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Montejo V Comelec

In Montejo v Comelec, the court ruled against transferring the Municipality of Tolosa from the 1st District to the 2nd District of Leyte, citing that such reapportionment is a matter reserved for Congress. The court acknowledged that the conversion of Biliran into a regular province created an imbalance in voter distribution, violating the equal protection clause. However, it emphasized that only Congress has the authority to make significant reapportionment changes, while the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) can only make minor adjustments.

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14 views2 pages

Montejo V Comelec

In Montejo v Comelec, the court ruled against transferring the Municipality of Tolosa from the 1st District to the 2nd District of Leyte, citing that such reapportionment is a matter reserved for Congress. The court acknowledged that the conversion of Biliran into a regular province created an imbalance in voter distribution, violating the equal protection clause. However, it emphasized that only Congress has the authority to make significant reapportionment changes, while the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) can only make minor adjustments.

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Montejo v Comelec, 242 SCRA 415 (1995)

Facts:

Biliran was originally a municipality of the 3rd District of the province of Leyte. It was later
converted into a sub-province then a regular province.

COMELEC sought to remedy the consequent inequality of the distribution of inhabitants, voters
and municipalities in the province of Leyte by promulgating Resolution No. 2736 where it
transferred (in Sec 1 thereof) the municipality of Capoocan of its 2nd District and Palompon of
its 4th District to its 3rd District.

Cong. Montejo of the 1st District of Leyte sought to annul said Sec of Res. No. 2736 on the
ground that it violates the principle of equality of representation.

To remedy the alleged inequity, he prays to transfer the municipality of Tolosa from his district
to the 2nd District of the province.

Issue:

May the Court transfer the Municipality of Tolosa of the 1st District to the 2nd District of Leyte
as prayed for?

Held:

No. The court held Sec 1 of Resolution No. 2736 void and conceded that the conversion of
Biliran to a regular province brought about an imbalance in the distribution of voters in the
legislative districts and, as such, could devalue a citizen’s vote in violation of the equal
protection clause of the Constitution. However, what is prayed for involves an issue of
reapportionment of legislative districts and remedy for such lies with Congress in accordance to
Art VI, Sec 5(4).

While this Court can strike down an unconstitutional reapportionment, it cannot itself make the
reapportionment as Montejo would want the Court to do by directing COMELEC to transfer
Tolosa from the 1st District to the 2nd District. Transferring a municipality from one district to
another is a substantive (not minor) change.

DOCTRINE: “Only Congress may make major adjustments of the reapportionment of


Legislative Districts. COMELEC may make minor adjustments of the reapportionment of the
Legislative Districts by authority of an Ordinance appended to the Constitution. Minor
adjustments includes, for instance, the correction made for a municipality within the
geographical area of one district that was forgotten or where there may be an error in the
correct name of a particular municipality. What COMELEC can do is adjust the number of
members (not municipalities) “apportioned to the province out of which such new province
was created xxx”

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