G.R. No. 203974 , April 22, 2014.
Aurelio M. Umali v. Commission on Elections, Julius Cesar V. Vergara, and The City Government of Cabanatuan.

FACTS

On July 11, 2011, the Sangguniang Panglungsod of Cabanatuan City passed a resolution requesting the President to declare the city’s conversion from a component city of Nueva Ecija into a highly urbanized city (HUC). The President issued Presidential Proclamation No. 418, Series of 2012, proclaiming Cabanatuan City as an HUC, subject to ratification in a plebiscite. The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) issued Minute Resolution No. 12-0797, ruling that for the plebiscite, only the registered residents of Cabanatuan City should participate, based on Section 453 of the Local Government Code of 1991 (LGC). Petitioner Aurelio M. Umali, Governor of Nueva Ecija, filed a motion for reconsideration, arguing that the conversion would directly affect the mother province, and thus, under Section 10, Article X of the Constitution , the qualified voters of the entire province of Nueva Ecija should participate. The COMELEC En Banc denied the motion via Minute Resolution No. 12-0925. Petitioner Umali then filed a Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition. A separate Petition for Mandamus (G.R. No. 204371) was filed by J.V. Bautista to compel COMELEC to schedule the plebiscite. The two petitions were consolidated.

ISSUE

Whether the qualified registered voters of the entire province of Nueva Ecija or only those in Cabanatuan City can participate in the plebiscite for the conversion of Cabanatuan City from a component city into a highly urbanized city.

RULING

The Petition for Certiorari is meritorious. The Supreme Court ruled that the qualified voters of the entire province of Nueva Ecija must participate in the plebiscite. The Court held that Section 453 of the LGC must be interpreted in accordance with Section 10, Article X of the 1987 Constitution , which requires that the creation, division, merger, abolition, or substantial alteration of boundaries of a local government unit be approved by a majority of votes cast in a plebiscite “in the political units directly affected.” The conversion of a component city into an HUC constitutes a substantial alteration of the political and economic rights of the province, as it results in the city’s independence from the province, removing the province’s supervisory powers, the governor’s review of city ordinances, the city’s contribution to provincial funds, and the residents’ right to vote and run for provincial offices. Therefore, the province of Nueva Ecija is a political unit directly affected by the conversion. Consequently, the phrase “qualified voters therein” in Section 453 of the LGC must be construed to include the qualified voters of the province, as the province is directly affected. The COMELEC resolutions were annulled and set aside. The COMELEC was directed to conduct the plebiscite with the participation of the qualified voters of Nueva Ecija. The Petition for Mandamus was rendered moot.