7. Aquino vs. COMELEC, G.R. No.

189793, April 7, 2010

Facts: RA no. 9716 entitled An Act Reapportioning the Composition of the First
(1st) and Second (2nd) Legislative Districts in the Province of Camarines Sur and
Thereby Creating a New Legislative District From Such Reapportionment was
signed into law by Pres. Arroyo. The said Act will result into a creation of an
additional legislative district for the Province of Camarines Sur by reconfiguring the
existing first and second legislative districts of the province. As such, the proposed
first district will end up with a population of only 176,383. Due to this, the
petitioners questioned the validity of the said act, invoking sec. 5(3), Article VI of the
1987 Constitution as basis for the 250,000 minimum population standard. The
petitioners posit that the 250,000 figure in the cited provision is the minimum
population requirement for the creation of a legislative district.

Issue: Whether the contention is tenable

Held: No. There is no specific provision in the Constitution that fixes a 250,000
minimum population that must compose a legislative district. Plainly read, Section
5(3) of the Constitution requires a 250,000 minimum population only for a city to be
entitled to a representative, but not so for a province.

The second sentence of Section 5(3) Article VI of the Constitution, succinctly

provides: each city with a population of at least two hundred fifty thousand, or each
province, shall have at least one representative. The provision draws a plain and
clear distinction between the entitlement of a city to a district on one hand, and the
entitlement of a province to a district on the other. For while a province is entitled
to at least a representative, with nothing mentioned about population, a city must
first meet a population minimum of 250,000 in order to be similarly entitled. The
use by the subject provision of a comma to separate the phrase each city with a
population of at least two hundred fifty thousand from the phrase or each
province point to no other conclusion than that the 250,000 minimum population
is only required for a city, but NOT for a province.