The town of Guihulngan, whose cityhood was voided by the Supreme Court, may keep its 9th and 10th Council members.
Paulo Edison Dela Rita Sr. (LP) and Angelito Pique (Lakas-Kampi-CMD) were elected 9th and 10th councilors of Guihulngan , respectively, in the May 2010 elections.{{more}}
At that time, Guihulngan was still a City and required 10 councilors. Last month, the Supreme Court voided the cityhood status of 16 localities on the ground that they failed to meet the requirements stipulated under the Local Government Code of the Philippines.
As a municipality, Guihulngan would only require eight elected members of the Municipal Council. Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, however, said the 9th and 10th councilors of Guihulngan, as well as of the 15 other towns which have similarly been downgraded from cityhood status, may not resign.
“They should not resign. When they were elected (during the May 10 elections), there was the presumption of regularity on their elections,” Robredo said in a speech in Tacloban City last week.
Aside from having fewer legislators, the downgraded cities will also have a lesser share of their internal revenue allotments.
Guihulngan stands to lose at least P50 million annually in IRA shares after they reverted to towns.
Robredo said the Department of Budget and Management should come up with a mechanism that would help these areas to tide them over during the transition from being a city back to a municipality.
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