Give 16 new cities a chance to grow - lawmakers

MANILA, Philippines - Three members of the House of Representatives urged big cities yesterday to give the 16 new cities a chance to grow.

“Our fight for cityhood is about development. The big cities, particularly those with incomes in the billions, should give their smaller counterparts a chance to develop,” Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas told the Serye Café news forum in Quezon City.

He said the 16 new cities would grow faster with their increased internal revenue allotments (IRAs), funds that the national government give to local government units yearly as their share from national taxes.

Gullas cited the case of two new cities in his district, Carcar and Naga.

“Naga, when it was a town, had P60 million in IRA. This increased to P188 million in 2007 when it became a city. Because of increased IRA funds, the city government allotted P200,000 for each barangay community for its projects,” he said.

He said in the case of Carcar, its IRA share jumped from P68 million to P201 million.

“Imagine what local leaders can do to develop their communities with the additional income,” he said.

Gullas pointed out that the increased IRA allocations of the new cities are not a loss to previously existing cities.

“In fact, according to the Department of Budget and Management, no city suffered a decrease in IRA since the creation of the 16 in 2007. It’s just that the old cities could have shared more from IRA funds,” he said.

For their part, Reps. Thelma Almario of Davao Oriental and Carmen Cari of Leyte said the conversion alone of their towns into cities brought about faster growth.

“More investors set up shop due partly to the expectation of more funds for development. In Mati in my district, small hotels, restaurants and beach resorts opened,” Almario said.

Cari said two banks inaugurated branches in Baybay in her district when it became a city.

At the same time, Gullas, Almario and Cari urged big cities to respect the decision of Congress to convert towns into cities to develop them faster.

“They should also respect the will of the voters of these towns who have approved their conversion into cities in separate plebiscites,” Gullas said.

The 12 other new cities are Bogo, also in Cebu; Catbalogan and Borongan in Samar; Tandag, Surigao del Sur; Lamitan, Basilan; Tayabas, Quezon; Tabuk, Kalinga; Bayugan, Agusan del Sur; Batac, Ilocos Norte; Guihulngan, Negros Oriental; Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte; and El Salvador, Misamis Oriental.

The League of Cities, chaired by Mandaluyong City Mayor Benhur Abalos, has questioned the creation of the new cities, saying they did not meet the P100-million income requirement prescribed by a new law.

The Supreme Court first sustained the view of the league but later reversed itself and ruled that the conversion of the towns was legal, as they were not covered by the new income standard but by the previous P20-million income requirement.

The league filed an appeal, which is now pending.

Estelito Mendoza, former justice secretary who serves as counsel for the new cities, said the fight between the old cities and the new ones “is about money.”

He said the root cause is the “unfair” distribution of IRA funds under the Local Government Code.

Under the code, 23 percent of total IRA funds go to the provinces, 23 percent to cities, 34 percent to towns, and 20 percent to barangays.

“There are only 117 old cities sharing 23 percent, while 1,500 towns share 34 percent. There lies the unfairness. Congress should review the sharing formula,” Mendoza said.