The legit cities are ostracizing the ‘unqualified’ cities; the latter form their own league

Check with the League of Cities of the Philippines how many members it has, and it will say 120. Check with the National Statistical Coordination Board, however, and it will say there are 136.

As far as the LCP is concerned, the number has always been 120 since 2007, despite the conversion of 16 towns into new cities that year.

(These are Tabuk in Kalinga; Tayabas in Quezon; Batac in Ilocos Norte; Naga, Bogo, and Carcar in Cebu; Baybay in Leyte; Guihulngan in Negros Oriental; Catbalogan in Samar; Borongan in Eastern Samar; Tandag in Surigao del Sur; Bayugan in Agusan del Sur; El Salvador in Misamis Oriental; Mati in Davao Oriental; Lamitan in Basilan; and Cabadbaran in Agusan del Norte.)

Normally, any newly created or converted city is automatically taken in as member of the LCP. Discounting these 16, however, is the LCP’s way of protesting Congress’s apparent abuse of power by passing cityhood laws even if the 16 municipalities in question didn’t meet the minimum income requirement set by the Local Government Code.

A mayor of one of the 16 cities told us that the LCP never recognized them even after their cityhood laws were ratified by their residents in their respective plebiscites.

Last November, the Supreme Court sided with the LCP when it voided and declared unconstitutional those cityhood laws.

So what’s the League of 16 (as they want to call themselves) to do?

They are forming a league of their own and are preparing to register it with the Securities and Exchange Commission as the Alliance of Rural Cities. They say other “cities” whose cityhood laws suffer the same fate are welcome to join. (Newsbreak)

Share: