Supreme Court: No new Malolos district

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has nullified a new law creating a congressional district for Malolos City in Bulacan.

In a vote of 7-6, the High Court declared that Republic Act 9591, the law passed on May 1, 2009 assigning a separate legislative district for Malolos City, violated Article VI Section 5 (3) of the Constitution and Section 3 of the Ordinance attached to the Charter, which both provide for a minimum population requirement of 250,000 for a city to have its own representative in Congress.

In an 11-page decision penned by Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, the SC refused to grant representation in Congress to Malolos City after petitioners failed to show records that their population is at least 250,000 in time for the May 10 elections.

“There is no showing in the present case that the City of Malolos has attained or will attain a population of 250,000, whether actual or projected, before the 10 May 2010 elections,” the SC said.

The SC said Congress was wrong in using an undated certification issued by Region III Director Alberto Miranda of the National Statistics Office (NSO) that “the projected population of (Malolos) will be 254,030 by the year 2010, using the population growth rate of 3.78 percent between 1995 and 2000 as basis for the passage of the law.”

The High Court also stressed that the certification, based on demographic projections, holds no legal effect since Miranda has “no basis and authority to issue the certification.”

“The certification is void on its face because based on its own growth rate assumption, the population of Malolos will be less than 250,000 in the year 2010,” the SC said.

“In addition, intercensal demographic projections cannot be made for the entire year. In any event, a city whose population has increased to 250,000 is entitled to have a legislative district only in the ‘immediately following election’ after the attainment of the 250,000 population.”

The court explained that only the NSO administrator or his designated certifying officer could issue certifications on demographic projections and be declared official by the National Statistics Coordination Board.

But the SC noted that the subject certification stated the total population of Malolos as of May 1, 2000 is 175,291 and that the city’s population growth rate is 3.78 percent per year between 1995 and 2000.

“Based on a growth rate of 3.78 percent per year, the population of Malolos of 175,291 in 2000 will grow to only 241,550 in 2010,” the court said.

“Even if the growth rate is compounded yearly, the population of Malolos of 223,069 as of Aug. 1, 2007 will grow to only 249,333 as of Aug. 1, 2010.”

At the time the legislative bills for RA 9591 were filed in Congress in 2007, the population of Malolos City was 223,069. Prior to this, the city was part of Bulacan’s first legislative district, along with the towns of Hagonoy, Calumpit, Pulinan, Bulacan and Paombong.

Chief Justice Reynato Puno and Associate Justices Conchita Carpio-Morales, Arturo Brion, Mariano del Castillo, Martin Villarama Jr. and Jose Perez concurred in the ruling.

Associate Justices Renato Corona, Antonio Eduardo Nachura, Teresita Leonardo de Castro, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin and Roberto Abad dissented.

Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. inhibited from the case, while Associate Justice Jose Mendoza was on leave.

‘Invalidate splitting of Camsur’

Meanwhile, sources in the House of Representatives said the SC could also invalidate the splitting of the first congressional district of Camarines Sur.

They said like Malolos, the two districts do not meet the population requirement of 250,000 per legislative constituency as prescribed by the Constitution.

President Arroyo’s son Diosdado is the incumbent representative of Camarines Sur’s first district, which has been split into two.

The new district is composed of the towns of Libmanan, Pamplona, Pasacao, Minalabac, and San Fernando, and the second district has the towns of Gainza and Milaor.

Libmanan is Rep. Arroyo’s adopted town. He is seeking reelection in the new legislative constituency, now denominated as the second district.

What remained in the original first district are the towns of Del Gallego, Ragay, Lupi, Sipocot, and Cabusao.

Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr., who represented the district for nearly nine years, is seeking to reclaim his House seat. The Andayas are from Ragay.

The present second district becomes the third district and is composed of the remaining towns of Pili, Campo, Camaligan, Canaman, Magarao, Bombon, and Calabanga, and Naga City.

Rep. Luis Villafuerte, author of the law splitting the first district, represents the second (now third) district.

The third district becomes the fourth. It will continue to compose the towns of Caramoan, Garchitorena, Goa, Lagonoy, Presentacion, Sangay, San Jose, Tigaon, Tinambac, and Siruma.

The fourth district becomes fifth. Like the fourth, its composition -- Iriga City and the towns of Baao, Bato, Buhi, Bula, and Nabua – remains intact.

Secretary Andaya, a lawyer, said if he and Rep. Arroyo win on May 10, they would both lose their congressional seats if the Supreme Courts declares the splitting of the first district as unconstitutional.

Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo have asked the Supreme Court to invalidate the division of the first district for failing to meet the population requirement.

Local officials, led by Gov. Luis Raymond Villafuerte, Rep. Villafuerte’s son, initially opposed the splitting of the first district because they wanted a general redistricting of the province, which they said was entitled to six districts, instead of five.

In their letter to the Senate, they said Rep. Villafuerte’s bill would cripple the existing first district in terms of population.

“The remaining towns of Del Gallego, Lupi, Ragay, Sipocot, and Cabusao have a combined population of 176,383, 30 percent short of the population requirement prescribed by the Constitution,” they said.

When Rep. Villafuerte’s bill was pending in the Senate, Aquino had suggested that all the existing districts be reconstituted so that each would hurdle the population standard and the province would be entitled to six, instead of five districts. But his suggestion was ignored. – Edu Punay, Jess Diaz