Spanish-era Cagayan city bids to regain cityhood

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – A Spanish-era city in Cagayan is bidding to regain its cityhood by virtue of historic rights and its increasing economic activities as well.

Officials of northern Cagayan’s Lal-lo town are now readying documents for a cityhood bill based on the municipality’s historic past as one of the country’s first established cities way back during the early Spanish colonization period.

Some two hours from the Cagayan capital, Tuguegarao City, Lal-lo, home to one of the country’s oldest churches and Spanish-era structures, had been the seat of the Diocese of Nueva Segovia since 1595 until it was transferred to Vigan, Ilocos Sur in 1758.

The diocese then covered the whole of northern Luzon until its ecclesiastical jurisdiction was divided into regions and later into provinces. What was left as the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia was the whole province of Ilocos Sur.

The original name of Lal-lo, a first-class municipality, was Nueva Segovia when it was granted cityhood status by the Spanish royal government in the 1500s.

As part of the cityhood bid, Vice Mayor Dominador Invierno said there was a move in Congress to rename Lal-lo back to its former name of Nueva Segovia and reclassify it as a component city.

However, this move was overtaken by the closing of the 13th Congress and the national and local elections last year.

“If Vigan City was able to regain its cityhood by virtue of its historical rights, Lal-lo’s cityhood must also be restored, as it has proof that it is the fourth of the first original cities established in the Philippines,” he said.

Invierno said they are calling on Congress as well as Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who hails from Cagayan, to ensure that the bill to be filed will be given consideration.

Aside from its historic rights as a Spanish-era city, local officials cited the town’s booming economy as one of its credentials to qualify for cityhood status.

Ongoing development projects in the town include the construction of an international airport to be named the Northern Cagayan International Airport, which is in support of the Cagayan Special Economic Zone based in Santa Ana town.

If granted cityhood, Lal-lo will be the fourth city in Cagayan Valley after Santiago City and Cauayan City, both in Isabela, and Tuguegarao City.