(Digest) Ordillo V COMELEC

ORDILLO v.
COMELEC
G.R. No. 93054 December 4, 1990 Gutierrez Hermosisima
petitioners Alexander P. Ordillo (Cordillera Regional Assembly Member- Banaue) etc.
responden COMELEC, Franklin Drilon as the Secretary of Justice, Catalino Macaraig (as Executive Secretary),
ts The Cabinet Officer for Reg’l Development, Guillermo Carague (Secretary of BandM), Rosalina
Cajucom (OIC, Nat’l Treasurer)
summary In the plebiscite for the approval of the organic act of the Cordillera Autonoous Region, a
majority vote was only obtained in the province of Ifugao. Petitioenrs wanted to annul the
recognition by the government of Ifugao as constituting the only member of the CAR.
Cout agreed with petitioners saying that it violates the Constitution (which provides for
provinces, cities…PLURAL) as well as the Organic Act itself
facts of the case

- Jan 30 1990, people of the provinces of Benguet, Mt. Province, Ifugao, Abra, Kalinga-Apayao as well as
the city of Baguio cast their votes in a plebiscite pursuant to RA 6766 or the Act Providing for the
Organic Act of the Cordillera Autonomous Region. COMELEC results showed that the creation of CAR
was approved by a majority of votes in only Ifugao province while in other provinces the majority
rejected such creation.
- Executive Secretary issued a Memorandum granting authority to wind the affairs of the Cordillera
Executive Board and the Cordillera Regional Assembly created under EO 220 (see previous case) (Feb
5)
- COMELEC issued Reso 2259 stating that the Organic Act has been approved and/or ratified by the
majority of votes cast in Ifugao only. On the same date, Sec of Justice Drilon issued a memo for the
President reiterating the aforesaid Reso and provided that the province in Ifugao “alone, legally and
validly constitutes the CAR.” (Feb 14- Valenties ayiee)
- On March Congress enacted RA 6681 setting the elections in the CAR of Ifugao.
- Petitioner filed a petition with the COMELEC a day after the Congress enacted RA 6681 to declare the
non-ratification of the Organic Act. COMELEC merely noted the petition.
- March 30, President issued another AO declaring among others the abolition of the Cordilerra
Executive Board and Regional Assembly in lieu of the said ratification.
- Thus this action to review the petition of the COMELEC filed with the SC. They pray that:
o The SC declare null and void the COMELEC REso 259, the memorandum of Drilon, AO 160 and
RA 6681 and prohibit and restrain the respondents from implementing the same and spending
public funds.
o They also pray that EO 220 (which again constituted the Cordillera Exeutive Board and
Regional Assembly) to be still in force and effect until another organic law shall been enacted by
Congress and duly ratified by the voters.
issue
Whether the sole province of Ifugao can validly constitute the Cordillera Autonomous Region. NO
Ratio
The Court 1st explained that a situation like the one envisioned by the gov’t would not only violate the letter
and intent of the Constitution and RA 6676 but would also be impractical and illogical
Look at the Constitution
- Article X, Section 15 of the 1987 Constitution explicitly states “provinces, cities, municipalities and
geographical areas”; they connote that “region”is to be used in its ordinary sense which means two or
more provinces. This is even more supported by the Integrated Reorganization Plan which staes that
the 13 regions into w/c the PH is divided for admin purposes are groupings of contiguous provinces.
For Ifugao to become part of a region, it mst join other provinces, cities, municipalities and
1
geographical areas. It joints other units because of their common and distinctive historical and
cultural heritage, economic and social structures and other relevant characteristics. In this case,
having one province doesn’t satisfy that criteria.
- The language of the Constituton should be understood in the sense it has in common use and ordinary
meaning except where technical terms are employed.
Look at RA 6766
If one province can comprise a region, it would lead to the absurd situation of having two sets of
officials governing the same area.
- It’s not just the Constitution which provides the answer, but RA 6766 itself. Article III, Sections 1 and 2
of the law provide that the CAR is to be administered by the Cordillera government consisting of the
Regional Government and the local government units. It gives the Regional Government “powers and
functions necessary for the proper governance and dev’t of the provinces, cities, municipalities, and
barangay or ili within the Autonomous Region”. It means that Congress never intended that a single
province may constitute the region.
o Otherwise, we would be faced with the absurd situation of having a set of provincial and
regional officials exercising executive and legislative powers over the same small area.
- Article V Sections 1 and 4 of the same law vest the ;egislative power in the Cordillera Assembly whose
members shall be elected from regional assembly districts apportioned among provinces composing
the Autonomous Region.
o Again, if Ifugao would be allowed to be the sole member of the CAR, then we would have two
legislative bodies exercising powers over one of the smallest provinces in the PH
Regional Planning and Development Board (RPDB)v Provincial Planning and Development
Coordinator (PPDC)
- Article XII creates a RPDB composed of the Cordillera Governor, all the provincial governors and city
mayors etc while the PPDC is only one person. The functions of these two are almost similar. It it takes
only one person to do the tasks in the provincial level while it takes an entire Board to perform the
almost same tasks in the Regional level, it could only mean that a larger area must be covered at the
regional level.
Huge amount of funding

- P10M to the Regional Government for its initial organizational requirements can’t be construed as
funding a lone and small province.
- Isipin niyo, Ifugao makes up only 11% of the total population of the areas enumerated in Article 1 of
RA 6766. It has the second smallest number of inhabitants next only to the Mountain Province.
Regional Commission on Appointments, Cabinet, Tribal Courts, Common Regional Language

- The law also provided for a Regional Commission on Appointments with the Speaker as chairman and
6 members coming from different provinces, cities. If the Commission would have a Chairman and
only one member (who’s from Ifugao), then there would never be a quorum.
- Section 3 also calls for cabinet members who as far as practicable should come from different provinces
and cities in the region
- The law also creates a system of tribal courts for the various indigenous cultural communities in the
Region.
- The law also required the development of a common regional language based upon the various
languages and dialects in the region.
The Court then tackled the question of whether or not Abbas would be applicable
2
- The Abbas case laid down the rule on the meaning of majority in the phrase “by majority of the votes
cast called by the constituent units called for the purpose. The Court ruled in htat case that what is
required is a simple majority of votes in individual constituent units and not a double majority.,
- The Abbas case established the rule to follow on which provinces and cities shall comprise the
autonomous region in ARMM, which is the same rule to be followed in the Cordillera. There is
nothing in the Abbas decision which deals with the issue on whether an autonomous region, in
either Muslim Mindanao or in the Cordilleras could exist despite the fact that only one province and
one city constitute it. (Issue is not whether Ifugao is to be included, but whether the sole province of
Ifugao can validly and legally constitute the Cordillera Autonomous Region)

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ORDILLO v.

facts of the case

Huge amount of funding

Regional Commission on Appointments, Cabinet, Tribal Courts, Common Regional Language

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