The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday announced its decision upholding the abolition of Barangay San Rafael and its merger with nearby village Dacanlao in Calaca City, Batangas.
Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo penned the decision himself, saying the SC on the bench nullified an ordinance passed by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan in 2009 that restored San Rafael as a separate barangay.
Ordinance No. 002, series of 2009 did not include a plebiscite and lacked the required certification from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to prove that San Rafael met the minimum population of 2,000 residents, as required by the Local Government Code (LGC).
The High Tribunal ruled that it violated both the Constitution and the LGC, which require a plebiscite to divide or create a barangay.
According to the SC, Barangay San Rafael only had 611 residents at the time, based on official records. It also held that Barangay San Rafael was lawfully merged with Barangay Dacanlao following the results of the 1998 plebiscite.
Meanwhile, in his Dissenting Opinion, Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa argued that the ordinance was a valid act of the provincial board to repeal its earlier ordinance. He said it did not create a new barangay because Barangay San Rafael was never formally abolished.