G.R. No.

196271               February 28, 2012

DATU MICHAEL ABAS KIDA, in his personal capacity, and in representation of

MAGUINDANAO FEDERATION OF AUTONOMOUS IRRIGATORS ASSOCIATION, INC., HADJI
MUHMINA J. USMAN, JOHN ANTHONY L. LIM, JAMILON T. ODIN, ASRIN TIMBOL JAIYARI,
MUJIB M. KALANG, ALIH AL-SAIDI J. SAPI-E, KESSAR DAMSIE ABDIL, and BASSAM ALUH
SAUPI, Petitioners,
vs.
SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES, represented by its President JUAN PONCE ENRILE, HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES, thru SPEAKER FELICIANO BELMONTE, COMMISSION ON
ELECTIONS, thru its Chairman, SIXTO BRILLANTES, JR., PAQUITO OCHOA, JR., Office of the
President Executive Secretary, FLORENCIO ABAD, JR., Secretary of Budget, and ROBERTO
TAN, Treasurer of the Philippines, Respondents.

Ponente: BRION, J.:
Facts:
On June 30, 2011, Republic Act (RA) No. 10153, entitled “An Act Providing for the Synchronization of
the Elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with the National and Local
Elections and for Other Purposes” was enacted, resetting the next ARMM regular elections to May 2013
to coincide with the regular national and local elections of the country.
The history of  ARMM instituted first by the provisions of Article X of the 1987 Constitution, mandated
the creation of autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and the Cordilleras specfically Sections 15 to 22
wherein the congress promulgated the Republic Act (RA) No. 6734 which is the organic act that
established the ARMM and scheduled the first regular elections for the ARMM regional
officials.Following aforementioned arcticle is the RA No. 9054 which amended the ARMM Charter and
reset the regular elections for the ARMM regional officials to the second Monday of September 2001. RA
No. 9140 further reset the first regular elections to November 26, 2001. RA No. 9333 reset for the third
time the ARMM regional elections to the 2 nd Monday of August 2005 and on the same date every 3 years
thereafter.

Pursuant to RA No. 9333, the next ARMM regional elections should have been held on August 8, 2011.
COMELEC had begun preparations for these elections and had accepted certificates of candidacies for
the variousregional offices to be elected.
In these consolidated petitions for certiorari, prohibition and madamus filed directly with the Supreme
Court, the petitioners assailed the constitutionality of RA No. 10153.

Issue:
Whether or not the passage of RA No. 10153 violates Section 26(2), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution?

Ruling:

NO. The passage of RA No. 10153 does not violate Section 26(2), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution
which refers to the three-readings-on-separate-days requirement. The presidential certification dispensed
with the requirement not only of printing but also that of reading the bill on separate days. The phrase
“except when the President certifies to the necessity of its immediate enactment, etc.” in Art. VI, Section
26[2] qualifies the two stated conditions before a bill can become a law: [1] the bill has passed three
readings on separate days and [2] it has been printed in its final form and distributed three days before it
is finally approved.
 

In the present case, the records show that the President wrote to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives to certify the necessity of the immediate enactment of a law synchronizing the ARMM
elections with the national and local elections. Following the Tolentino ruling, the Supreme Court held
the President’s certification exempted both the House and the Senate from having to comply with the
three separate readings requirement.