PB asks PJ Garcia to support Balamban cityhood initiatives

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu Provincial Board yesterday passed a resolution requesting Third District Rep. Pablo John Garcia to support the initiatives of PB Members Alex Binghay and Caesar Ian Geronimo Zambo to convert the Municipality of Balamban into a component city of the province.

The board asked Garcia to sponsor in Congress the cityhood bill for Balamban.

Binghay, former town mayor, said that Balamban has already met the two requirements set under Republic Act 9009 otherwise known as the amended Local Government Code of 1991.

A municipality may be converted into a city if it has a locally generated average annual income, as certified by the Department of Finance, of at least P100 million for the last two consecutive years based on 2,000 constant prices, a contiguous territory of at least 100 square meters, as certified by the Land Management Bureau and lastly, a population of not less than 150,000 inhabitants, as certified by the National Statistics Office.

Balamban has a total land area of 33,700 hectares, 55 percent of which is classified as alienable and disposable land while the remaining 44.51 percent is timberland.

It is comprised of 28 barangays with urban area comprised of three barangays namely Aliwanay, Baliwagan and Sta. Cruz.

The municipality has generated its local income of P126,454,332.86 for calendar year 2010.

In sponsoring the resolution, Binghay said that the conversion of Balamban from a municipality to a city would guarantee its economic growth and pave the way for the implementation of development plans lined-up by its local officials to improve the lives of its constituents.

Balamban is the home of one of the leading medium-sized shipbuilders in the world, Tsuneishi Heavy Industries, (Cebu) Inc. (THICI).

Shipbuilding, ship repair and manufacturing of outfittings for ships and vessels constitute the main business of the company. THICI ships out medium-sized vessels to different parts of the world.   - (THE FREEMAN)