MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) upheld on Thursday its resolution dated April 12, 2011 declaring valid and constitutional Republic Act 9355, the law creating the province of Dinagat Islands.
The SC, in upholding its resolution, said the election of officials of Dinagat Islands also stands.
The SC also declared valid the provision in Article 9 (2) of the rules and regulations implementing the Local Government Code of 1991, stating that the land area requirement “shall not apply where the proposed province is composed of one or more islands.”
This, as the SC, in a two-page resolution, denied with finality the motion for reconsideration filed by Surigao del Sur political leaders Rodolfo Navarro, Victor Bernal, and Rene Medina, saying that “no substantial arguments” were presented to warrant the reversal of its April 12, 2011 resolution.
The SC said the petitioners asked it to revert to its Feb. 10, 2010 decision declaring RA 9355 unconstitutional.
The 2010 decision also declared the creation of Dinagat Islands province and the election of its officials null and void.
In that ruling, it also nullified Article 9 (2) for going beyond the ambit of Article 461 of the Local Government Code, as such exemption on the land area requirement is not expressly provided in the law.
In the April 12, 2011 resolution, the SC, voting 9-5, also granted the appeal filed by intervenors Rep. Francisco Matugas, Hon. Sol Matugas, Arturo Carlos Egay Jr., Simeon Vicente Castrence, Mamerto Galanida, Margarito Longos, and Cesar Bagundol, all elective officials in the first district of Surigao del Norte.
In the 2011 resolution, the SC said it had, on several occasions, sanctioned the recall of judgment in light of “attendant extraordinary circumstances” and that granting the recall of the entry of judgment in the case would allow it to arrive at the correct interpretation of the provisions of the Local Government Code on the creation of local government units.
Considering the physical configuration of the Philippine archipelago, the SC said there is a greater likelihood that islands or group of islands would form part of the land area of a newly created province than in most cities or municipalities.