The Supreme Court (SC) clarified on Thursday, August 7, that its ruling in the League of Cities case 'was not unanimous,' contrary to the statement made by Senator Risa Hontiveros during a Senate session on Wednesday.
“In response to some of your queries, we clarify that the Supreme Court’s ruling in the League of Cities case was not unanimous," said SC Spokesperson Atty. Camille Mae Ting in a released statement.
"Please refer to the Decision and Resolutions published in the Supreme Court E-Library and the Philippine Reports,” she added.
Ting added that the Court was “uncertain as to the source” of Hontiveros’ claim during the Senate’s impeachment debate a day earlier.
Hontiveros has quickly acknowledged that the SC reversals in the League of Cities case were not decided unanimously, correcting a statement she made.
“Upon checking again, the many reversals in the League of Cities decisions were not decided unanimously,” Hontiveros admitted in a Facebook post.
The senator, however, maintained that there has been at least one instance where the SC En Banc unanimously reversed its own ruling, citing the case of International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications, Inc. v. Greenpeace Southeast Asia (Philippines), G.R. Nos. 209271, 209276, 209301, and G.R. No. 209430, decided on July 26, 2016.
“The fact remains that at least one unanimous case was reversed En Banc, and it is not unheard of,” she said.
“This is a reminder that no one is immune from error. The most important thing is to correct it,” Hontiveros added.
The clarification comes amid heightened tension after the Senate voted to archive the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.
The House of Representatives filed a Motion for Recosideration (MR), which the SC had previously ruled 'unconstitutional' in a separate 13-0 decision, citing violations of the Constitution’s one-year bar rule and a lack of due process in the House proceedings.
The League of Cities case vs. Commission on Elections (Comelec) involved a legal battle over the constitutionality of 16 cityhood laws. Initially, the SC struck down the laws, but later granted a motion for reconsideration, declaring them constitutional.
