Now, it’s settled: Dagupan City cannot participate in provincial elections. This is clearly written in Sec. 2 of R.A. 2259 or An Act Making Elective the Offices of Mayor, Vice Mayor and Councilors in Chartered Cities, Regulating Election in Such Cities and Fixing the Salaries and Tenure of Such Offices, which was approved in June 19, 1959.
R.A. 2259 states that the “Mayor, Vice Mayor and Councilors shall be elected at large by the qualified voters of the city on the date of the elections for provincial and municipal officials in conformity with the provisions of the Revised Election Code: Provided, however, That the qualified voters of cities shall vote or shall not vote for provincial officials as their respective charters provide, except in the cities of Iloilo and Dagupan where the said voters shall not vote for provincial officials.”
This law amended the Dagupan City Charter (R.A. 170) and its subsequent amendments -- such as RA 484, which was approved on June 10, 1950 and which allowed the city to vote in provincial elections-- as decided by the Supreme Court on June 1, 1966 (G.R. No. L-23964, Gaerlan vs. Catubig).
In that landmark case, the High Tribunal said, "… (T)he question whether or not a special law has been repealed or amended by one or more subsequent general laws is dependent mainly upon the intent of Congress in enacting the latter. The discussions on the floor of Congress show beyond doubt that its members intended to amend or repeal all provisions of special laws inconsistent with the provisions of Republic Act No. 2259, except those which are expressly excluded from the operation thereof.”
And this “intent of Congress” is also clearly reflected in Sec. 9 of R.A. 2259, which provides for the repeal of “all acts or parts of acts, executive orders, rules and regulations inconsistent with the provisions of this act.”
This explains now why in the 1959 provincial elections, when Dr. Francisco Duque ran and won in the gubernatorial race, Dagupeños no longer voted in the election. This was supposed to be the first provincial elections that Dagupan did not participate in.
This should also serve now as a take off point for those who want to push for the enfranchisement of Dagupan City starting in the 2007 elections.
Now, if Dagupan City is not a component city and obviously not highly urbanized to make it independent from the province, then what is it?
The Local Government Code has the answer: “A city may either be component or highly urbanized… Independent component cities are those component cities whose charters prohibit their voters from voting for provincial elective officials. Independent component cities shall be independent of the province (Book III, Title III, Chapter 1, Sec. 451).”
In other words, like Urdaneta, Alaminos and San Carlos, Dagupan is a component city. But unlike them, Dagupan is independent.
*****
Until I read R.A. 9287 yesterday, I never realized that penalties for those involved in illegal numbers game, such as jueteng, have been increased.
The law, which was approved on April 2, 2004, provides for different degrees of penalties -- ranging from 30 days to 20 years -- to bettors, personnel of the illegal numbers game operation, collectors, coordinators, controllers or supervisors, maintainers, managers or operators, financiers or capitalists, and coddlers or protectors.
But what caught my attention was Sec. 5 of the law, which defines the liability of government employees and/or public officials involved in illegal numbers game.
The section reads: “If the collector, agent, coordinator, controller, supervisor, maintainer, manager, operator, financier or capitalist of any illegal numbers game is a government employee and/or public official, whether elected or appointed shall suffer the penalty of twelve (12) years and one (1) day to twenty (20) years and a fine ranging from Three million pesos (P3,000,000.00) to Five million pesos (P5,000,000.00) and perpetual absolute disqualification from public office.”
In addition, it says, the accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification from public office “shall be imposed upon any local government official who, having knowledge of the existence of the operation of any illegal numbers game in his/her jurisdiction, fails to abate or to take action, or tolerates the same in connection therewith.”
Then, law enforcers who fail to apprehend perpetrators of any illegal numbers game may be suspended or dismissed.
Whew!
ENDNOTES: March is an election month for various local officials’ organizations. First, it was the National Movement of Young Legislators, an organization of vice governors, board members and city and municipal vice mayors and councilors, who are 35 years old and below. Just last Tuesday, it was the Philippine Councilors’ League’s turn to hold a national convention and election. And next week, the Vice Mayors League of the Philippines (VMLP) will have its national convention at the Century Park Hotel, where Dagupan City Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez, VMLP Pangasinan chapter president and incumbent national vice president for finance, will run as executive vice president. From what we gathered, Alvin will be running unopposed.
QUOTE: Do not follow where the path leads. Rather go where there is no path, and leave a trail. -- David Perkins
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