TOPIC: ORDINARY SENSE VS TECHNICAL SENSE

Ordinary meaning rule is a principle of statutory interpretation that when a word is not defined
in a statute or other legal instrument, the court normally construes it in accordance with its
ordinary or natural meaning.

Technical meaning a point, especially a legal one, that is based on a strict interpretation of the
law or of a set of rules. The earlier verdict was overturned on a legal technicality.

TICKLER:

AMBIGUITY IN THE APPLICATION OF THE TERM AUTONOMOUS REGION IN THE PROVINCE OF

DOCTRINE:

The well-established rule in statutory construction that the language of the Constitution, as
much as possible should be understood in the sense it has in common use and that the words
used in constitutional provisions are to be given their ordinary meaning except where technical
terms are employed, must then, be applied in this case. (See Baranda v. Gustilo)

KEY TAKE-AWAY: There can be no autonomous region consisting of only one province.

"Section 15. There shall be created autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and in the
Cordillera consisting of provinces, cities, municipalities and geographical areas sharing common
and distinctive historical and cultural heritage, economic and social structures, and other
relevant characteristics within the framework of this Constitution and the national sovereignty
as well as territorial integrity of the Republic of the Philippines." (Emphasis Supplied)

EN BANC
[G.R. No. 93054 : December 4, 1990.] 192 SCRA 100
Cordillera Regional Assembly Member ALEXANDER P. ORDILLO, (Banaue)Petitioners, vs. THE
COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS; Respondents.

FACTS:

The question raised in this petition is whether or not the province of Ifugao, being the only
province which voted favorably for the creation of the Cordillera Autonomous Region can,
alone, legally and validly constitute such Region.

On January 30, 1990, the people of the provinces of Benguet, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Abra
and Kalinga-Apayao and the city of Baguio cast their votes in a plebiscite held pursuant to
Republic Act No. 6766 entitled "An Act Providing for an Organic Act for the Cordillera
Autonomous Region."

The official Commission on Elections (COMELEC) results of the plebiscite showed that the
creation of the Region was approved by a majority of 5,889 votes in only the Ifugao Province
and was overwhelmingly rejected by 148,676 votes in the rest of the provinces and city
above-mentioned.

Consequently, the COMELEC, on February 14, 1990, issued Resolution No. 2259 stating that
the Organic Act for the Region has been approved and/or ratified by majority of the votes
cast only in the province of Ifugao. On the same date, the Secretary of Justice issued a
memorandum for the President reiterating the COMELEC resolution and provided:
". . . [A]nd considering the proviso in Sec. 13(A) that only the provinces and city voting
favorably shall be included in the CAR, the province of Ifugao being the only province which
voted favorably — then, alone, legally and validly constitutes the CAR." (Rollo, p. 7)

As a result of this, on March 8, 1990, Congress enacted Republic Act No. 6861 setting the
elections in the Cordillera Autonomous Region of Ifugao on the first Monday of March 1991.:

Even before the issuance of the COMELEC resolution, the Executive Secretary on February 5,
1990 issued a Memorandum granting authority to wind up the affairs of the Cordillera
Executive Board and the Cordillera Regional Assembly created under Executive Order No. 220.

On March 9, 1990, the petitioner filed a petition with COMELEC to declare the non-
ratification of the Organic Act for the Region. The COMELEC merely noted said petition.

On March 30, 1990, the President issued Administrative Order No. 160 declaring among others
that the Cordillera Executive Board and Cordillera Regional Assembly and all the offices created
under Executive Order No. 220 were abolished in view of the ratification of the Organic Act.-
and The petitioners maintain that there can be no valid Cordillera Autonomous Region in only
one province as the Constitution and Republic Act No. 6766 require that the said Region be
composed of more than one constituent unit.

This petition is meritorious.

ISSUE:

WON The declaration of Ifugao as an autonomous region is null and void?

WON the term autonomous in the declared Executive Order No. 220 constituting the Cordillera
Executive Board and the Cordillera Regional Assembly and other offices to be still in force and
effect until another organic law for the Autonomous Region shall have been enacted by
Congress and the same is duly ratified by the voters in the constituent units.
HELD:

The sole province of Ifugao cannot validly constitute the Cordillera Autonomous Region. It is
explicit in Article X, Section 15 of the 1987 Constitution that:

"Section 15. There shall be created autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and in the
Cordillera consisting of provinces, cities, municipalities and geographical areas sharing common
and distinctive historical and cultural heritage, economic and social structures, and other
relevant characteristics within the framework of this Constitution and the national sovereignty
as well as territorial integrity of the Republic of the Philippines." (Emphasis Supplied)

The keywords — provinces, cities, municipalities and geographical areas connote that
"region" is to be made up of more than one constituent unit. The term "region" used in its
ordinary sense means two or more provinces. This is supported by the fact that the thirteen
(13) regions into which the Philippines is divided for administrative purposes are groupings of
contiguous provinces. (Integrated Reorganization Plan (1972), which was made as part of the
law of the land by P.D. No. 1; P.D. No. 742) Ifugao is a province by itself.

To become part of a region, it must join other provinces, cities, municipalities, and
geographical areas. It joins other units because of their common and distinctive historical and
cultural heritage, economic and social structures and other relevant characteristics. The
Constitutional requirements are not present in this case.- nad

The well-established rule in statutory construction that the language of the Constitution, as
much as possible should be understood in the sense it has in common use and that the words
used in constitutional provisions are to be given their ordinary meaning except where technical
terms are employed, must then, be applied in this case.

Aside from the 1987 Constitution, a reading of the provisions of Republic Act No. 6766
strengthens the petitioner's position that the Region cannot be constituted from only one
province.

Article III, Sections 1 and 2 of the Statute provide that the Cordillera Autonomous Region is to
be administered by the Cordillera government consisting of the Regional Government and local
government units. It further provides that:

"SECTION 2. The Regional Government shall exercise powers and functions necessary for the
proper governance and development of all provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangay or ili
within the Autonomous Region . . ."

From these sections, it can be gleaned that Congress never intended that a single province may
constitute the autonomous region. Otherwise, we would be faced with the absurd situation of
having two sets of officials, a set of provincial officials and another set of regional officials
exercising their executive and legislative powers over exactly the same small area.
Article V, Sections 1 and 4 of Republic Act 6766 vest the legislative power in the Cordillera
Assembly whose members shall be elected from regional assembly districts apportioned among
provinces and the cities composing the Autonomous Region.

If we follow the respondent's position, the members of such Cordillera Assembly shall then be
elected only from the province of Ifugao creating an awkward predicament of having two
legislative bodies — the Cordillera Assembly and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan — exercising
their legislative powers over the province of Ifugao. And since Ifugao is one of the smallest
provinces in the Philippines, population-wise, it would have too many government officials for
so few people.

These sections of Republic Act No. 6766 show that a one province Cordillera Autonomous
Region was never contemplated by the law creating it.

The province of Ifugao makes up only 11% of the total population of the areas enumerated in
Article I, Section 2 (b) of Republic Act No. 6766 which include Benguet, Mountain Province,
Abra, Kalinga-Apayao and Baguio City. It has the second smallest number of inhabitants from
among the provinces and city above mentioned. The Cordillera population is distributed in
round figures as follows: Abra, 185,000; Benguet, 486,000; Ifugao, 149,000; Kalinga-Apayao,
214,000; Mountain Province, 116,000; and Baguio City, 183,000;

Total population of these five provinces and one city; 1,332,000 according to the 1990 Census
(Manila Standard, September 30, 1990, p. 14).

There are other provisions of Republic Act No. 6766 which are either violated or which cannot
be complied with. Section 16 of Article V calls for a Regional Commission on Appointments with
the Speaker as Chairman and are (6) members coming from different provinces and cities in the
Region. Under the respondents' view, the Commission would have a Chairman and only one
member. It would never have a quorum (that number of members of the body which, when
legally assembled in their proper places, will enable the body to transact its proper. 30
percent of all corporate members in good standing physically present).

". . . [i]t is believed that the creation of the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) as mandated
by R.A. No. 6766 became effective upon its approval by the majority of the votes cast in the
province of Ifugao. And considering the proviso in Section 13 (a) that only the provinces and city
voting favorably shall be included in the CAR, the province of Ifugao being the only province
which voted favorably — can, alone, legally and validly constitute the CAR." (Rollo. p. 40).

Stated in another way, the issue in this case is whether the sole province of Ifugao can validly
and legally constitute the Cordillera Autonomous Region. The issue is not whether the province
of Ifugao is to be included in the Cordillera Autonomous Region. It is the first issue which the
Court answers in the instant case.
WHEREFORE, the petition is hereby GRANTED. Resolution No. 2259 of the Commission on
Elections, insofar as it upholds the creation of an autonomous region, the February 14, 1990
memorandum of the Secretary of Justice, the February 5, 1990 memorandum of the Executive
Secretary, Administrative Order No. 160, and Republic Act No. 6861 are declared null and
void while Executive Order No. 220 is declared to be still in force and effect until properly
repealed or amended.

SO ORDERED.