Law

Facts: The province of Leyte is composed of 5 legislative districts. Biliran, located in the third district of Leyte, was made its sub-province by virtue of RA 2141. When Biliran was converted into a regular province, 8 municipalities of the third district composed the new province. As a consequence, the composition of the third district was reduced to 5 municipalities. To remedy the resulting inequality in the distribution of inhabitants, voters and municipalities in Leyte, the COMELEC promulgated Resolution No. 2736 where it transferred the Municipality of Capoocan of the second district and the municipality of Palompon of the fourth district to the third district of Leyte. Issue: Whether or not the COMELEC has the power to transfer municipalities from one legislative district to another legislative district. Held: The COMELEC relies on the Ordinance appended to the 1987 Constitution as the source of its power of redistricting which is traditionally regarded as part of the power to make laws. But based on the deliberations of the Constitutional Commission, it denied to the COMELEC the major power of legislative apportionment as it itself exercised the power. Section 2 of the Ordinance only empowered the COMELEC to make minor adjustments of the reapportionment made.Consistent with the limit of its power to make minor adjustments; Sec. 3 of the Ordinance did not also give the COMELEC any authority to transfer municipalities from one legislative district to another district. It may well be that the conversion of Biliran from a sub-province to a regular province brought about an imbalance in the distribution of voters and inhabitants in the 5 legislative districts of Leyte. But the issue involves a problem of reapportionment of legislative districts and petitioner's remedy lies with Congress. Section 5(4), Art. VI of the Constitution categorically gives Congress the power to reapportion. The Court held that COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack of jurisdiction when it promulgated a resolution transferring the municipality of Capoocan of the second district and themunicipality of Palompon of the fourth district to the third district of Leyte.

V. LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT a. SENATE (COMPOSITION; QUALIFICATIONS; TERM OF OFFICE) SEC. 2, 3 AND 4. Section 2. The Senate shall be composed of twenty-four Senators who shall be elected at large by the qualified voters of the Philippines, as may be provided by law. Section 3. No person shall be a Senator unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines and, on the day of the election, is at least thirty-five years of age, able to read and write, a registered voter, and a resident of the Philippines for not less than two years immediately preceding the day of the election. Section 4. The term of office of the Senators shall be six years and shall commence, unless otherwise provided by law, at noon on the thirtieth day of June next following their election. No Senator shall serve for more than two consecutive terms. Voluntary renunciation of the office for any length of time shall not be considered as an interruption in the continuity of his service for the full term of which he was elected. b. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES