ANGELES CITY – The 122 cities in the country yesterday held a simultaneous protest action against the alleged illegal conversion of municipalities into cities, Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan said in his speech at the city hall.
Pamintuan said they will fight back as the Supreme Court (SC) reversed its earlier decision for the third time favoring the conversion of 16 municipalities into cities.
He cited the towns of Lamitan in Basilan and Tabuk in Kalinga as those with questionable number of population and income required under the law.
“Does Lamitan has at least 40,00 people? How can Tabuk generate P100 million locally generated taxes?” he said.
“The alleged ‘flip-flopping’ of the SC has caused uproar with the 122-member League of Cities of the Philippines led by City of San Fernando Mayor Oscar Rodriguez, LCP president,” said the Angeles City mayor.
Pamintuan, LCP public relations officer, also said the SC’s decision will mean huge losses in Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) share of the cities like Angeles in favor of the new cities.
He added that this city will lose about P32 million in its annual IRA when the 16 towns become cities.
“Unfortunately, it creates a perception that our Supreme Court justices are not studying the cases carefully and meticulously,” he said.
The LCP said the nationwide protest started yesterday, local officials wearing black armbands and will hold noise barrage every Friday.
He also said that because of the SC decision, “some of our programmed projects this year would be jeopardized as our share of IRA would be significantly reduced.”
The 16 new include Lamitan, Basilan; Tabuk, Kalinga; Bayugan, Agusan del Sur; Batac, Ilocos Norte; Mati, Davao Oriental; Guihulngan, Negros Oriental; Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte; Carcar, Cebu; El Salvador, Misamis Oriental; Naga, Cebu; Baybay, Leyte; Bogo, Cebu; Catbalogan, Western Samar; Tandag, Surigao del Sur; Borongan, Eastern Samar and Tayabas, Quezon.
El Salvador has an annual income of P17 million and about 17,000 residents, Pamintuan said.
Last week, city mayors belonging to the LCP marched along Padre Faura in Ermita, Manila, to dramatize the filing of their motion for reconsideration.
In a motion for reconsideration, the LCP said that the SC had no jurisdiction anymore to issue its Feb. 15, 2011 resolution declaring constitutional the 16 cityhood laws because there was no longer any controversy to settle.
“No province, city, municipality or barangay shall be created, divided, merged, abolished or its boundary substantially altered, except in accordance with the criteria established in the Local Government Code and subject to approval by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite in the political units directly affected,” the LCP said, quoting the Constitution.
It added that the cityhood laws violated Republic Act 9009 that amended the Local Government Code six years before the cityhood laws and increased the annual income requirement for conversion of a municipality into a city from P20 million to P100 million.
Pamintuan said they will fight back as the Supreme Court (SC) reversed its earlier decision for the third time favoring the conversion of 16 municipalities into cities.
He cited the towns of Lamitan in Basilan and Tabuk in Kalinga as those with questionable number of population and income required under the law.
“Does Lamitan has at least 40,00 people? How can Tabuk generate P100 million locally generated taxes?” he said.
“The alleged ‘flip-flopping’ of the SC has caused uproar with the 122-member League of Cities of the Philippines led by City of San Fernando Mayor Oscar Rodriguez, LCP president,” said the Angeles City mayor.
Pamintuan, LCP public relations officer, also said the SC’s decision will mean huge losses in Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) share of the cities like Angeles in favor of the new cities.
He added that this city will lose about P32 million in its annual IRA when the 16 towns become cities.
“Unfortunately, it creates a perception that our Supreme Court justices are not studying the cases carefully and meticulously,” he said.
The LCP said the nationwide protest started yesterday, local officials wearing black armbands and will hold noise barrage every Friday.
He also said that because of the SC decision, “some of our programmed projects this year would be jeopardized as our share of IRA would be significantly reduced.”
The 16 new include Lamitan, Basilan; Tabuk, Kalinga; Bayugan, Agusan del Sur; Batac, Ilocos Norte; Mati, Davao Oriental; Guihulngan, Negros Oriental; Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte; Carcar, Cebu; El Salvador, Misamis Oriental; Naga, Cebu; Baybay, Leyte; Bogo, Cebu; Catbalogan, Western Samar; Tandag, Surigao del Sur; Borongan, Eastern Samar and Tayabas, Quezon.
El Salvador has an annual income of P17 million and about 17,000 residents, Pamintuan said.
Last week, city mayors belonging to the LCP marched along Padre Faura in Ermita, Manila, to dramatize the filing of their motion for reconsideration.
In a motion for reconsideration, the LCP said that the SC had no jurisdiction anymore to issue its Feb. 15, 2011 resolution declaring constitutional the 16 cityhood laws because there was no longer any controversy to settle.
“No province, city, municipality or barangay shall be created, divided, merged, abolished or its boundary substantially altered, except in accordance with the criteria established in the Local Government Code and subject to approval by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite in the political units directly affected,” the LCP said, quoting the Constitution.
It added that the cityhood laws violated Republic Act 9009 that amended the Local Government Code six years before the cityhood laws and increased the annual income requirement for conversion of a municipality into a city from P20 million to P100 million.
