Sultan Osop B.

Camid, petitioner,
Vs.
The Office Of The President, Department Of The Interior And Local Government, Autonomous
Region In Muslim Mindanao, Department Of Finance, Department Of Budget And Management,
Commission On Audit, And The Congress Of The Philippines (House Of Representatives And
Senate)

G.R. No. 161414 January 17, 2005

FACTS:

In 1965, an Executive Order issued by Pres. Macapagal creating the Municipality of Andong,
Lanao del Sur was declared by the SC as void as promulgated in its Pelaez v. Auditor General
ruling. Camid alleges that although no person has been appointed, elected or qualified to serve
any of the elective local government positions in Andong, has metamorphosed into a full-blown
municipality with a complete set of officials appointed to handle essential services for the
municipality and its constituents. It has a high school, post office, DECS office and 17 barangay
units with respective chairmen. Furthermore, its land area was recognized by the CENRO to
have been created through the voided EO 107 as well included in the as a municipality by the
Provincial Statistics Office of Marawi City. In Nov. 23, 2003, the DILG issued a certification
which enumerates 18 municipalities as as existing municipalities even though its creation
were voided in the same ruling that voided Andongs creation as a municipality.

Camid as as a current resident of Andong, suing as a private citizen and taxpayer, alleges that
said certification results in an unequal treatment to the detriment of Andong as similarly situated
municipalities were recognized by DILG. He further alleges that Andong is already a de facto
municipal corporation similar to Municipality of San Andress in the case of Municipality of San
Narciso v. Hon. Mendez. Furthermore, he alleges that Andong is covered by Section 442(d) of
the LGC of 1991 which states that Existing municipal districts organized pursuant to
presidential issuances or executive orders and which have their respective sets of elective
municipal officials holding office at the time of the effectivity of (the) Code shall henceforth be
considered as regular municipalities.

ISSUE:

1. Whether or not Andong is already a de facto municipal corporation?

2. Whether a municipality whose creation by executive fiat was previously voided by this Court
may attain recognition in the absence of any curative or reimplementing statute

RULING:
1. The SC did not rule on this issue as Camid failed to make a factual demonstration of the
continuous exercise by the municipal corporation of its corporate powers, as well as the
acquiescence thereto by the other instrumentalities of the state. Proper factual ascertainment is
important in the determination if a municipality is a de facto municipal corporation. It has been
opined that municipal corporations may exist by prescription where it is shown that the
community has claimed and exercised corporate functions, with the knowledge and acquiescence
of the legislature, and without interruption or objection for period long enough to afford title by
prescription. These municipal corporations have exercised their powers for a long period without
objection on the part of the government that although no charter is in existence, it is presumed
that they were duly incorporated in the first place and that their charters had been lost.

2. No. The power to create political subdivisions is a function of the legislature. It can legislate
curative laws, which in essence are retrospective, and aimed at giving "validity to acts done that
would have been invalid under existing laws, as if existing laws have been complied with," are
validly accepted in this jurisdiction, subject to the usual qualification against impairment of
vested rights. Thus Pelaez and its offspring cases ruled that the President has no power to create
municipalities, yet limited its nullificatory effects to the particular municipalities challenged in
actual cases before this Court. However, with the promulgation of the Local Government Code
in 1991, the legal cloud was lifted over the municipalities similarly created by executive order
but not judicially annulled. The de facto status of such municipalities as San Andres, Alicia and
Sinacaban was recognized by this Court, and Section 442(b) of the Local Government Code
deemed curative whatever legal defects to title these municipalities had labored under.

Note: 1. There subsequent legislation was enacted to reconstitute the 18 municipalities.

2. The constituent barrios of Andong revert back into their original municipalities, namely the
municipalities of Lumbatan, Butig and Tubaran.