Montejo v. COMELEC, GR 118702

Montejo v. COMELEC, GR 118702


Only Congress may make major adjustments of the reapportionment of Legislative Districts. COMELEC may make minor adjustments of the reapportionment of the Legislative Districts by authority of an Ordinance appended to the Constitution. Minor adjustments includes, for instance, the correction made for a municipality within the geographical area of one district that was forgotten or where there may be an error in the correct name of a particular municipality. What COMELEC can do is adjust the number of members (not municipalities) “apportioned to the province out of which such new province was created xxx” 

Facts:

 

Biliran was originally a municipality of the 3rd District of the province of Leyte. It was later converted into a sub-province then a regular province. COMELEC sought to remedy the consequent inequality of the distribution of inhabitants, voters and municipalities in the province of Leyte by promulgating Resolution No. 2736 where it transferred (in Sec 1 thereof) the municipality of Capoocan of its 2nd District and Palompon of its 4th District to its 3rd District. Cong. Montejo of the 1st District of Leyte sought to annul said Sec of Res. No. 2736 on the ground that it violates the principle of equality of representation. To remedy the alleged inequity, he prays to transfer the municipality of Tolosa from his district to the 2nd District of the province.

 

Issue:

 

May the Court transfer the Municipality of Tolosa of the 1st District to the 2nd District of Leyte as prayed for?

 

Held:

 

No. The court held Sec 1 of Resolution No. 2736 void and conceded that the conversion of Biliran to a regular province brought about an imbalance in the distribution of voters in the legislative districts and, as such, could devalue a citizen’s vote in violation of the equal protection clause of the Constitution. However, what is prayed for involves an issue of reapportionment of legislative districts and remedy for such lies with Congress in accordance to Art VI, Sec 5(4). While this Court can strike down an unconstitutional reapportionment, it cannot itself make the reapportionment as Montejo would want the Court to do by directing COMELEC to transfer Tolosa from the 1st District to the 2nd District. Transferring a municipality from one district to another is a substantive (not minor) change.


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