Ordillo V Comelec Case Digest d1c6l

ALEXANDER P. ORDILLO v Commission on Elections G.R. No. 93054 December 4, 1990 FACTS:

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Casting of votes in a plebiscite held pursuant to Republic Act No. 6766 entitled “An Act Providing for an Organic Act for the Cordillera Autonomous Region” was held on January 30, 1990 to the people of the provinces of Benguet, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Abra and Kalinga-Apayao, and the city of Baguio.

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Results of the plebiscite from the COMELEC showed that the creation of the Region was approved by a majority vote only in the Ifugao Province (5,889) and was rejected in the rest of the provinces and city mentioned (148,676).

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On February 5, 1990, the Executive Secretary issued a Memorandum granting authority to wind up the affairs of the Cordillera Executive Board and the Cordillera Regional Assembly created under Executive Order No. 220.

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On February 14, 1990, COMELEC issued Resolution No. 2259 stating that the Organic Act for the Region has been approved and/or ratified by majority of the votes cast only in the province of Ifugao. On the same date, the Secretary of Justice issued a memorandum for the President reiterating the COMELEC resolution and provided that in consideration of the proviso in Section 13(A) that only provinces and city voting favorably shall be included in the CAR, Ifugao being the only province which voted favorably is then alone, legally and validly constitutes the CAR.

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Congress enacted Republic Act No. 6861 on March 8, 1990 setting the elections in the Cordillera Autonomous Region of Ifugao on the first Monday of March 1991.

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Petitioner filed a petition on March 9, 1990 against the COMELEC to declare the non-ratification of the Organic Act for the Region which the COMELEC merely noted.

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On March 30, 1990, the President issued istrative Order No. 160 declaring among others that the Cordillera Executive Board and Cordillera Regional Assembly and all the offices created under EO No. 220 were abolished in view of the ratification of the Organic Act.

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Petitioners maintained that there can be no valid Cordillera Autonomous Region in only one province as the Constitution and RA No. 6766 require that the said Region be composed of more than one constituent unit. The petitioners pray that the Court: (1) Declare null and void COMELEC Resolution No. 2259, the memorandum of the Secretary of Justice, the memorandum of the Executive Secretary, istrative Order No. 160, and Republic Act No. 6861 and prohibit and restrain the respondents from implementing the same and spending public funds for the purpose (2) Declare Executive Order No. 220 constituting the Cordillera Executive Board and the Cordillera Regional Assembly and other offices to be still in force and effect until another organic law for the Autonomous Region shall have been enacted by Congress and the same is duly ratified by the voters in the constituent units.

ISSUE: WON the province of Ifugao, being the only province which voted favorably for the creation of the Cordillera Autonomous Region can, alone, legally and validly constitute such Region. HELD: The petition is meritorious. The sole province of Ifugao cannot validly constitute the Cordillera Autonomous Region as explicitly provided under Article X, Section 15 of the 1987 Constitution that: There shall be created autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and in the Cordillera consisting of provinces, cities, municipalities and geographical areas sharing common and distinctive historical and cultural heritage, economic and social structures, and other relevant characteristics within the framework of this Constitution and the national sovereignty as well as territorial integrity of the Republic of the Philippines. The keywords — provinces, cities, municipalities and geographical areas connote that "region" is to be made up of more than one constituent unit. The term "region" used in its ordinary sense means two or more provinces. This is ed by the fact that the thirteen (13) regions into which the Philippines is divided for istrative purposes are groupings of contiguous provinces. Ifugao is a province by itself. To become part of a region, it must other provinces, cities, municipalities, and geographical areas. It s other units because of their common and distinctive historical and cultural heritage, economic and social structures and other relevant characteristics. The Constitutional requirements are not present in this case. The well-established rule in statutory construction that the language of the Constitution, as much as possible should be understood in the sense it has in common use and that the words used in constitutional provisions are to be given their ordinary meaning except where technical are employed, must then, be applied in this case