Gwen to meet with mayors of Naga, Bogo and Carcar

CEBU, Philippines – The three local chief executives of the cities reverted by the Supreme Court back to towns –Naga, Bogo and Carcar – are set to meet with Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to discuss a solution to their predicament.

Garcia said she is set to meet with Naga Mayor Vladimir Chiong, Carcar Mayor Patricio Barcenas and Bogo Mayor Celestino Martinez Jr. 11 a.m. tomorrow at the Provincial Capitol building.

“I have to know their situation in terms of drastic and sudden reductions of IRA (Internal Revenue Allotment). I want to know how many personnel of the LGUs will be affected,” she said.

 The three mayors have already confirmed their attendance, Garcia said.

Officials of the Department of Budget and Management, Department of Interior and Local Government and the Civil Service Commission will also be attending the conference.

Garcia said she wants to know if there are infrastructure projects started by the three local government units that are now in danger of not being completed.

“We need to take track of each of their respective situations before we can try to seek to cushion the genitive impact on our LGUs,” Garcia said.

The governor also wants to discuss how the provincial government can help them especially in the budgetary aspect.

The Supreme Court ruled with finality denying a motion for reconsideration filed by Naga, Carcar, Bogo and 13 other new cities in the country against an earlier ruling by the same court nullifying their city status.

Naga, Carcar and Bogo reportedly failed to meet the P100-million income requirement for new cities set by Republic Act 9009.

Once Carcar reverts back to town status, it will lose the P270 million it has been receiving as Internal Revenue Allotment and will go back to receiving P90 million.

Naga is set to lose its P180 million IRA share and will go back to P66 million, while Bogo will go back to P70 million from the P160 million it was receiving as a city.

Bogo became a city in June 2007 while Carcar and Naga attained the status in the succeeding two months.

It was the League of Cities of the Philippines that filed a petition before the high court seeking the annulment of the cityhood of 16 cities, saying the new cities failed to meet the income requirement set.

The League of Cities said that the conversion of more cities, particularly those that do not meet legal requirements, have resulted in lesser funds for older cities.

The cityhood bills of the affected government units, including Carcar, Naga and Bogo, were passed in the 11th Congress or before RA 9009 became a law.

Cebu 1st district Rep. Eduardo Gullas, who authored the laws converting Carcar and Naga to cities, said that when Sen. Aquilino Pimentel defended RA 9009, they agreed that the cityhood bills filed during the 11th Congress will not be affected by the increase in income requirement.

Gullas maintained that during the 12th Congress, RA 9009 was enacted into law that took effect on June 30, 2001.

He said there was a joint resolution which sought to exempt from the P100-million income requirement in RA 9009 the 24 municipalities whose cityhood bills were not approved in the 11th Congress. Hence, the Bogo, Carcar and Naga cityhood bills were still approved even with the existence of the new requirement.

Aside from Carcar, Naga and Bogo, the 13 other cities whose cityhood status were nullified 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, 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. – Garry B. Lao/BRP (THE FREEMAN)