Noy hailed for signing San Pedro charter

SAN PEDRO, Laguna, Philippines – Officials and residents thanked President Aquino for signing Republic Act 10420, which converted San Pedro from a town into a component city.

A copy of the new law, signed by Aquino on March 27, was forwarded to San Pedro Mayor Calixto Cataquiz by the Malacañang Records Office on April 2.

Cataquiz thanked the President for making the dream of San Pedro residents a reality. He also thanked Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez and Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who sponsored the San Pedro cityhood bill.

 Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile endorsed the bill to the Office of the President.

San Pedro’s conversion into a city “will certainly spur the socio-economic development and improve the delivery of basic social services” to residents, he said. The new law will be submitted to a plebiscite.

The approval of the cityhood bill may have averted a plan by the opposition to separate Barangay San Vicente, the biggest and most populated village in San Pedro, from the former municipality, Cataquiz said.