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LOCGOV: III. GENERAL POWERS AND ATTRIBUTES OF LGUs - Coggle Diagram

- - - - CREATION/DIVISION/MERGE/ABOLISH
        REQS:
        
        LGC CRITERIA
        
        PLEBSICITE MAJORITY
        a. OF POLITICAL UNITS DIRECTLY AFFECTED
        SECTION 10. No province, city, municipality, or barangay may be created, divided, merged, abolished, or its boundary substantially altered, except in accordance with the criteria established in the Local Government Code and subject to approval by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite in the political units directly affected.
        
        CREATION OF SPECIAL METROPOLITAN POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS
        
        PLEBSICITE
        SECTION 11. The Congress may, by law, create special metropolitan political subdivisions, subject to a plebiscite as set forth in Section 10 hereof.
        
        COMPONENT CITIES & MUNICIPALITIES HAVE BASIC AUTONOMY, WITH
        
        LOCAL EXECUTIVES
        
        LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES
        The component cities and municipalities shall retain their basic autonomy and shall be entitled to their own local executives and legislative assemblies.
        
        JURISDICTION LIMITED TO:
        
        BASIC SERVICES REQUIRING COORDINATION
        The jurisdiction of the metropolitan authority that will hereby be created shall be limited to basic services requiring coordination.
        
        AUTONOMOUS REGIONS SHALL BE IN:
        
        MUSLIM MINDANAO
        
        CORDILLERAS
        Autonomous Region
        
        SECTION 15. There shall be created autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and in the Cordilleras consisting of provinces, cities, municipalities, and geographical areas sharing common and distinctive historical and cultural heritage, economic and social structures, and other relevant characteristics within the framework of this Constitution and the national sovereignty as well as territorial integrity of the Republic of the Philippines.
        
        PRES' GENERAL SUPERVISION
        SECTION 16. The President shall exercise general supervision over autonomous regions to ensure that the laws are faithfully executed.
        
        PURPOSE: LAWS FAITHFULLY EXECUTED
        
        CONGRESS ALSO HAS NO INTERVENTION HERE
        Decentralization differs intrinsically from federalism in that the sub-units that have been authorized to act (by delegation) do not possess any claim of right against the central government.||| (Disomangcop v. Datumanong, G.R. No. 149848, [November 25, 2004], 486 PHIL 398-451)
        
        1ST CONGRESS SHALL PASS ORGANIC ACTS FOR AS WITHIN 18 MONTHS
        SECTION 19. The first Congress elected under this Constitution shall, within eighteen months from the time of organization of both Houses, pass the organic acts for the autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and the Cordilleras.
      - CONGRESS DETERMINES
  - - - CREATION & CONVERSION OF LGU:
        VERIFIABLE INDICATORS OF VIABILITY AND PROJECTED CAPACITY TO PROVIDE SERVICES:
        SECTION 7. Creation and Conversion. – As a general rule, the creation of a local government unit or its conversion from one level to another level shall be based on verifiable indicators of viability and projected capacity to provide services, to wit:
        
        CREATED LGU EXISTS FROM:
        ELECTION & QUALIFICATION :alarm_clock: OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE + MAJORITY MEMBERS OF SANGGUNIAN
        SECTION 14. Beginning of Corporate Existence. – When a new local government unit is created, its corporate existence shall commence upon the election and qualification of its chief executive and a majority of the members of its sanggunian, unless some other time is fixed therefor by the law or ordinance creating it.
        
        UNLESS SOME OTHER TIME IS FIXED BY LAW OR ORDINANCE
        
        INDICIA OF
        CAPACITY TO PROVIDE SERVICES:
        
        INCOME
        
        POPULATION
        
        LAND AREA
        
        INCOME
        (a) Income. – It must be sufficient, based on acceptable standards, to provide for all essential government facilities and services and special functions commensurate with the size of its population, as expected of the local government unit concerned;
        
        POPULATION:
        
        # OF INHABITANTS
        a. WITHIN TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION
        (b) Population. – It shall be determined as the total number of inhabitants within the territorial jurisdiction of the local government unit concerned; and
        
        "POPULATION"
        NOT VOTERS, POPULATION
        Herrera et al as taxpayers and citizens of Guimaras contest the COMELEC resolutions arguing that the division of the districts were not equitable based on the voters, that the municipalities were not contiguous, and the consultative meetings were not held as required by law.*
        The Court dismissed the contention of Herrera et al. clarifying that the consultative meetings were done, that the borders of the subject municipalities were contiguous [see map in notes], and the bases for equitable division of the districts was not the number of voters, but the number of people. The Province in this case used the NSO census, thus the resolutions were valid.
        (Herrera v. COMELEC)
        
        MAIN PURPOSE: ECONOMIC VIABILITY
        As seen in the LGC, the creation or conversion of a local government unit is done mainly to help assure its economic viability. Such creation or conversion is based on verified indicators in LGC 7 (income, population, and land area)
        (Latasa v. Comelec)
        
        SIR: HERRERA WAS INCLUDED BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO GROUP TOGETHER WITH SOME LOGICAL BASIS, GEOGRAPHICAL OR OTHERWISE
        
        LAND AREA SHALL BE:
        
        CONTIGUOUS
        
        METES & BOUNDS IDENTIFIED BY:
        a. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION
        
        SUFFICIENT FOR BASIC SERVICES & FACILITIES
        a. TO MEET REQUIREMENTS OF POPULACE
        (c) Land Area. – It must be contiguous, unless it comprises two (2) or more islands or is separated by a local government unit independent of the others; properly identified by metes and bounds with technical descriptions; and sufficient to provide for such basic services and facilities to meet the requirements of its populace.
        
        ATTESTED TO BY:
        
        DOF
        
        NSO
        
        DENR
        Compliance with the foregoing indicators shall be attested to by the Department of Finance (DOF), the National Statistics Office (NSO), and the Lands Management Bureau (LMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
        
        LAND AREA SHALL BE:
        
        100 SQM AT LEAST
        a. AS CERTIFIED BY LMB
        Land Area - must be contiguous with an area of at least 100 square kilometers, as certified by LMB.
        
        2 more items...
        
        TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION:
        BOUNDARIES DEFINE THE LIMITS OF TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OF AN LGU
        “The importance of drawing with precise strokes the territorial boundaries of a local unit of government cannot be overemphasized. The boundaries must be clear for they define the limits of the territorial jurisdiction of a local government unit. It can legitimately exercise powers of government only within the limits of its territorial jurisdiction. Beyond these limits, its acts are ultra vires. Needless to state, any uncertainty in the boundaries of local government units will sow costly conflicts in the exercise of governmental powers which ultimately will prejudice the people's welfare. This is the evil sought to be avoided by the Local Government Code in requiring that the land area of a local government unit must be spelled out in metes and bounds, with technical description.”
        (Mariano Jr. v. COMELEC)
        
        1 more item...
        
        POPULATION SHALL:
        
        150K INHABITANTS, AT LEAST (CITY)
        a. CERTIFIED BY NSO
        
        250K INHABITANTS, AT LEAST (PROVINCE)
        Population - shall not be less than 150k inhabitants, as certified by the NSO.
        
        LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT (FOR CITY) REQS
        :
        
        CONTIGUOUS, COMPACT, & ADJACENT
        a. AS FAR AS PRACTICABLE
        
        250K POPULATION
        
        ONE REPRESENTATIVE
        The 1987 Consti requires that for a city to have a legislative district, the city must have “a population of at least 250,000”
        [Sec 5(3), Art VI 1987 Consti]
        
        3 more items...
        
        MANDATORY: NSO-DECLARED
        Certifications on demographic projections can be issued only if such projects are declared official by the National Statistics Coordination Board (NCSB) (Sec 6 EO No. 135 issued by Pres. Fidel Ramos on Nov. 6, 1993, providing the Guidelines on the Issuance of Certification of Population Sizes).
        (Aldaba v. COMELEC)
        
        1 more item...
        
        ITEMS OF INCOME
        
        IRAs (REGULAR & RECURRING)
        
        NATIONAL WEALTH UTILIZATION PROCEEDS
        c. The funds generated from local taxes, IRAs and national wealth utilization proceeds accrue to the general fund of the local government and are used to finance its operations subject to specified modes of spending the same as provided for in the Local Government Code and its implementing rules and regulations.
        
        i. As such, for purposes of budget preparation, which budget should reflect the estimates of the income of the local government unit, among others, the IRAs and the share in the national wealth utilization proceeds are considered items of income.
        
        RATIONALE:
        IRAs FORM PART OF GROSS ACCRETION, AUTOMATICALLY TO LOCAL TREASURY WITHOUT ANY FURTHER ACT OF LGU
        ii. This is as it should be, since income is defined in the Local Government Code to be all revenues and receipts collected or received forming the gross accretions of funds of the local government unit.
        iii. The IRAs are items of income because they form part of the gross accretion of the funds of the local government unit.
        The IRAs regularly and automatically accrue to the local treasury without need of any further action on the part of the local government unit. They thus constitute income which the local government can invariably rely upon as the source of much needed funds.
        
        SHARES DEPEND ON EXISTING CITIES
        The share of LGUs is a matter of percentage under Sec. 285 of the LGC, not a specific amount. The share of the cities is 23%, determined on the basis of population (50%), land area (25%), and equal sharing (25%)
        This share is also dependent on the number of existing cities. When the number of cities increases, then more will divide and share the allocation for cities.
        With every newly converted city becoming entitled to share the allocation for cities, the percentage of internal revenue allotment (IRA) entitlement of each city will decrease, although the actual amount received may be more than that received in the preceding year. That is a necessary consequence of Secs. 285 and 286 of the LGC
        (League of Cities of the PH v. COMELEC)
        
        INCOME SHALL BE:
        
        P20M AT AT LEAST
        
        FOR IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING 2 CONSECUTIVE YEARS
        
        BASED ON 1991 CONSTANT PRICES
        a. CERTIFIED BY DOF
        Under Sec. 11, no city shall be created unless the following requisites on income and either population or land area are present.
        
        o Income - an average annual income of not less than P20M for the immediately preceding two (2) consecutive years based on 1991 constant prices as certified by the DOF.
        
        EXCLUDES:
        
        SPECIAL FUNDS
        
        TRANSFERS
        
        NON-RECURRING INCOME
        exclusive of special funds, transfers, and non-recurring income." To reiterate, IRAs are a regular, recurring item of income
        
        AVERAGE ANNUAL INCOME INCLUDES:
        
        INCOME ACCRUING THE GENERAL FUND
        Section 450 (c) of the Local Government Code provides that "the average annual income shall include the income accruing to the general fund,
        
        The average annual income shall include the income accruing to the general fund, exclusive of special funds, special accounts, transfers, and nonrecurring income;
        (IRR Sec. 11)
        
        SIR: LOCALLY GENERATED INCOME ONLY
        Locally generated income, funds coming from the LGU or component must be what counts as income now. (Alvarez v, Guingona)
        
        NON-REDUCTION BELOW MINIMUM
        The creation of a new city shall not reduce the land area, population, and income of the original LGU or LGUs at the time of said creation to less than the prescribed minimum requirements. All expenses incidental to the creation shall be borne by the petitioners.
        (Samson v. Aguirre)
        
        SIR: CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT IS FOR ALL
        The certifications & attestations requirement pertains to all indices of (a) Income, (b) Population, (c) Land Area
        
        APPLIES TO PROVINCE CREATION
        When the LGU to be created consists of one or more islands, it is exempt from the land area requirement if what is going to be created is a municipality or component city.
        (Sec. 442 and Sec. 450) (Navarro v. Ermita)
        
        NO REASON NOT TO APPLY TO PROVINCES
        While this exemption only refers to LGU creation and not Province creation and also Not appearing in Sec. 461, LGC-IRR 9(2) provides for Land Area Requirement. There is neither rhyme nor reason why the exemption should apply to cities and municipalities, but not to provinces.
        It is, therefore, logical to infer that the genuine legislative policy decision was expressed in Sec. 442 (for municipalities) and Sec. 450 (for component cities) of the LGC, but was inadvertently omitted in Section 461 (for provinces).
      - SANGGUNIANG PANLALAWIGAN/PANLUNGSOD FOR BARANGAY WITHIN TERRITORIAL JURIS
        or by ordinance passed by the sangguniang panlalawigan or sangguniang panlungsod concerned in the case of a barangay located within its territorial jurisdiction, subject to such limitations and requirements prescribed in this Code.
        
        SUBJECT TO LIMITS & REQS IN LGC
      - CREATION IS LEGISLATIVE
        PRESIDENT CANNOT EXERCISE AS A GENERAL RULE
        The authority to create municipal corporations is essentially legislative in nature.
        
        PRESIDENT WITHOUT DELEGATION
        CANNOT CREATE
        The President created 33 new municipalities through the issuance of EOs pursuant to RAC 68.
        The SC held the EOs null and void because (1) the power to create municipalities is a legislative power and (2) RAC 68, the basis of the EOs, did not meet the requirements for a valid delegation of such power to the President. Even if RAC 68 was a valid delegation, it is deemed repealed by the 1935 Constitution which provides that the President may only exercise has general supervision over local govts. (Pelaez v. Auditor General)
        
        CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITS ONLY
        It is a long-recognized principle that the power to create a municipal corporation is essentially legislative in nature. In the absence of any constitutional limitations, a legislative body may Create any corporation it deems essential for the more efficient administration of government.
        (Torralba v. Municipality of Sibagat)
        
        PLEBISCITE ONLY IS REQUIRED, ASIDE FROM LEGISLATIVE POWER
        The petitioners were saying that since no LGC had as yet been enacted as of the date BP 56 was passed, BP 56 statute could not have possibly complied with any criteria when respondent Municipality was created, hence, it is null and void. SC held that BP Blg 56 was a valid exercise of legislative power such that the Consti does not proscribe nor prohibit the modification of territorial and political subdivisions before the enactment of the LGC.
        What is only required is that once said Code is enacted, the creation, modification or dissolution of local government units should conform with the criteria thus laid down.
        Hence, prior to LGC’s enactment, it is enough that the creation of the new local government unit should be approved by the people concerned in a plebiscite called for the purpose. This requisite was complied with herein. Thus, BP Blg 56 is valid.
        
        NOTES:
        The LGC just laid down the criteria for creation, but creation powers will always be with congress. Therefore, even before the LGC is effective, Congress can already enact to create a subdivision.
        
        VALID DELEGATION TO MERGE/REORG:
        TO PRESIDENT
        Congressmen, and Jaldon challenged the constitutionality of RA 6734 and EO 429 which conferred the power to the President to reorganize or merge cities and provinces not voting in favor of ARMM. The Court ruled that Congress merely followed the pattern set in previous legislation dating back to the initial organization of administrative regions in 1972 in conferring said power to the president. Thus, there was valid delegation.
        (Chiongbian v. Orbos)
        
        JUSTIFICATION: FACILITATE LGU & DIRECT EXEC DEPTs, TRADITIONALLY LODGED
        The choice of the President as delegate is logical because the division of the country into regions is intended to facilitate not only the administration of local governments but also the direction of executive departments which the law requires should have regional offices.
        As this Court observed in Abbas, "while the power to merge administrative regions is not expressly provided for in the Constitution, it is a power which has traditionally been lodged with the President to facilitate the exercise of the power of general supervision over local governments. The regions themselves are not territorial and political divisions like provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays but are "mere groupings of contiguous provinces for administrative purposes."
        (Chiongbian)
        
        SIMPLICITY, ECONOMY, & EFFICIENCY
        A legislative standard need not be expressed. It may simply be gathered or implied. ○ It’s not required to be found in the law challenged since it may be embodied in other status on the same subject as that of the challenged legislation.
        ● For the power to merge, the standard is found in the same policy underlying the grant of the power to reorganize to the President in RA 5435: ○ “to promote simplicity, economy and efficiency in the government to enable it to pursue programs consistent with national goals for accelerated social and economic development and to improve the service in the transaction of the public business” ○ In giving the president the power to merge, the purpose of the Congress was to reconstitute the original basis for the organization of administrative regions after ARMM.
        (Chiongbian)
        
        CREATION/DIVISION/MERGE/ABOLISH
        REQS:
        
        LGC CRITERIA
        
        PLEBSICITE MAJORITY
        a. OF POLITICAL UNITS DIRECTLY AFFECTED
        SECTION 10. No province, city, municipality, or barangay may be created, divided, merged, abolished, or its boundary substantially altered, except in accordance with the criteria established in the Local Government Code and subject to approval by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite in the political units directly affected.
        
        RATIONALE - PLEBSICITE REQUIREMENT: POLITICAL & ECONOMIC RIGHTS OF LGU ARE AFFECTED UPON CONVERSION
        Substantial differences do exist between a municipality and a city. One of them is a material change in the political and economic rights of the local government unit when it is converted from a municipality to a city and undoubtedly, these changes affect the people as well
        This is why why Section 10, Article X of the Constitution mandates that no province, city, municipality, or barangay may be created, divided, merged, abolished, or its boundary substantially altered, without the approval by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite in the political units directly affected.
      - SIR; CONGRESS CAN CREATE EVEN SMALLEST POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS
        Even if it's the smallest political subdivision that could be created, Congress can enact a law to create such (barangay).
      - SIR: VALID DELEGATION REQS
        Valid delegation requisites, may mnemonics pa yan (Complete + Sufficient Standards)
      - SIR:PRESIDENT CAN MERGE
        The president can merge or combine administrative regions because these are merely administrative groupings.
        (Chiongbian)
    - - CITY
        SECTION 441. Manner of Creation. – A municipality may be created, divided, merged, abolished, or its boundary substantially altered only by an Act of Congress and subject to the approval by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite to be conducted by the COMELEC in the local government unit or units directly affected. Except as may otherwise be provided in the said Act, the plebiscite shall be held within one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of its effectivity.
        Section 450. Requisites for Creation.
        (a) A municipality or a cluster of barangays may be converted into a component city if it has an average annual income, as certified by the Department of Finance, of at least Twenty million (P20,000,000.00) for the last two (2) consecutive years based on 1991 constant prices, and if it has either of the following requisites:
        (i) a contiguous territory of at least one hundred (100) square kilometers, as certified by the Lands Management Bureau; or
        (ii) a population of not less than one hundred fifty thousand (150,000) inhabitants, as certified by the National Statistics Office:
        Provided, That, the creation thereof shall not reduce the land area, population, and income of the original unit or units at the time of said creation to less than the minimum requirements prescribed herein.
        (b) The territorial jurisdiction of a newly-created city shall be properly identified by metes and bounds. The requirement on land area shall not apply where the city proposed to be created is composed of one (1) or more islands. The territory need not be contiguous if it comprises two (2) or more islands.
        (c) The average annual income shall include the income accruing to the general fund, exclusive of specific funds, transfers, and non-recurring income.
        SECTION 440. Role of the Municipality. – The municipality, consisting of a group of barangays, serves primarily as a general purpose government for the coordination and delivery of basic, regular and direct services and effective governance of the inhabitants within its territorial jurisdiction.
        
        SECTION 442. Requisites for Creation. –
        (a) A municipality may be created if it has an average annual income, as certified by the provincial treasurer, of at least Two million five hundred thousand pesos (P2,500,000.00) for the last two (2) consecutive years based on the 1991 constant prices; a population of at least twenty-five thousand (25,000) inhabitants as certified by the National Statistics Office; and a contiguous territory of at least fifty (50) square kilometers as certified by the Lands Management Bureau: Provided, That the creation thereof shall not reduce the land area, population or income of the original municipality or municipalities at the time of said creation to less than the minimum requirements prescribed herein.
        
        (b) The territorial jurisdiction of a newly-created municipality shall be properly identified by metes and bounds. The requirement on land area shall not apply where the municipality proposed to be created is composed of one (1) or more islands. The territory need not be contiguous if it comprises two (2) or more islands.
        
        (c) The average annual income shall include the income accruing to the general fund of the municipality concerned, exclusive of special funds, transfers and non-recurring income.
        
        CURED MUNICIPALITIES (REGULAR) REQS:
        (d) Municipalities existing as of the date of the effectivity of this Code shall continue to exist and operate as such.
        
        EXISTING DUE TO PRESIDENTIAL ISSUANCES or EXECUTIVE ORDERS
        
        ELECTIVE MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS
        a. HOLDING OFFICE AT TIME OF EFFECTIVITY OF LGC
        Existing municipal districts organized pursuant to presidential issuances or executive orders and which have their respective set of elective municipal officials holding office at the time of the effectivity of this Code shall henceforth be considered as regular municipalities.
        
        TWO MUNICIPALITIES CAN BE MERGED, NOT JUST A CLUSTER OF BARANGAYS
        Petitioner contends that under Section 450(a) of the Local Government Code, a component city may be created only by converting "a municipality or a cluster of barangays," not by merging two municipalities, as what R.A. No. 8806 has done.
        The phrase "A municipality or a cluster of barangays may be converted into a component city" is not a criterion but simply one of the modes by which a city may be created.
        (Cawaling Jr. v. COMELEC)
        
        SIR:
        Combining barangays creates a league of barangays. This does not necessarily create a different classification i.e. merging two barangays does not necessarily create a municipality. SC said since the LGC allows merging, criteria will be affected including the criterion on income as with per km.
        You can create an LGU, make sure that the area you acquire should still meet the requirements under the LGC: Income, Land Area, Population.
    - - REQS FOR DE FACTO MUNICIPAL CORPORATION:
        Requisites:
        
        APPARENTLY VALID LAW
        a. UNDER WHICH CORP MAY BE FORMED
        
        ATTEMPT TO ORGANIZE CORPORATION
        a. GOOD FAITH
        
        COLORABLE COMPLIANCE WITH LAW
        
        ASSUMPTION OF CORPORATE POWERS
        a. Apparently valid law under which the
        corporation may be formed;
        b. Attempt in good faith to organize the
        corporation;
        c. Colorable compliance with law; and
        d. Assumption of corporate powers [Municipality of
        Malabang v. Benito, G.R. No. L-28113 (1969)].
        
        JUDICIALLY DISSOLVED:
        SEC. 442(d) DOES NOT VALIDATE
        JUDICIALLY DISSOLVED MUNICIPALITIES
        The proper purview to Section 442(d) of the Local Government Code is that it does not serve to affirm or reconstitute the judicially dissolved municipalities such as Andong, which had been previously created by presidential issuances or executive orders.
        (Camid v. Office of the President)
        
        RATIO: CURATIVE LAWS ARE RETROSPECTIVE AND VALIDATE WHAT WAS INVALID UNDER [PRIOR] EXISTING LAWS
        Equally significant is Section 442(d) of the Local Government Code to the effect that municipal districts "organized pursuant to presidential issuances or executive orders and which have their respective sets of elective municipal officials holding office at the time of the effectivity of (the) Code shall henceforth be considered as regular municipalities."
        No pretension of unconstitutionality per se of Section 442(d) of the Local Government Code is preferred. It is doubtful whether such a pretext, even if made, would succeed.
        The power to create political subdivisions is a function of the legislature. Congress did just that when it has incorporated Section 442(d) in the Code.
        Curative laws, which in essence are retrospective, and aimed at giving "validity to acts done that would have been invalid under existing laws, as if existing laws have been complied with," are validly accepted in this jurisdiction, subject to the usual qualification against impairment of vested rights.
        (Sultan Osop B. Camid v. Office of the President)
        
        CURED MUNICIPALITIES (REGULAR) REQS:
        Sec. 442 (d) Municipalities existing as of the date of the effectivity of this Code shall continue to exist and operate as such.
        
        EXISTING DUE TO PRESIDENTIAL ISSUANCES or EXECUTIVE ORDERS
        
        ELECTIVE MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS
        a. HOLDING OFFICE AT TIME OF EFFECTIVITY OF LGC
        Existing municipal districts organized pursuant to presidential issuances or executive orders and which have their respective set of elective municipal officials holding office at the time of the effectivity of this Code shall henceforth be considered as regular municipalities.
        
        COMPARED TO DE JURE CORPORATION
        De Jure corporations are those validly existing under valid laws, not suffering from the defect as De Facto Corporations are.
      - IMPLIED RECOGNITION CAN CREATE A MUNICIPALITY
        Where a municipality created as such by executive order (null & void) is later impliedly recognized and its acts are accorded legal validity, its creation can no longer be questioned.
        (Camid v. Office of the President)
    - - APPORTIONMENT vs REAPPORTIONMENT
        
        LEGISLATIVE APPORTIONMENT:
        a. DETERMINATION OF NUMBER OF REPs; b. ALLOCATION OF SEATS IN LEGISLATIVE BODY;
        c. DRAWING DISTRICT LINES TO EQUALIZE POPULATON
        • Legislative apportionment – the determination of the number of representatives which a State, county or other subdivision may send to a legislative body
        o the allocation of seats in a legislative body in proportion to the population; the drawing of voting district lines so as to equalize population and voting power among the districts
        
        REAPPORTIONMENT:
        a. CHANGE IN LD BROUGHT BY CHANGES IN POPULATION
        b. CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENT OF EQUALITY OF REPRESENTATION
        • Reapportionment – the realignment or change in legislative districts brought about by changes in population and mandated by the constitutional requirement of equality of representation
        (Bagabuyo v. COMELEC)
        
        LGU vs LD
        LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT IS...
        
        NOT A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION
        • The legislative district found in Art VI Sec 5 may be called a political unit because it is the basis for the election of a member of the HOR and members of the local legislative body o However, it is NOT a political subdivision through which functions of government are carried out.
        
        LD IS NOT A CORPORATE UNIT
        a. DOES NOT ACT ON BEHALF OF PEOPLE
        b. NO LEGAL PERSONALITY
        c. NO CAPACITY TO ACT
        ▪ It can more appropriately be described as a representative unit that may or may not encompass the whole of a city or a province, but unlike the latter, it is not a corporate unit. o Not being a corporate unit, a district does not act for and in behalf of the people comprising the district; it merely delineates the areas occupied ▪ Not being a corporate unit, it has no legal personality that must be created or dissolved and has no capacity to act
        
        LD HAS NO CHIEF EXECUTIVE
        ▪ Unlike a province, which has a governor; a city or a municipality, which has a mayor; and a barangay, which has a punong barangay, a district does not have its own chief executive. o The role of the congressman that it elects is to ensure that the voice of the people of the district is heard in Congress, not to oversee the affairs of the legislative district
        
        NO PLEBSICITE REQUIRED IN:
        a. CREATION
        b. DISSOLUTION
        c. ANY OTHER SIMILAR ACTION
        Thus, there is no need for a plebiscite in the creation, dissolution or any other similar action on a legislative district.
        
        LGUs ARE...
        
        POLITICAL & CORPORATE UNITS
        
        LEGAL PERSONALITY
        • Conversely, LGUs are political and corporate units o They are the territorial and political subdivisions of the state o They possess legal personality on the authority of the Constitution and by action of the Legislature.
        
        POLITICAL SUBDIVISION
        a. CARRIES OUT GOV'T FUNCTION
        ▪ As a political subdivision, it is an "instrumentality of the state in carrying out the functions of government ▪ As a corporate entity with a distinct and separate juridical personality from the State, it exercises special functions for the sole benefit of its constituents. It acts as "an agency of the community in the administration of local affairs”
        
        ALTERABLE BOUNDARIES
        o The Constitution defines them as entities that Congress can, by law, create, divide, abolish, merge; or whose boundaries can be altered based on standards again established by both the Constitution and the Legislature.
        
        CORPORATE EXISTENCE FROM ELECTION & QUALIFICATION OF CE & MAJORITY OF SANGGUNIAN MEMBERS
        o A LGU’s corporate existence begins upon the election and qualification of its chief executive and a majority of the members of its Sanggunian
        
        o Thus, the Constitution saw it fit to expressly secure the consent of the people affected by the creation, division, merger, abolition or alteration of boundaries
      - DIVISION & MERGER SHALL COMPLY WITH REQUISITES FOR CREATION
        Section 8. Division and Merger. - Division and merger of existing local government units shall comply with the same requirements herein prescribed for their creation:
        
        NON-REDUCTION BELOW MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
        Provided, however, That such division shall not reduce the income, population, or land area of the local government unit or units concerned to less than the minimum requirements prescribed in this Code:
        
        INCOME CLASSIFICATION UPDATE WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF LGC EFFECTIVITY
        The income classification of local government units shall be updated within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Code to reflect the changes in their financial position resulting from the increased revenues as provided herein.
        
        INCOME CLASSIFICATION NOT TO BE LOWERED
        Provided, further, That the income classification of the original local government unit or units shall not fall below its current classification prior to such division.
      - ABOLITION
        
        PLEBISCITE
        
        PLEBSICITE:
        
        MAJORITY VOTE
        Section 10. Plebiscite Requirement. - No creation, division, merger, abolition, or substantial alteration of boundaries of local government units shall take effect unless approved by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite called for the purpose in the political unit or units directly affected.
        
        CONDUCTED WITHIN:
        120 DAYS FROM DATE OF EFFECTIVITY OF LAW/ORDINANCE EFFECTING ACTION
        Said plebiscite shall be conducted by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) within one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of effectivity of the law or ordinance effecting such action, unless said law or ordinance fixes another date.
        
        UNLESS ANOTHER DATE WAS FIXED BY SUCH LAW/ORDINANCE
        
        VALID EXCLUSION = NO INTEREST
        SC held that the principal subject involved in the plebiscite was the conversion of Mandaluyong into a highly urbanized city. The matter of separate district representation of San Juan was only ancillary thereto. Thus, the inhabitants of San Juan were properly excluded from the said plebiscite as they had nothing to do with the change of status of neighboring Mandaluyong.
        (Tobias v. Abalos)
        
        PREMATURE EXCLUSION
        In Grino v. Commission on Elections, 213 SCRA 672, we held that the COMELEC had no authority to exclude the voters of the Sub-province of Guimaras from voting for the positions of the Governor, Vice-Governor, and Members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan representing the Second District of the Province of Iloilo because under Section 462 of the Local Government Code, it was only in the case where the voters ratified the conversion of the Sub-province of Guimaras to a regular province that the President was empowered to appoint the officials of the newly created province. The Court noted that the lawmakers failed to foresee that in the event the negative vote in the plebiscite prevailed, the Sub-province of Guimaras would continue to be a part of the Province of Iloilo and be represented by the officials of the province elected in the May 11, 1992 elections. However, considering that the "Yes" votes in the plebiscite prevailed, we ruled that it would serve no useful purpose to undo what the COMELEC had done and that there would be no legal basis to call special elections to give a chance to the voters of the Sub-province of Guimaras to vote for the provincial officials of the Province of Iloilo.||| (Caram v. Commission on Elections, G.R. No. 105214, [August 30, 1993])
        
        EXCLUSION MUST BE PROVEN; ABSENT PROOF, PRESUMPTION IS VOTERS ABSTAINED
        Petitioners have not shown the basis of their claim that about one-third of the voters in the Sub-province of Guimaras were not able to vote for a Congressman.
        The official ballots used in the Sub-province of Guimaras contained a space for the voting of a Congressman for the Second Congressional District of Iloilo. That was a clear indication that the Guimaras voters could vote for said official.
        In allowing the voters in the Sub-province of Guimaras to vote for a Congressman for the Second Congressional District of Iloilo, the COMELEC merely followed to the letter the provisions of Section 462 of R.A. 7160 that:
        "The new legislative districts created as a result of such conversion shall continue to be represented in congress by the duly-elected representatives of the original districts out of which said new provinces or districts were created until their own representatives shall have been elected in the next regular congressional elections and qualified."
        There was no evidence to show that one-third of the voters of the Sub-province of Guimaras were not able to vote for a Congressman for the Second Congressional District of Iloilo due to the lack of dissemination of information that they could do so. In the absence of such evidence, the only conclusion that can be deduced was that those who did not vote for the position of congressman, merely abstained from voting for the said position. The right to abstain from voting for a position deserves the same respect as the exercise of the right to vote. To compel the COMELEC to conduct a special election for the position of congressman as demanded by petitioners would be to nullify the decision of the voters who cast their votes in the May 1992 elections and who, according to petitioner constituted two-thirds of the voters in the sub-province.
        ||| (Caram v. Commission on Elections, G.R. No. 105214, [August 30, 1993])
        
        SELECTION AND TRANSFER OF GOVERNMENT OFFICES AND NAMING RULES
        
        POLITICAL AND CORPORATE NATURE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
        
        CORPORATE POWERS :man_in_business_suit_levitating:
        
        BASIC SERVICES AND FACILITIES
        
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        DUAL CHARACTER :first_quarter_moon:
        Dual Character of Municipal Corporations
        
        DELEGATE AS PUBLIC
        In the one character a municipal corporation is a governmental subdivision, and for that purpose exercises by delegation a part of the sovereignty of the State.
        
        MERE LEGAL ENTITY AS PRIVATE
        In the other character it is a mere legal entity or juristic person. It stands for the community in the administration of local affairs wholly beyond the sphere of the public purposes for which its governmental powers are conferred.
        (Vilas v. City of Manila)
        
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        GENERAL WELFARE CLAUSE
        
        LGU HAS POWERS EXPRESSLY, NECESSARILY IMPLIED, OR INCIDENTAL FOR:
        
        EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE
        
        PROMOTION OF GENERAL WELFARE
        Section 16. General Welfare. -
        Every local government unit shall exercise the powers expressly granted, those necessarily implied therefrom, as well as powers necessary, appropriate, or incidental for its efficient and effective governance, and those which are essential to the promotion of the general welfare.
        
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        EMINENT DOMAIN
        
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        NATURE:
        POLICE POWER EXTENDS TO ALL GREAT PUBLIC NEEDS
        The police power of a municipal corporation extends to all great public needs, and includes all legislation and functions of the municipal government.
        
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        SIR: WHAT ARE THE POWERS OF THE LGU:
        
        Those expressly granted
        
        Those necessarily implied from the express grant
        
        Efficient and effective governance
        
        Promotion of General Welfare
        a. Magic mantra that is used by the LGU
        
        LGC PROVIDES FOR ABATEMENT
        The LGC actually have express grants to declare, prevent, or abate nuisance. 447, 458.
        
        CREATING/MERGING LAW SHALL:
        Section 11. Selection and Transfer of Local Government Site, Offices and Facilities. -
        SPECIFY THE SEAT :seat: OF GOV'T FROM WHERE GOV'T & CORPORATE SERVICES SHALL BE DELIVERED
        (a) The law or ordinance creating or merging local government units shall specify the seat of government from where governmental and corporate services shall be delivered.
        
        CORPORATE POWERS:
        Section 22. Corporate Powers. -
        
        CONTINUOUS SUCCESSION IN CORPORATE NAME
        
        SUE AND BE SUED
        
        SEAL
        
        ACQUIRE/CONVEY REAL/PERSONAL PROPERTY
        
        ENTER INTO CONTRACTS
        
        EXERCISE SUCH OTHER POWERS
        a. AS ARE GRANTED TO CORPORATION
        b. SUBJECT TO LIMITATIONS PROVIDED IN THIS CODE AND OTHER LAWS
        (a) Every local government unit, as a corporation, shall have the following powers:
        
        (1) To have continuous succession in its corporate name;
        (2) To sue and be sued;
        (3) To have and use a corporate seal;
        (4) To acquire and convey real or personal property;
        (5) To enter into contracts; and
        (6) To exercise such other powers as are granted to corporations, subject to the limitations provided in this Code and other laws.
        
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        FACTORS IN SELECTING SITE:
        
        GEOGRAPHICAL CENTRALITY
        
        ACCESSIBILITY
        
        AVAILABILITY OF TRANSPORTATION & COMMUNICATION FACILITIES
        
        DRAINAGE AND SANITATION
        
        DEV'T & ECONOMIC PROGRESS
        
        OTHER RELEVANT CONSIDERATIONS
        In selecting said site, factors relating to geographical centrality, accessibility, availability of transportation and communication facilities, drainage and sanitation, development and economic progress, and other relevant considerations shall be taken into account.
        
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        CREATING/MERGING LAW SHALL:
        Section 11. Selection and Transfer of Local Government Site, Offices and Facilities. -
        SPECIFY THE SEAT :seat: OF GOV'T FROM WHERE GOV'T & CORPORATE SERVICES SHALL BE DELIVERED
        (a) The law or ordinance creating or merging local government units shall specify the seat of government from where governmental and corporate services shall be delivered.
        
        GOVERNMENT CENTER SHALL, AFAP, BE ESTABLISHED WHERE THERE ARE:
        
        OFFICES
        
        AGENCIES
        
        NATGOV BRANCHES
        
        LGU
        
        GOCC
        Section 12. Government Centers. -
        Provinces, cities, and municipalities shall endeavor to establish a government center where offices, agencies, or branches of the national government, local government units, or government-owned or controlled corporations may, as far as practicable, be located.
        
        SP, WITH CONSULTATION OF PHC, MAY CHANGE THE NAME OF FF:
        Section 13. Naming of Local Government Units and Public Places, Streets and Structures. -
        (a) The sangguniang panlalawigan may, in consultation with the Philippine Historical Commission (PHC), change the name of the following within its territorial jurisdiction:
        
        COMPONENT CITIES & MUNICIPALITIES
        a. UPON RECOMMENDATION OF SANGGUNIAN CONCERNED
        (1) Component cities and municipalities, upon the recommendation of the sanggunian concerned;
        
        PROVINCIAL ROADS, AVENUES, BOULEVARDS, THOROUGHFARES, AND BRIDGES
        (2) Provincial roads, avenues, boulevards, thoroughfares, and bridges;
        
        PUBLIC VOCATIONAL & TECHNICAL SCHOOLS AND POST-SECONDARY & TERTIARY SCHOOLS
        (3) Public vocational or technical schools and other post-secondary and tertiary schools;
        
        PROVINCIAL HOSPITALS, HEALTH CENTERS, AND OTHER HEALTH FACILITIES
        (4) Provincial hospitals, health centers, and other health facilities; and
        
        ANY OTHER PUBLIC PLACE OR BUILDING OWNED BY PROVINCIAL GOV'T
        (5) Any other public place or building owned by the provincial government.
        
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        LGU SHALL ACCOUNT FOR:
        
        EXISTING FACILITIES OF AGENCIES & OFFICES THAT MAY SERVE AS GOV'T CENTERS
        In designating such a center, the local government unit concerned shall take into account the existing facilities of national and local agencies and offices which may serve as the government center as contemplated under this Section.
        
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        SITE OF GOV'T CENTER CAN ALSO BE SEAT OF GOV'T
        While Sec. 12 speaks of the site of government centers, such site can very well also be the seat of government, "from where governmental and corporate service shall be delivered.
        (Samson v. Aguirre)
        
        FACTORS IN SELECTING SITE:
        
        GEOGRAPHICAL CENTRALITY
        
        ACCESSIBILITY
        
        AVAILABILITY OF TRANSPORTATION & COMMUNICATION FACILITIES
        
        DRAINAGE AND SANITATION
        
        DEV'T & ECONOMIC PROGRESS
        
        OTHER RELEVANT CONSIDERATIONS
        In selecting said site, factors relating to geographical centrality, accessibility, availability of transportation and communication facilities, drainage and sanitation, development and economic progress, and other relevant considerations shall be taken into account.
        
        TRANSFER REQS:
        
        SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN CONDITIONS & DEV'TS IN LGU AFTER ESTABLISHMENT
        
        SANGGUNIAN:
        a. PUBLIC HEARING
        b. 2/3 VOTE OF ALL MEMBERS
        (b) When conditions and developments in the local government unit concerned have significantly changed subsequent to the establishment of the seat of government, its sanggunian may, after public hearing and by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of all its members, transfer the same to a site better suited to its needs.
        
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        POLITICAL + ECONOMIC PURPOSE
        2 DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS OF SEC. 10 OF ART. IX OF CONSTI
        
        VERIFIABLE INDICATORS = ECONOMIC PURPOSE
        
        PLEBISCITE = POLITICAL PURPOSE: ITO USE PEOPLE'S VOICE AS A CHECK AGAINST GERRYMANDERING
        The two requirements under Section 10 of Article IX of the Constitution have different purposes. The criteria fixed by the Local Government Code on income, population and land area are designed to achieve an economic purpose. They are to be based on verified indicators, hence, Section 7, Chapter 2 of the Local Government Code requires that these "indicators shall be attested by the Department of Finance, the National Statistics Office, and the Lands Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources." In contrast, the people's plebiscite is required to achieve a political purpose — to use the people's voice as a check against the pernicious political practice of gerrymandering. There is no better check against this excess committed by the political representatives of the people themselves than the exercise of direct people power.
        
        LGU MAY BE ABOLISHED WHEN:
        
        IRREVERSIBLY REDUCED TO LESS THAN MINIMUM
        a. CERTIFIED BY NATIONAL AGENCIES TO CONGRESS OR SANGGUNIAN(AS PER SEC. 7)
        Section 9. Abolition of Local Government Units. -
        A local government unit may be abolished when its income, population, or land area has been irreversibly reduced to less than the minimum standards prescribed for its creation under Book III of this Code, as certified by the national agencies mentioned in Section 7 hereof to Congress or to the sangguniang concerned, as the case may be.
        
        ABOLISHING LAW/ORDINANCE SHALL SPECIFY:
        a. PROVINCE
        b. CITY
        c. MUNICIPALITY
        d. BARANGAY
        (WITH WHICH THE LGU TO BE ABOLISHED WILL BE INCORPORATED OR MERGED)
        The law or ordinance abolishing a local government unit shall specify the province, city, municipality, or barangay with which the local government unit sought to be abolished will be incorporated or merged.
        
        BARANGAY MAY OFFICIALLY EXIST ON RECORD WITHOUT ANYONE RESIDING THERE
        ABOLITION STILL REQUIRES LAW/ORDINANCE
        
        A barangay may officially exist on record and the fact that nobody resides in the place does not result in its automatic cessation as a unit of local government
        
        Under LGC of 1991, the abolition of a local government unit (LGU) may be done by Congress in the case of a province, city, municipality, or any other political subdivision
        In the case of a barangay, except in Metropolitan Manila area and in cultural communities, it may be done by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan or Sangguniang Panglungsod concerned subject to the mandatory requirement of a plebiscite conducted for the purpose in the political units affected.
        (Sarangani v. COMELEC)
        
        SIR: NO AUTOMATIC ABOLITION
        There is no automatic abolition, maskina barangay yan or kahit anong klaseng LGU. There's no such thing as automatic abolition.
        
        SIR: 2 REQUIREMENTS MAY BE ATTACKED
        To invalidate abolition you may either attack the:
        
        LAW/ORDINANCE
        
        PLEBSICITE
        Here, what they attacked was the plebsicite.
        (Salva v. Macalintal)