The Supreme Court has spoken. The Municipality of Guihulngan, along with 15 other towns throughout the country, is now a City. This decision, which was announced by the Supreme Court last week has sent the people of Guihulngan a-celebrating. Who wouldn’t? After all, the road to cityhood for Guihulngan had been a seesaw battle for the past three years.
In November 2008, the Supreme Court nullified the laws creating the 16 cities, citing a violation in the Constitution. The 16 LGUs filed a motion for reconsideration which the Supreme Court denied. The LGUs filed a second appeal which the Supreme Court denied with a vote of 6-6.
On May 21, 2009, the Supreme Court said it would no longer allow any pleadings on the case. However, the town mayors asked the Supreme Court to resolve the second motion for reconsideration that was decided by a deadlock. The SC entertained its motion and came up with a decision in December 2009 that said that the 16 laws creating the cities are constitutional.
Now, it was the turn of the League of Cities of the Philippines to file a motion for reconsideration asking the Supreme Court to declare the cityhood bid of the 16 towns unconstitutional. The Supreme Court, in August of 2010, revoked the cityhood of the 16 towns.
The 16 town mayors then filed a motion to reverse the August 2010 ruling, which the Supreme Court approved last week, leading to this grand celebration.
It is a well-entrenched principle that the Supreme Court can never be wrong. But having reversed its own stand several times in the last two years says a lot about the Supreme Court. It had, in fact, acknowledged that it was wrong. Not once, not twice, not thrice but four times! One a single issue. And going by the track record of the Supreme Court on this issue, this decision may not even be final yet.
When is a decision deemed final? How final is final? When do we stop? Where do we draw the line?
By flip-flopping on its stand, the people might lose faith in the highest court of the land.
This has to stop.