(Update) MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared all the legal obstacles in the creation of a new district in Camarines Sur.

Voting 9-5-1, the high tribunal upheld Republic Act 9716 creating an additional district by separating six towns in the province’s 1st and 2nd congressional districts.

The decision was penned by Justice Jose Perez. Justices Presbitero Velasco, Renato Corona, Antonio Nachura, Teresita de Castro, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano Del Castillo and Jose Mendoza concurred.

Chief Justice Reynato Puno and Justices Antonio Carpio, Conchita Carpio-Morales, Arturo Brion, and Martin Villarama dissented. (Justice Roberto Abad is out of the country and was not able to participate in the voting.)

The law creating the new district was passed despite criticisms that it failed to meet the minimum population requirement prescribed by the 1987 Constitution.

It was perceived to be a form of accommodation for presidential son Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado “Dato” Macapagal Arroyo and Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya.

The youngest son of President Arroyo is occupying the former position of Andaya, who was forced to step down in 2007 because of constitutional term limits. He served the maximum allowable three consecutive terms from 1998 to 2007.

The creation of the new district prevented a head to head battle between the two. It allowed Andaya to reclaim his post in the 1st district and the younger Arroyo to seek the same position in the new 2nd district.

Double standards

The Supreme Court decision comes as a surprise after it voided in January a new district in Malolos City in Bulacan province because of its failure to meet the minimum population requirement. The same issue was raised against the creation of the new Camarines Sur district.

Section 5-3, Article 6 of the Constitution requires a minimum population of 250,000 for government unit (LGU) or clusters of LGUs to be declared a congressional district.

“Each legislative district shall comprise, as far as practicable, contiguous, compact, and adjacent territory. Each city with a population of at least two hundred fifty thousand, or each province, shall have at least one representative,” the Constitution reads.

Based on the 2007 census, the population of the new Camarines Sur district is 276,777. But the population of one of its mother districts—the 1st district—is already reduced to 176, 383, which is below the minimum population requirement of 250,000 set by the Constitution.

But the Supreme Court said the ruling is different between Malolos City and Camarines Sur because one is a city and the other is composed of municipalities.

Supreme Court spokesperson Jose Midas Marquez said that majority of the justices believed that the population requirement of 250,000 only applies to cities. It does not apply to provinces.

Reorganizing Camarines Sur
The new district in Camarines Sur was created when Republic Act 9716 was signed by President Arroyo in October last year. It was created by regrouping the municipalities from the 1st and 2nd districts of the province.

The political units that are consolidated to form the new district are as follow: municipalities of Libmanan, Pamplona, Pasacao and San Fernando in the first legislative district; and municipalities of Gainza and Milaor in the second legislative district. Meanwhile, the old 3rd district becomes the 4th district and the old 4th district becomes the 5th. - abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak

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