Benigno Aquino III vs.

Commission on Elections
G.R. No. 189793, April 7, 2010

Facts: The said case was filed by the petitioners by way of a Petition for Certiorari and
Prohibition under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court. It was addressed to nullify and declared
as unconstitutional, R.A. 9716 entitled An Act Reapportioning the Composition of the
First (1st) and Second Legislative Districts (2nd) in the province of Camarines Sur and
Thereby Creating a New Legislative District from such Reapportionment.

Said Act originated from House Bill No. 4264, and it was enacted by President
Macapagal-Arroyo. Effectuating the act, it has divided the existing four districts, and
apportioned districts shall form additional district where the new first district shall be
composed of 176,383 population count.

Petitioners contend that the reapportionment runs afoul of the explicit constitutional
standard with a minimum population of 250,000 for the creation of a legislative district
under Section 5 (3), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution. It was emphasized as well by
the petitioners that if population is less than that provided by the Constitution, it must be
stricken-down for non-compliance with the minimum population requirement, unless
otherwise fixed by law.

Respondents have argued that the petitioners are guilty of two fatal technical effects:
first, error in choosing to assail R.A. 9716 via the Remedy of Certiorari and Prohibition
under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court. And second, petitioners have no locus standi (legal
standing) to question the constitutionality of R.A. 9716.

Issue: Whether or not Republic Act No. 9716 is unconstitutional and therefore null and
void, or whether or not a population of 250,000 is an indispensable constitutional
requirement for the creation of a new legislative district in a province.

Held: It was ruled that the said Act is constitutional. The plain and clear distinction
between a city and a province was explained under the second sentence of Section 5
(3) of the Constitution. It states that a province is entitled into a representative, with
nothing was mentioned about a population. While in cities, a minimum population of
250,000 must first be satisfied. In 2007, Camarines Sur had a population of 1,693,821
making the province entitled to two additional districts from the present of four. Based
on the formulation of Ordinance, other than population, the results of the apportionment
were valid. And lastly, other factors were mentioned during the deliberations of House
Bill No. 4264.