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Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) vs COMELEC

SUBIC BAY METROPOLITAN AUTHORITY, petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, ENRIQUE T. GARCIA and CATALINO A. CALIMBAS, respondents.

G.R. No. 125416 | 1996-09-26

PANGANIBAN, J.:

The 1987 Constitution is unique in many ways. For one thing, it institutionalized people power in law-making. Learning from the bitter lesson of completely surrending to Congress the sole authority to make, amend or repeal laws, the present Constitution concurrently vested such prerogatives in the electorate by expressly recognizing their residual and sovereign authority to ordain legislation directly through the concepts and processes of initiative and of referendum.

In this Decision, this Court distinguishes referendum from initiative and discusses the practical and legal implications of such differences. It also sets down...