During the 11th Congress, 57 bills seeking the conversion of municipalities into component cities were filed before

the House of
Representatives. However, Congress acted only on 33 bills. It did not act on bills converting 24 other municipalities into cities.
During the 12th Congress, R.A. No. 9009 became effective revising Section 450 of the Local Government Code. It increased the
income requirement to qualify for conversion into a city from P20 million annual income to P100 million locally-generated income.
In the 13th Congress, 16 of the 24 municipalities filed, through their respective sponsors, individual cityhood bills. Each of the
cityhood bills contained a common provision exempting the particular municipality from the 100 million income requirement
imposed by R.A. No. 9009.
Are the cityhood laws converting 16 municipalities into cities constitutional?

November 18, 2008 Ruling

No. The SC (voting 6-5) ruled that the exemptions in the City Laws is unconstitutional because sec. 10, Art. X of the Constitution
requires that such exemption must be written into the LGC and not into any other laws. “The Cityhood Laws violate sec. 6, Art. X
of the Constitution because they prevent a fair and just distribution of the national taxes to local government units.” “The criteria,
as prescribed in sec. 450 of the LGC, must be strictly followed because such criteria prescribed by law, are material in
determining the “just share” of local government units (LGUs) in national taxes.” (League of Cities of the Philippines v. Comelec
GR No. 176951, November 18, 2008)

March 31, 2009 Ruling

No. The SC denied the first Motion for Reconsideration of respondents Commission on Elections, et al..

April 28, 2009 Ruling

No. The SC En Banc, by a split vote (6-6), denied the second motion for reconsideration. Subsequently, the November 18, 2008
ruling became final and executory and was recorded in the Book of Entries of Judgments on May 21, 2009. However, shortly
thereafter, it was realized that there were still pending unresolved motions. Hence, in the resolution of the pending motions, the
Court, on December 21, 2009, reversed its November 18, 2008 decision. (SC Reinstates 2008 Decision Voiding 16 Cityhood
Laws, Court News Flash, Posted August 27, 2010; By Jay B. Rempillo)

December 21, 2009 Ruling

Yes. The SC (voting 6-4) reversed its November 18, 2008 decision and declared as constitutional the Cityhood Laws or Republic
Acts (RAs) converting 16 municipalities into cities. It said that based on Congress’ deliberations and clear legislative intent was
that the then pending cityhood bills would be outside the pale of the minimum income requirement of PhP100 million that Senate
Bill No. 2159 proposes; and RA 9009 would not have any retroactive effect insofar as the cityhood bills are concerned. The
conversion of a municipality into a city will only affect its status as a political unit, but not its property as such, it added. The
Court held that the favorable treatment accorded the sixteen municipalities by the cityhood laws rests on substantial distinction.

The Court stressed that respondent LGUs were qualified cityhood applicants before the enactment of RA 9009. To impose on
them the much higher income requirement after what they have gone through would appear to be indeed unfair. “Thus, the
imperatives of fairness dictate that they should be given a legal remedy by which they should be allowed to prove that they have
all the necessary qualifications for city status using the criteria set forth under the LGC of 1991 prior to its amendment by RA
9009. (GR No. 176951, League of Cities of the Philippines v. COMELEC; GR No. 177499, League of Cities of the Philippines v.
COMELEC; GR No. 178056, League of Cities of the Philippines v. COMELEC, December 21, 2009)

August 24, 2010 Ruling

No. The SC (voting 7-6) granted the motions for reconsideration of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), et al. and
reinstated its November 18, 2008 decision declaring unconstitutional the Cityhood Laws or Republic Acts (RAs) converting 16
municipalities into cities. “Undeniably, the 6-6 vote did not overrule the prior majority en banc Decision of 18 November 2008, as
well as the prior majority en banc Resolution of 31 March 2009 denying reconsideration. The tie-vote on the
fellester.blogspot.com second motion for reconsideration is not the same as a tie-vote on the main decision where there is no
prior decision,” the Court said. In the latest resolution, the Court reiterated its November 18, 2008 ruling that the Cityhood Laws
violate sec. 10, Art. X of the Constitution which fellester.blogspot.com expressly provides that “no city…shall be created…except
in accordance with the criteria established in the local government code.” It stressed that while all the criteria for the creation of
cities must be embodied exclusively in the Local Government Code, the assailed Cityhood Laws provided an exemption from the
increased income requirement for the creation of cities under sec. 450 of the LGC.

“The unconstitutionality of the Cityhood Laws lies in the fact that Congress provided an exemption contrary to the express
language of the Constitution….Congress exceeded and abused its law-making power, rendering the challenged Cityhood Laws
void for being violative of the Constitution,” the Court held.

The Court further held that “limiting the exemption only to the 16 municipalities violates the requirement that the classification
must apply to all similarly situated. Municipalities with the same income as the 16 respondent municipalities cannot convert into
cities, while the 16 respondent municipalities can. Clearly, as worded the exemption provision found in the Cityhood Laws, even if
it were written in Section 450 of the Local Government Code, would still be unconstitutional for violation of the equal protection
clause.” Posted by Atty. Fel Brillantes/fellester.blogspot.com (GR No. 176951, League of Cities of the Philippines v. Comelec; GR
No. 177499, League of Cities of the Philippines v. Comelec; GR No. 178056, League of Cities of the Philippines v. Comelec, August
24, 2010)