Gullas confident SC will uphold new cities

CEBU, Philippines - First district Rep. Eduardo Gullas is positive that the Supreme Court will deny the second motion for reconsideration of the League of Cities of the Philippines asking the court to reverse its decision on the cityhood case of 16 municipalities.

“It is a rehash of their old argument they have been presenting, nothing new. My forecast is it will end after Tuesday,” said Gullas who authored the bills converting Naga and Carcar into cities. The two new cities were among those municipalities whose conversion to cityhood was questioned by the LCP on basis of constitutionality.

In their latest motion, the LCP still maintained that the conversion of the 16 City Laws is a violation of the equal protection rights and that it has not met with the new income requirement set by Republic Act 9009.

Gullas insisted that the 16 City Laws do not violate the equal protection rights and they do not have to comply with RA 9009’s income requirement as at the time their bills were passed they followed the old law which set the minimum income requirement at only P20 million.

This Tuesday the Supreme Court en banc will convene to decide on the LCP’s 28-page motion. Gullas said their legal counsel Estelito Mendoza, instead of answering the pleading, may just file a motion for entry of judgment considering that they have won the case twice in a row already.

Gullas said that he does not believe that with their two wins already, the Supreme Court would reverse its decision again, like it did in the past.

“I don’t think the Supreme Court wants to decide like a pendulum swings,” he said.

Those behind the fight to retain the 16 City Laws that the LCP are unlikely to make efforts to postpone again the scheduled June 7 hearing of its motion, especially as Justice Antonio Eduardo Nachura is set to retire on June 14.

But it still won’t make any difference even if Nachura’s replacement votes in favor of the LCP since it will only bring a tie vote, thereby still giving the new cities a victory, Gullas said.

As per the Constitution, a majority vote is needed for a part to win. Nachura has not participated in the past voting, during the last voting en banc it was 7-6 in favor of the 16 new cities.

And once the High Tribunal gives finality to its judgment, Gullas said their next step is to restore the city-value Internal Revenue Allotment of the 16 cities. They will also request the Department of Budget and Management to give “backpay” for the two years that it has reduced the IRA.

Since May 2009, the DBM, following the decision of the SC declaring the 16 City Laws unconstitutional, started reducing the share of the national income of the 16 cities to almost the value of a mere municipality.

But Gullas said he is doubtful the DBM would give the “backpay” as it could have possibly released all IRA supposedly for the 16 cities to those unaffected by the case. (FREEMAN)