MANILA, Philippines — A retired Supreme Court justice will ask the high court to nullify a Taguig ordinance that increased from eight to 12 the number of elected councilors in the city’s two districts and Pateros.
In a statement on Tuesday, former Associate Justice and Taguig Rep. Dante Tiñga said that both the Taguig City council and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) were not authorized to decide a matter covered by the city’s charter which, in turn, was crafted by Congress.
“The city ordinance and the Comelec resolution approving it are unconstitutional because neither body has the power to legislate the matter,” he said, adding, “Only Congress has that power. In fact, the current number of councilors is clearly outlined in the city charter of Taguig, which is an act of Congress.”
READ: ‘Embo’ voters get to pick 12 Taguig City councilors
He was referring to Republic Act No. 8487, enacted in 1998, which converted Taguig from a municipality into a highly urbanized city.
Tiñga noted that the city council passed on Sept. 16 Ordinance No. 144 to transfer the voting rights of 10 Embo (Enlisted Men’s Barrio) barangays from Makati City to the two districts of Taguig and Pateros. It also increased the number of councilors to 12 per district.
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Senate resolution
On Sept. 24, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, a former Taguig representative, introduced at the plenary Senate concurrent resolution 23, with the same provisions as the ordinance. This led to a disagreement and a sharp exchange of words with Sen. Miguel Zubiri who said the matter was not on the agenda. The two later made up and the resolution was passed.
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The next day, the Comelec upheld the city ordinance in Resolution No. 11069 while the House of Representatives concurred with the Senate resolution.
But Tiñga said the Senate resolution “does not have the force and effect of law” since it did not go through the proper legislative process.
He added that while he backed the transfer of 10 Embo barangays to Taguig and Pateros, based on the 2021 Supreme Court decision on the territorial dispute between Taguig and Makati, hiking the number of councilors required a law.
“As things stand, both City Ordinance No. 144 and Comelec Resolution No. 11069 are null and void,” Tiñga said.
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