhood laws violated the 1987 Constitution because the 16 towns were declared as cities even if the concerned local governments have not met the P100-million annual revenue allotment required by the Local Government Code. The 16 laws being questioned only imposed a minimum annual revenue of P20 million. Section 10, Article X of the Constitution says that no city “may be created, divided, merged or abolished or its boundary substantially altered, except in accordance with the criteria established by the Local Government Code." In its motion for reconsideration, the LCP likewise said that it was unfair that the 16 new cities only had to meet the P20-million annual revenue requirement when five other municipalities — Sta. Rosa and Biñan in Laguna, San Juan in Batangas, Trece Martires in Cavite, and Navotas — were made cities because they met the P100-million annual revenue requirement imposed by the Local Government Code. Internal Revenue Allotment battle The creation of the 16 new cities means that the national government’s IRA for 122 existing cities will be reduced. Puerto Princesa, Palawan Mayor Edward Hagedorn earlier said that the SC’s recent decision would wreak havoc on his city’s development plans that are dependent on P20 million coming from the IRA to the city. For his part, Alaminos City, Pangasinan mayor Hernani 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. Solons to mayors: Don’t be greedy Meanwhile, lawmakers from the House of Representatives, whose constituencies include the cities in question, appealed to LCP members “not to bully" the smaller municipalities that the high court deemed eligible to become cities. “I appeal to LCP not to be too greedy. Let us allow the poor municipalities to develop and provide social services to its people," Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said at a press briefing Wednesday. He likewise appealed to the SC justices “to stand their ground" and not to give in to the “pressure" being exerted by the city mayors “Sana naman itong mga taga-LCP, huwag naman kami i-bully. Huwag din i-bully ang SC (I hope the LCP will stop bullying us and the SC). We also desire to have the luxury of good infrastructure and social services," he said. Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas said the LCP should not view the case as a mere “matter of money" but also an opportunity to promote development in smaller cities. “It’s all a matter of money. It’s all a matter of IRA. It’s like elder siblings trying to kill younger siblings in order to have their inheritance undiminished," he said. - with Andreo Calonzo/KBK, GMA News