Mayors of cities that have experienced a substantial decrease in allocation as result of the creation of new cities welcomed the Supreme Court decision voiding the laws converting 16 municipalities into cities.

City mayors interviewed by abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak said the decision of the High Tribunal proves that the requirements for cityhood set by the Local Government Code (LGC) should be strictly followed and that there should be no exemptions in conversion of towns into cities.

The Supreme Court, voting 6-5, nullified the conversion of 16 municipalities into cities by granting the petition of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) seeking to declare as unconstitutional the 16 cityhood laws. The LCP claimed that the 16 cities were created even if they did not meet the minimum income requirements for cityhood.

The decision of High Tribunal will reduce the number of cities in the Philippines from 136 to 120.

Among the cities whose cityhood laws have been voided by the Supreme Court are: Batac in Ilocos Norte; Tabuk in Kalinga; Tayabas in Quezon; Baybay in Leyte; Catbalogan in Samar; Borongan in Eastern Samar; Guihulngan in Negros Oriental; Bogo, Naga and Carcar in Cebu; Tandag in Surigao del Sur; Cabadbaran in Agusan del Norte; El Salvador in Misamis Oriental; Mati in Davao Oriental; Bayugan in Agusan del Sur; and, Lamitan in Basilan.

The SC said that the creation of local government units should only follow the provision of the LGC and that the Congress did not provide any exemption in the minimum income requirement for cityhood.

According to Section 450 of the LGC, a municipality or cluster of barangays can be converted into a city if it has an average  annual income of at least P20 million, and any of the following:  a contiguous territory of at least 100 square kilometers or a population of at least 150,000 inhabitants. Republic Act 9009, however, amended the provision and raised the minimum income requirement to P100 million.

No short cuts to cityhood

Mandaluyong City Mayor Benhur Abalos, president of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) told abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak that they are thankful because of the SC decision. “We welcome the decision of the Supreme Court.”

Abalos said that the LCP is not against the conversion of municipalities into cities. He said they are only opposing short cuts to attain cityhood because “the parameters required to be a city are established.”

“When Navotas and San Juan were converted into cities, we welcomed them because they met all the requirements for cityhood,” Abalos told abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak.

Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Cruz, likewise, welcomed the Supreme Court decision and said that the issue is not about curtailment of the municipalities’ right to aspire for city hood but about meeting the requirements.

“This [the SC decision] only proves that the law [on conversion to cities of municipalities] should be followed.” Cruz told abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak.

Meanwhile, Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat said he was very happy with the SC decision because it gives “equal protection” to the cities.

“There are no exceptions to become a city,” Lobregat told abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak. “Some municipalities have waited for years to meet the requirements to become cities. Why are you going to give exemptions?”

More cities, less IRA

Earlier this year, the LCP filed the petition and pointed out that the conversion of the more cities—particularly those that did not meet the requirements—have resulted in lesser funds for the old cities. LCP said that the old cities’ share in the national taxes of collected by the national government or the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) have been eaten up by the new cities.

Puerto Princesa, for instance, received an IRA increase of P1.7 million this year instead of the expected P146.7 million before the conversion of the 16 new cities. Davao City’s expected IRA has declined from P263.5 million to P69 million while Zamboanga City’s expected IRA increase was slashed by P35.87 million. The expected IRA increase of the cities of Iligan and Calbayog was reduced by P68.83 million and P65.84 million, respectively.

Nathaniel von Einsiedel, former United Nations Urban Management Programme regional coordinator for Asia Pacific, told abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak in a previous interview that the big decrease in the IRA share of the cities happened because the increase in IRA allocation to the cities is not proportional to the number of new cities created.

The IRA is the lifeblood and main source of financing of the local government units (LGUs). A recent report by the Commisson on Audit on the finances of the local governments showed that IRA represents 62 percent of the LGU’s income.

Poor LGUs, especially those who are able to generate small amount of local revenues, depend heavily on the IRA for the delivery of basic services. Some cities, particularly in Mindanao, that have experienced a decrease in IRA were forced to lay off workers and reduce spending for services.

Iligan City’s Cruz said that as a result of the IRA reduction, the city government is forced to lay off 500 workers and implement fewer projects.

“We were severely affected,” Cruz told abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak adding that they are hoping the SC decision would mean a higher IRA share next year.

Saddened

Meanwhile, local officials of Lamitan City—one of the 16 cities voided by the SC—said they were saddened by the decision of the High Tribunal.

“We are very surprised and depressed,” Lamitan City mayor Roderick Furigay told abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak.

Lamitan City Mayor Roderick Furigay said that the while they respect the decision of the Supreme Court, they are worried about its effects on their finances and on the employment of their constituents.

Lamitan councilor Joaquin Puri Jr. said the SC decision would stall development in their areas. “We were converted into a component city to allow development of far-flung areas.”

As a result of the decision, Furigay estimated that the IRA of Lamitan may decrease next year from its city-rate level of P218 million to its municipality rate of P80 million. The decrease in IRA, Furigay said, will displace more than 200 workers and imperil the infrastructure projects of the city.

Furigay said that he talked to the other 15 mayors and they are planning to file a motion for consideration once they received a copy of the SC decision. (abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak)

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