LCP vs.

COMELEC
Facts:
1. The petition is with regards the Cityhood laws (Laws converting municipalities
into full fledged cities) for the conversion of 16 municipalities as impleaded
by the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP).
Time Line of the Flip-flop:
a. November 18, 2008, the Court En Banc, by a 6-5 vote sturck down the
cityhood laws.
b. December 21, 2009, the Court En Banc, by a vote of 6-4, declared the
Cityhood Laws as constitutional
CONTENTION:
2. RA 9009 has increased the requirement for conversion of municipalities into
component cities to 100,000,000 from 20,000,000 (according to LGC of
1991).
COUNTER-ARGUMENT
3. The Cityhood laws of the 16 municipalities bear an exemption clause from the
effects of RA 9009 so that even though the Cityhood laws were passed after
the passing of RA 9009, the 16 municipalities need not comply with the
100,000,000 but only the 20,000,000.
4. Such exemption was granted due to the fact that the 16 municipalities were
part of an original 57 pending cityhood bills, 33 of which were successfully
passed before RA 9009. And that of the 24 pending, 16 of which are the bills
being considered.
ISSUES:
1. W/N the 16 municpailites may be properly converted pursuant to pertinent
laws LGC of 1991 and RA 9009.
a. Was the exemption valid?
b. What is the proper interpretation of the economic requirement?
RULING:
SUMMARY: Yes, the 16 cityhood laws are all valid and the exmetpion in such laws to
RA 9009 is valid as well.
SCs ARGUMENTS:
1. The 16 Cityhood Bills do not violate Article X, Section 10 of the Constitution.
This article refers to the mandate that conversion has to be effected thru
compliance of the LGC as amended by RA 9009 which requires 100 M locally
generated funds as certified by the department of finance. However the
amendment does not apply to the 16 because 1) there is clear legislative
intent by Congress to exclude the 16, 2) The subsequent enactment of the 16

laws operates to amend RA 9009 (congress has the power to repeal, modify
its laws) since RA 9009and the LGC are also legislative enactments.
2. The Cityhood Laws do not violate Section 6, Article X and the equal protection
clause of the Constitution. There is substantial distinction between the 16
municipalities and others affording them the validity of the exemption since
1) unlike others, they were already pending before the congress before RA
9009 was passed and 2) more importantly, Congress, by enacting the
Cityhood Laws, recognized this capacity and viability of respondent
municipalities to become the States partners.