Ordillo vs. Commission on Elections

An autonomous region must be composed of more than one constituent unit; a single province cannot validly constitute an autonomous region. The constitutional phrase "provinces, cities, municipalities and geographical areas" connotes that a region is to be made up of more than one constituent unit, and the term "region" used in its ordinary sense means two or more provinces.

The 1987 Constitution, Article X, Section 15, mandates the creation of autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and 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. Pursuant to this constitutional mandate, Congress enacted Republic Act No. 6766, the Organic Act for the Cordillera Autonomous Region, which enumerated the provinces and city that could comprise the Region: Benguet, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Abra, Kalinga-Apayao, and Baguio City. The Integrated Reorganization Plan (1972), made part of the law of the land by P.D. No. 1 and P.D. No. 742, divides the Philippines into thirteen regions, which are groupings of contiguous provinces.

On January 30, 1990, the people of the provinces of Benguet, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Abra, and Kalinga-Apayao, and the city of Baguio, cast their votes in a plebiscite held pursuant to Republic Act No. 6766, entitled "An Act Providing for an Organic Act for the Cordillera Autonomous Region." The official COMELEC results showed that the creation of the Region was approved by a majority of 5,889 votes in only the Ifugao Province and was overwhelmingly rejected by 148,676 votes in the rest of the provinces and city.

Consequently, the COMELEC, on February 14, 1990, issued Resolution No. 2259 stating that the Organic Act for the Region had 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, considering the proviso in Section 13(A) that only the provinces and city voting favorably shall be included in the CAR, the province of Ifugao, being the only province which voted favorably, alone legally and validly constitutes the CAR. As a result, on March 8, 1990, Congress enacted Republic Act No. 6861 setting the elections in the Cordillera Autonomous Region of Ifugao on the first Monday of March 1991.

Even before the issuance of the COMELEC resolution, the Executive Secretary on February 5, 1990 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. On March 9, 1990, the petitioners filed a petition with COMELEC to declare the non-ratification of the Organic Act for the Region, which the COMELEC merely noted. On March 30, 1990, the President issued Administrative Order No. 160 declaring, among others, that the Cordillera Executive Board and Cordillera Regional Assembly and all the offices created under Executive Order No. 220 were abolished in view of the ratification of the Organic Act.

The petitioners maintained that there can be no valid Cordillera Autonomous Region in only one province, as the Constitution and Republic Act No. 6766 require that the said Region be composed of more than one constituent unit. The province of Ifugao makes up only 11% of the total population of the areas enumerated in Article I, Section 2(b) of Republic Act No. 6766, which include Benguet, Mountain Province, Abra, Kalinga-Apayao, and Baguio City. The Cordillera population is distributed as follows: Abra, 185,000; Benguet, 486,000; Ifugao, 149,000; Kalinga-Apayao, 214,000; Mountain Province, 116,000; and Baguio City, 183,000, for a total population of 1,332,000 according to the 1990 Census.

• Constitutional Requirement of Multiple Constituent Units: Petitioners maintained that there can be no valid Cordillera Autonomous Region in only one province, as the Constitution and Republic Act No. 6766 require that the said Region be composed of more than one constituent unit.
• Relief Sought: Petitioners prayed 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, Administrative 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; and (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 duly ratified by the voters in the constituent units.

• Application of Abbas Doctrine: The Secretary of Justice applied the ruling in Abbas vs. COMELEC to conclude that the creation of the Cordillera Autonomous Region became effective upon its approval by the majority of the votes cast in the province of Ifugao, and considering the proviso in Section 13(a) that only the provinces and city voting favorably shall be included in the CAR, the province of Ifugao, being the only province which voted favorably, can alone legally and validly constitute the CAR.

• Composition of the Autonomous Region: Whether 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.

• Composition of the Autonomous Region: No. The sole province of Ifugao cannot validly constitute the Cordillera Autonomous Region. Article X, Section 15 of the 1987 Constitution and the entirety of Republic Act No. 6766 require that the Region be composed of more than one constituent unit.

• Composition of the Autonomous Region: Article X, Section 15 of the 1987 Constitution explicitly provides that autonomous regions shall consist of "provinces, cities, municipalities and geographical areas" sharing common and distinctive historical and cultural heritage, economic and social structures, and other relevant characteristics. The keywords — provinces, cities, municipalities, and geographical areas — connote that a "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, as supported by the fact that the thirteen regions into which the Philippines is divided for administrative purposes are groupings of contiguous provinces under the Integrated Reorganization Plan (1972), made part of the law of the land by P.D. No. 1 and P.D. No. 742. Ifugao is a province by itself; to become part of a region, it must join other provinces, cities, municipalities, and geographical areas because of their common and distinctive historical and cultural heritage, economic and social structures, and other relevant characteristics. 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 terms are employed, was applied.

A reading of Republic Act No. 6766 strengthens the position that the Region cannot be constituted from only one province. Article III, Sections 1 and 2 provide that the Regional Government shall exercise powers and functions necessary for the proper governance and development of all provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangay or ili within the Autonomous Region. Otherwise, there would be the absurd situation of having two sets of officials — a set of provincial officials and another set of regional officials — exercising their executive and legislative powers over exactly the same small area. Article V, Sections 1 and 4 vest legislative power in the Cordillera Assembly whose members shall be elected from regional assembly districts apportioned among provinces and the cities composing the Autonomous Region; if the respondents' position were followed, there would be two legislative bodies — the Cordillera Assembly and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan — exercising legislative powers over the province of Ifugao. Article XII, Section 10 creates a Regional Planning and Development Board whose functions are almost similar to those of the Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator at the provincial level, which could only mean that a larger area must be covered at the regional level. Article XXI, Section 13(B)(c) allotting Ten Million Pesos (P10,000,000.00) to the Regional Government for its initial organizational requirements cannot be construed as funding only a lone and small province. Other provisions violated or incapable of compliance include Section 16 of Article V (Regional Commission on Appointments would have a Chairman and only one member, never a quorum), Section 3 of Article VI (cabinet members to come from various provinces and cities), Section 1 of Article VII (system of tribal courts for various indigenous cultural communities), and Section 9 of Article XV (development of a common regional language based upon various languages and dialects in the region).

The Court distinguished Abbas vs. COMELEC, which laid down the rule on the meaning of majority in the phrase "by majority of the votes cast by the constituent units called for the purpose" found in Article X, Section 18 of the Constitution. The Abbas case established the rule on which provinces and cities shall comprise the autonomous region, but there is nothing in that decision dealing with the issue of whether an autonomous region could exist despite the fact that only one province or one city is to constitute it. The issue in the instant case is whether the sole province of Ifugao can validly and legally constitute the Cordillera Autonomous Region, not whether Ifugao is to be included in the Region.

• Ordinary Meaning of Constitutional Language — The language of the Constitution, as much as possible, should be understood in the sense it has in common use, and the words used in constitutional provisions are to be given their ordinary meaning except where technical terms are employed. The Court applied this rule to interpret the term "region" in Article X, Section 15 of the 1987 Constitution as meaning two or more provinces, based on the ordinary sense of the term and the fact that the thirteen administrative regions of the Philippines are groupings of contiguous provinces.

• Autonomous Region Composition — An autonomous region under Article X, Section 15 of the 1987 Constitution must consist of more than one constituent unit — provinces, cities, municipalities, and geographical areas. The keywords connote plurality, and a single province cannot alone constitute an autonomous region, as this would violate both the letter and intent of the Constitution and the Organic Act creating the region.

• Distinction Between Plebiscite Questions — The plebiscites mandated by the Constitution and the Organic Acts determine (1) whether there shall be an autonomous region and (2) which provinces and cities, among those enumerated, shall comprise said autonomous regions. The rule on majority approval in individual constituent units (established in Abbas vs. COMELEC) addresses the second question but does not address whether an autonomous region can exist when only one province or city is to constitute it.

• "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 passage articulates the core ratio decidendi: the constitutional text itself requires plurality of constituent units for an autonomous region.

• "The entirety of Republic Act No. 6766 creating the Cordillera Autonomous Region is infused with provisions which rule against the sole province of Ifugao constituting the Region." — This passage summarizes the Court's conclusion after examining the various provisions of the Organic Act that presuppose a multi-unit region.

• "To contemplate the situation envisioned by the respondent would not only violate the letter and intent of the Constitution and Republic Act No. 6766 but would also be impractical and illogical." — This passage captures the Court's rejection of the respondents' position on both textual and practical grounds.

• "However, there is nothing in the Abbas decision which deals with the issue on whether an autonomous region, in either Muslim Mindanao or Cordillera could exist despite the fact that only one province or one city is to constitute it." — This passage distinguishes the controlling precedent and clarifies the precise issue before the Court.

• Abbas vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 89651, November 10, 1969 — Distinguished. This case laid down the rule on the meaning of "majority of the votes cast by the constituent units" in Article X, Section 18 of the Constitution, requiring only a simple majority of votes approving the Organic Act in individual constituent units. The Court held that this precedent does not address whether an autonomous region can exist when only one province or city is to constitute it.

• Baranda vs. Gustilo, 165 SCRA 757, 770 (1988) — Cited as authority for the rule of statutory construction that constitutional language should be understood in its common and ordinary sense.

• J.M. Tuason & Co., Inc. vs. Land Tenure Administration, 31 SCRA 413, 422-423 (1970) — Cited as authority for the rule that words used in constitutional provisions are to be given their ordinary meaning except where technical terms are employed.

• Article X, Section 15, 1987 Constitution — Provides for the creation of autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and 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. The Court interpreted this provision as requiring more than one constituent unit to form an autonomous region.

• Article X, Section 18, 1987 Constitution — Provides for ratification of the Organic Act by majority of the votes cast by the constituent units; this was the provision interpreted in Abbas vs. COMELEC and distinguished from the issue in the instant case.

• Republic Act No. 6766 — The Organic Act for the Cordillera Autonomous Region. The Court examined Articles III, V, VII, XII, XV, and XXI of this statute to show that Congress never intended a single province to constitute the autonomous region.

• Republic Act No. 6861 — The statute setting elections in the Cordillera Autonomous Region of Ifugao on the first Monday of March 1991; declared null and void as a consequence of the invalidity of the one-province region.

• Executive Order No. 220 — The executive issuance creating the Cordillera Executive Board and the Cordillera Regional Assembly; declared to be still in force and effect until properly repealed or amended.

• P.D. No. 1 and P.D. No. 742 — Presidential decrees that made the Integrated Reorganization Plan (1972) part of the law of the land; cited to show that the thirteen administrative regions of the Philippines are groupings of contiguous provinces.

• Batas Pambansa Blg. 337 (Local Government Code) — Cited for comparison of the functions of the Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator with those of the Regional Planning and Development Board under Republic Act No. 6766.

Fernan, C.J., Narvasa, Melencio-Herrera, Cruz, Paras, Gancayco, Padilla, Bidin, Sarmiento, Griño-Aquino, Medialdea, and Regalado, JJ., concurred. Feliciano, J., was on leave.

N/A — No dissenting opinions are noted in the provided text.