Council opposes House move exempting 23 towns from income requirement

The city council is opposing a move of the House of Representatives exempting 23 towns from a legal requirement in their bid for cityhood.

The city council approved a proposed resolution filed by Councilor Hilario Davide III opposing House Resolution No. 1 seeking the conversion of 23 municipalities into cities "without due regard to the new income requirement prescribed under Republic Act No. 9099."

R.A. 9099, which took effect on February 24, 2001, amended the Local Government Code, which not requires a municipality a locally generated income of at least P100 million for the last two consecutive years based on 2000 constant prices. Prior to the effectivity of R.A. 9099, the income requirement was only P20 million.

The house resolution is pending in the Senate and the city council is urging the upper house to suspend its action on the resolution until such time that the current sharing scheme in the Internal Revenue Allotment under the Local Government Code shall have been reviewed.

The municipalities include Carcar, Cebu; Binalbagan, Negros Occidental; Baybay, Leyte; Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro; Bogo, Cebu; San Francisco, Agusan del Sur; Bayugan, Agusan del Sur; Pontevedra, Negros Occidental; Lamitan, Basilan; San Juan, Metro Manila; Tandag, Surigao del Sur; Tabuk, Kalinga; Batac, Ilocos Norte; Naga, Cebu; Borongan, Eastern Samar; Claveria, Misamis Oriental; El Salvador, Misamis Oriental; Opol, Misamis Oriental; Catbalogan, Samar; Pototan, Iloilo; Mati, Davao Oriental; Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte; and Guihulngan, Negros Oriental.

In its resolution, the lower house said that the imposition of a much higher income requirement for the conversion "delivered a lethal blow to the aspirations of the municipalities embodied in bills filed during the Eleventh Congress to attain economic growth and development." - Joeberth M. Ocao