LIDASAN VS. COMELEC

FACTS

RA No. 4790 entitled “ An Act Creating the Municipality of Dianaton in the province of Lanao del Sur ‘, was signed into law and came to light later that barrios mentioned in the body of that statue are within the municipalities of the Province of Cotabato  and not of Lanao del Sur only. Prompted by the coming elections, COMELEC adopted its resolutions for the purposes of establishments of precincts, registration of voters and for other election purposes. The Office of the President recommended the COMELEC that the operation of the statue  be suspended until “ clarified by correcting legislation”. COMELEC stood by its own interpretion, hence this motion by Bara Lidasan as a resident, taxpayer and a qualified voter of Parang Cotabato.

ISSUE

Whether or not the title of the statue conforms with the constitutional requirement.

HELD

No. The title of RA No. 4790 projects the impression that solely the province of Lanao del Sur is affected by the creation of Dianaton. Not the slightest intimation is there that communities in the adjacent Province of Cotabato are incorporated in this new Lanao del Sur town. Such title did not inform the people in towns in Cotabato and the province itself that part of their territory is being taken away and added to the adjacent province of Lanao del Sur. Transfer of sizable territory from one province to another is as important as the creation of a municipality, yet, the title did not reflect this fact. The legislative purpose is not expressed in the title, hence RA No. 4790 is null void.