This case has been cited 2 times or more.
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2008-12-08 |
BRION, J. |
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| government unit.[26] In contrast, no plebiscite requirement exists under the apportionment or reapportionment provision. In Tobias v. Abalos,[27] a case that arose from the division of the congressional district formerly covering San Juan and Mandaluyong into separate districts, we confirmed this distinction and the fact that no plebiscite is needed in a legislative reapportionment. The plebiscite issue came up because one was ordered and held for Mandaluyong in the course of its conversion into a highly urbanized city, while none was held for San Juan. In explaining why this happened, the Court ruled that no plebiscite was necessary for San Juan because the objective of the plebiscite was the conversion of Mandaluyong into a highly urbanized city as required by Article X, Section 10 the Local Government Code; the creation of a new legislative district only followed as a consequence. In other words, the apportionment alone and by itself did not call for a plebiscite, so that none was needed for San Juan where only a reapportionment took place. | |||||
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2008-07-16 |
CARPIO, J. |
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| The Court has previously recognized that such law increasing the membership of the House of Representatives need not be one specifically devoted for that purpose alone, but it may be one that creates a province or charters a city with a population of more than 250,000. In Tobias v. Abalos,[41] the Court pronounced that the law converting Mandaluyong into a city could likewise serve the purpose of increasing the composition of the House of Representatives:As to the contention that the assailed law violates the present limit on the number of representatives as set forth in the Constitution, a reading of the applicable provision, Article VI, Section 5 (1), as aforequoted, shows that the present limit of 250 members is not absolute. The Constitution clearly provides that the House of Representatives shall be composed of not more than 250 members, "unless otherwise provided by law." The inescapable import of the latter clause is that the present composition of Congress may be increased, if Congress itself so mandates through a legislative enactment. Therefore, the increase in congressional representation mandated by R.A. No. 7675 is not unconstitutional.[42] | |||||