Citihood and Nullification

On June 20, 2007,the Commission on Elections officially proclaimed the ratification of Republic Act 9408 converting the Municipality of Mati into a component city to be known as City of Mati.

Final tabulation showed Yes got 18,267 votes while No garnered only 846. There are 18,267 actual voters out of the 51,287 registered voters in 26 villages and 266 polling precincts during the June 18 plebiscite. [1]

However, Mati recently lost its cityhood, along with 15 other cities, after the Supreme Court of the Philippines granted a petition filed by the League of Cities of the Philippines, and declared the cityhood law (RA 9389) which allowed the town to acquire its city status, unconstitutional. The said cities, the court ruled, did not meet the requirements for cityhood.[2]