With a portrait of Pres. Aquino at their backs, allies of former Pres. Arroyo, Pampanga 1st district Rep. Carmelo Lazatin and Mabalacat City Mayor Marino Morales hold a document signed by the President approving Republic Act 10164 declaring the town as a component city.
Photo by Ding Cervantes
MABALACAT, Pampanga – This town’s Mayor Marino Morales dangled P100-million additional internal revenue allotment (IRA) to lure local voters to vote for cityhood in a plebiscite expected to be held here next month.
Following Pres. Aquino’s signing of Republic Act 10164 declaring this town as component city, Morales also assured his constituents of a five-year tax moratorium once Mabalacat becomes a city.
While the law was signed by the President last May 15, it could take effect only once a simple majority of those who would cast their votes in a plebiscite would approve cityhood.
This, even as 1st district Rep. Carmelo Lazatin, author of the Mabalacat cityhood bill in the House, urged local leaders to start an early campaign for cityhood.
In a press conference here, Morales said that cityhood would mean an increase in the local government’s IRA share from P200 million to P300 million.
“So we will have P300 million on top of the P500 million budget we plan for 2013,” Morales said.
The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) still has to decide on when the plebiscite would be held after Pres. Aquino signed last week Republic Act 10164 declaring this town as Pampanga’s third city, after Angeles and San Fernando.
But both Morales and Lazatin said they expected the plebiscite by late next month after the holding of an information drive on the cityhood issue, as a last step for the official declaration of this 300-year-old town as a city.
Morales said the local government has allocated P14 million to be used by the Comelec for the plebiscite.
He said cityhood would boost the capability of the local government to deliver more basic services to local folk, as he cited as among his priorities the construction of a five-story and another two-story buildings at the Mabalacat College which was founded during his administration.
Morales urged his constituents to vote for cityhood during the plebiscite. This town had about 97,000 voters during the 2007 polls.
He assured his constituents that even after the five-year tax moratorium, no increase in local taxes nor new taxes can be imposed automatically unless any such legislation is passed by the city council.
OCA WELCOMES MABALACAT
League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) president and this city’s Mayor Oscar Rodriguez has welcomed Mabalacat as its new member after President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino signed House Bill 2509/4735 converting the town into a component city.
“Welcome to the club. Welcome to the club of cities in the Philippines,” Rodriguez said.
The mayor said he is happy to hear and realize that Mabalacat will be part of LCP before his term ends as president.
A plebiscite is expected to be held to ask Mabalakeños pulse in turning their town to a city. If majority of the population agrees, the conversion will push through.
–With reports from Charlene Cayabyab
