Miranda vs Aguirre

FACTS:
1994, RA No. 7720 effected the conversion of the municipality of Santiago, Isabela, into an
independent component city. July 4th, RA No. 7720 was approved by the people of Santiago in a
plebiscite. 1998, RA No. 8528 was enacted and it amended RA No. 7720 that practically
downgraded the City of Santiago from an independent component city to a component city.
Petitioners assail the constitutionality of RA No. 8528 for the lack of provision to submit the law
for the approval of the people of Santiago in a proper plebiscite.
Respondents defended the constitutionality of RA No. 8528 saying that the said act merely
reclassified the City of Santiago from an independent component city into a component city. It
allegedly did not involve any creation, division, merger, abolition, or substantial alteration of
boundaries of local government units, therefore, a plebiscite of the people of Santiago is
unnecessary. They also questioned the standing of petitioners to file the petition and argued that
the petition raises a political question over which the Court lacks jurisdiction.
ISSUE: Whether or not the Court has jurisdiction over the petition at bar.
RULING:
Yes. RA No. 8528 is declared unconstitutional. That Supreme Court has the jurisdiction over
said petition because it involves not a political question but a justiciable issue, and of which only
the court could decide whether or not a law passed by the Congress is unconstitutional.
That when an amendment of the law involves creation, merger, division, abolition or substantial
alteration of boundaries of local government units, a plebiscite in the political units directly
affected is mandatory.
Petitioners are directly affected in the imple-mentation of RA No. 8528. Miranda was the mayor
of Santiago City, Afiado was the President of the Sangguniang Liga, together with 3 other
petitioners were all residents and voters in the City of Santiago. It is their right to be heard in the
conversion of their city through a plebiscite to be conducted by the COMELEC. Thus, denial of
their right in RA No. 8528 gives them proper standing to strike down the law as unconstitutional.
Sec. 1 of Art. VIII of the Constitution states that: the judicial power shall be vested in one
Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be established by law. Judicial power includes
the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally
demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of
discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the Government.