LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

Final Examination Prof. Gatmaytan AY 2009-2010 20 X 10

INSTRUCTIONS
The following questions are based on recent news reports. Read them carefully and
answer the questions on the right margin; . Please read them carefully as they may
have been altered. Students will be rated based on their mastery of the subject matter
and their ability to present comprehensive and meritorious arguments to support their
answers.
The examinees will answer the following problems, adhering strictly to the following
rules:

Students will use student ID Numbers for identification. No other marks

tending to identify of the examinees shall appear on the quiz booklet.
All answers must fit into one booklet. Only the booklets with the least
number of answers will be read and credited.
No electronic equipment shall be allowed during the examination.
Beepers, cellular phones, and computers will be switched off during the
duration of the examination.
The proctor is not a party to the preparation of this examination. No
threats of physical or psychological violence against the proctor will be
tolerated.
Verbosity is discouraged. This is an examination, not a dissertation.
The student must attain a score of 70% to pass the examination.
Students will write legibly. The examiner is not adept at deciphering
hieroglyphics. Unintelligible answers will not be read.
The proctor will leave the examination room three hours after the
examination begins. Booklets submitted thereafter will not be accepted.
Students are not allowed to consult any materials during the
examination.

Lipa City Mayor Meynardo Sabili questioned a decision of the

Commission on Elections (Comelec) disqualifying him from the
mayoral election last May before the Supreme Court.

A.

Has Mayor Sabili

satisfied the Local
In an urgent motion, Sabili asked the High Court to issue a temporary
Government
restraining order to stop COMELEC from implementing its August 17
Codes
resolution canceling his certificate of candidacy for alleged lack of
requirements for

Page 1 of 7

required residence in the city.

residence?

He alleged that the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion in

affirming the January 26 resolution of its second division that granted
the disqualification case filed by a certain Florencio Librea despite his
victory over rival Oscar Gozos.
Sabili argued in a separate petition that his proclamation and
assumption to office ended all summary proceedings for
disqualification and commences the full-blown trial in regular court
proceedings where evidence could be presented and verified by the
parties and the court.
He submitted as proof of residence a certification issued by
Dominador Honrade, the barangay captain of Barangay Pinagtongulan, that he has been a resident of the barangay since 2007.
Sabili said the Comelec ignored other documents he submitted to
prove his residency such as the certificate of appreciation issued by
the parish of Sto. Nino in Barangay Pinagtong-ulan; his designation as
member of the advisory body of Guardians Brotherhood, Inc. San
Jose-Lipa City Chapter since Jan. 2, 2009; and the voter certification
issued by the election officer of Comelec-Lipa City, showing that he is
registered voter of precinct no. 407A of the said barangay.
He also submitted his application for transfer of registration record
due to change of residence filed with the Comelec on June 6, 2009,
which establishes that he transferred his voters registration in line
with his transfer of residence to Barangay Pinagtong-ulan, Lipa City
for more than one year prior to the May 10 elections; and his income
tax returns for the years 2007 and 2008, which proved that he paid
his taxes in Lipa City starting 2007.
The mayor added that the Comelec also erred when it held that he
failed to comply with the one-year residency requirement based on
the registration of his familys home in Barangay Pinatong-ulan.
He said property ownership should not be relevant to the issue of
residence, citing the case of Fernandez v. House of Representatives
Electoral Tribunal, where the Supreme Court held that to use
ownership of property as determinative of permanence of residence
implies that only the landed can establish compliance with the
residency requirement.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile hit the City Council of Manila for
interfering in concerns that he said exclusively belong to the
Philippine Ports Authority, including the construction of berths and

Page 2 of 7

the imposition of port fees and charges.

Enrile was referring to the councils investigation of a reclamation
project being undertaken by the International Container Services Inc.
(ICSI) for the construction of an additional berth and a proposed
ordinance imposing a marine water usage tax on ships that dock at
Manilas ports.
I find it very disturbing, even granting the best of intentions, that
the city council would even be minded to require the port contractor
to secure a mayors permit and a city ordinance to approve such an
undertaking within the Port of Manila after the PPA has already
approved the same, Enrile said.

A.
Discuss the
validity of
Manilas attempt
to exercise
jurisdiction over
the reclamation
project.
(10 points)

The reclamation has been approved by both the PPA and the
Philippine Reclamation Authority, which have jurisdiction over
reclamation projects.
In this case, the public purpose for which such reclaimed land is to
be utilized is clearly established. The State, through the PPA, has
given its approval for the contractors project to construct an
additional berth, which will enhance the terminals capacity to handle
a larger volume of goods with the increase in the number of vessels it
can accommodate, Enrile noted.
On the other hand, the councils proposal to collect a marine water
usage tax is without legal basis and will only lead to higher costs of
bringing goods in and out of the country, Enrile pointed out.
A pending ordinance in the council, authored by Vice Mayor
Francisco Isko Moreno, requires port operators in Manila to collect
P5,000 a day from domestic or foreign vessels for using the city
waters of Manila. The ordinance also bars ships from leaving Manilas
ports unless a clearance is issued as proof of payment of the tax.
The proposed ordinance has no legal basis and violates the exclusive
jurisdiction conferred upon the PPA by law, Enrile said. He added
that the private port contractors of the Port of Manila, the countrys
premier port, are under the control of the PPA which also regulates
all port fees, including wharfage dues, arrastre, stevedoring, storage
and other fees.
Therefore, to impose an additional charge for the entry into and use
of the marine waters of the City of Manila is patently illegal and
highly questionable, the Senate president warned.
Enrile said Manilas proposed marine water usage tax will not only
distort the fee structure determined and approved by the PPA but

Page 3 of 7

render the cost of trading goods to and from the country even more
uncompetitive than it already is, he added.
If this is allowed, what would stop other local municipalities and
cities from inordinately imposing the same or even higher charges for
the use of their respective municipal or city marine waters? This
situation can only lead to a chaotic and unpredictable trade
environment for the country, as each local government can be
expected to follow suit with the objective of raising their own
revenues, Enrile added.
As to the reclamation, Enrile said there exists no valid reason to
further require International Container Services Inc., which operates
the Manila International Container Terminal, to secure a mayors
permit and an ordinance from Manilas city council.
Such requirements, including the marine water usage tax, if
imposed, will illegally impinge upon the exclusive jurisdiction granted
by law to the PPA and will clearly exceed the powers granted to local
governments, the Senate president said, adding that the moves
betray the utter ignorance of their proponents of the governing laws
and jurisprudence on the matter.

Former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria MacapagalArroyo proposed that the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM) be divided into two separate regions.
In House Bill 173, Arroyo and her son, Camarines Sur Rep Diosdado
Arroyo, sought the creation of Autonomous Region in Southwestern
Mindanao (ARSWM) and Autonomous Region in Central Mindanao
(ARCM) to replace ARMM.
The Arroyos say creating two new autonomous governments will
make governing strife-torn Mindanao a lot easier as it will address
the issue of geographical constraint that poses an immense challenge
in governing the region.

A.
Is the proposal to
have two
autonomous
regions in
Mindanao
constitutional?
(10 points)

At present the ARMM is composed of the provinces of Sulu, Basilan

(except Isabela City), Tawi-Tawi Lanao del Sur, and Maguindanao, and
the city of Marawi City.
The Arroyos noted that Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao are
landlocked by areas inhabited by other indigenous and ethnic
groups, making the ARMM harder to govern.
Under the proposed measure, to be included in ARSM are Sulu,
Basilan, Tawi tawi, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte,
Zamboanga Sibugay and the cities of Isabela, Pagadian, Dipolog,

Page 4 of 7

Dapitan and Zamboanga.

On the other hand, to be included in ARCM are the provinces of
Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, North
Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sarangani and cities of Cotabato, Marawi,
Iligan, Kidapawan, General Santos, Koronadal, and Tacurong.

Mayor Herbert Bautista of Quezon City declared illegal an ordinance

approved by the city council seeking to convert a 28.2-hectare lot
into a socialized housing area for the poor and other qualified
occupants. Bautista maintained that while the purpose of the
ordinance is laudable, he has no choice but to veto the measure
because it is prejudicial to public welfare.
The ordinance sought to reclassify several parcels of land totalling
282,787 square meters at Sitio Talanay, Barangay Batasan Hills,
Quezon City from open space to alienable and disposable residential
land.

A.
Discuss the
legality of Mayor
Bautistas veto.
(10 points)

The city council wants the area to be used for socialized housing
intended for informal settlers and other qualified homeless families.
Bautista explained that the cited conversion would violate the green
policies of Quezon City as set by the City Planning and Development
Office (CPDO).
According to the position paper submitted by the CPDO, the
ordinance is contrary to the vision for the Green Lung of Metro
Manila and the goal of a green, clean and pleasant environment
envisioned in the city comprehensive plan.
Bautista added that that there were discrepancies between the size
of the properties cited in the ordinance and available records. Land
data from the City Assessors office indicate that the four titles cover
only a total area of 42,347 square meters.
The titles to these lands allegedly failed to show up in the computer
records of the Registry of Deeds. The City Assessors Office also could
not find any tax declarations that may be used to verify the validity of
the titles.
The ordinance also failed to secure the consent of the majority of the
affected homeowners as well as the approval of the majority or two
thirds of the members of the city council, which is a crucial
requirement, according to Bautista.
About 1,000 squatter families in danger areas will have their shanties

5 demolished unless they resettle in Rodriguez, Rizal, said a Quezon

A.

City official.

Page 5 of 7

Secretary to Mayor Tadeo Palma gave the ultimatum to victims of

typhoon Ondoy in September last year who have continued to ignore
repeated warnings against a similar flooding.
Most of the families are not amenable to relocation. They are not
cooperative in terms of documentation, thus delaying the processing
of their housing slots he said, setting demolition for next month.

Is the planned
demolition/
relocation in
accordance with
law?

Mayor Herbert Bautista said there would be no new squatters in his

term of office but vowed to look after the citys relocation backlog
estimated at 1.2 million people.1
Palma said the Urban Poor Affairs Office has been instructed to
remind the settlers of the coercive measures under the Urban
Development Act of 1992.
The government would like to help them to have a decent shelter. If
they would not avail of this rare opportunity, they should be
prepared to face the consequence of forced demolition, he said.
Palma said city hall is coordinating the resettlement drive with the
Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, Housing and Urban
Development Coordinating Council along with Meralco, Metropolitan
Waterworks and Sewerage System, and Maynilad.
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) 7 Director

A.

pending the resolution of the Commission on Elections order

suspending the proclamation of the towns elected officials.

Is the
appointment of
Pedro Noval
valid?

6 Pedro Noval assumed as mayor-caretaker of Compostela, Cebu

Noval took his oath of office as acting Compostela chief executive
before Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia. As caretaker, Noval said he will
ensure the continuous delivery of basic services to the constituents
using the annual budget passed by the previous municipal council.

(10 points)

Garcia said, as caretaker, Noval has the duty and responsibility to

manage the affairs of the town.

B.

If you need any support from the Provincial Government, rest

assured that we are ready to assist you, Garcia told Noval. Garcia
added it helps that Noval is perceived to be neutral and he is not

Would Novals
appointment be
considered a

Palma, who was designated by Bautista to head the QC Task Force on Housing, said at least 2,068 slots
were available at the National Housing Authority sites in Southville 8B, San Isidro and Kasiglahan Village
1B, San Jose both in former Montalban. Also given priority are Barangay Damayang with 789 squatter
families; Barangay Sto. Domingo, 60; Bahay Toro in Project 6, 50; Bagumbayan, 200 families; and Tullahan
Creek, 120.

Page 6 of 7

aligned with the camps of former mayor Ritchie Wagas, who filed a
protest before the Comelec that resulted in the suspension of the
proclamation of Mayor-elect Joel Quio and other elected officials
last June 30. That is why you were my first choice when I was the
one that would have been tasked, Garcia told Noval.

term for
purposes of the
three-term limit
in the
Constitution?

Digal ordered the chief of police of Compostela to take orders from

Noval soon as the latter will take the post as town mayor in an acting
capacity.

(5 bonus points)

Asked how long he will sit as Compostelas town chief, Noval said it
will depend on how long the election protest filed by Wagas against
Quio can be resolved by Comelec.
There is a suspension order (on the proclamation of Quio, vice
mayor-elect Nanette Dangoy and eight councilors-elect).
If the Comelec will lift that order, so thats that the time they could
determine who won in the May 10 elections, and who will
consequently assume office, Noval said.

There is no failure. Only feedback. Robert Allen

Page 7 of 7