LEGAZPI City, July 15 (PNA) — This key Bicol urban metropolis is getting ready to be classified as a highly-urbanized city (HUC).
“We are just waiting for the 2015 Population Census (POPCEN) to be conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Aug. 1-31 as its result will officially determine the latest human population figure of the city which will be among the basis of the reclassification,” City Mayor Noel Rosal on Wednesday said.
The city needs a population of not less than 200,000 to qualify, based on the provision of Republic Act (RA) 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991 involving the conversion of a component city into a HUC, he said.
As of the 2010 POPCEN, the population of the city was officially counted at 182,201, which the PSA has projected to reach more than 200,000 by this year based on an estimated average annual growth rate of 2.1 percent.
Another criterion needed to be satisfied is the local revenue which, according to RA 7160, a component city shall not be converted into a HUC unless its latest annual income is not less than Php500 million “based on 1991 constant prices, as certified by the city treasurer”.
The annual income, it said, shall include those accruing to the general fund — exclusive of special funds, transfers, and non-recurring income.
City Budget Officer Obelia Baldano said the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) has for its record as of end of 2014 a gross collection of over Php700 million already, a rate of revenue that continues to increase owing to the remarkable growth being achieved by the local business sector and the CTO’s aggressive implementation of its tax collection campaign.
In fact, Baldano said, the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) recognizes the city government as number one among its counterparts in the Bicol Region in terms of local revenue collections.
In real property taxes alone, the target in 2014 was Php71.07 million but the CTO collected Php108.16 million, with an increase of 152.2 percent while in business taxes and other fees and charges, the collection for the same year was Php177.36 million, which was 111.5 percent over its target of Php159.06, Baldano said.
The city also received a total of Php403.5 million funds in Internal Revenue Allotment from the national government last year and realized a local revenue amounting Php270.4 million.
In his Ulat sa Bayan (Report to the People) last week, Rosal revealed that the city’s total revenue for 2014 was listed at over Php711 million, which showed significant increases from 2013’s Php658.5 million and 2012’s Php611 million.
The revenue figures show that since 2012, the city has already qualified to the HUC classification and “right now we are already prepared for the elevation of Legazpi from a component city of Albay to HUC, the first to be among Bicol’s seven cities,” he said.
HUCs that are considered elite cities in the Philippines are above in classification over independent component cities and component cities.
At present, the country has only 33 HUCs, 16 of them parts of Metro Manila.
“We are taking a more competitive and aggressive stance in pursuing our HUC campaign, which would be getting a more concrete position when the 2015 POPCEN is done and its officially results are released by the PSA, given that the population qualification is the only one that matters now,” Rosal said.
When this requirement is met, he said, the city government will follow the procedure under Rule II, Article 12 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 7160 on “Conversion of Component City Into a Highly-Urbanized City” — first of it is the passing of a resolution by the Sanggunian Panglunsod calling for the purpose.
This resolution, after approval and endorsement of the mayor, will be submitted to the Office of the President who, within 30 days from receipt, shall, after verifying that the income and population requirements have been met, declare the component city as a HUC.
Within 120 days from the declaration of the President, a plebiscite shall be conducted in the city by the Commission on Elections to be preceded by a comprehensive information campaign it must initiate with the assistance of national and local government officials, media, non-government organizations and other interested parties.
According to RA 7160, “the conversion of a component city into a highly-urbanized city shall make it independent of the province where it is geographically located”.
Rosal said his administration is dramatically aiming for this conversion that will accelerate further the development of the city into a top-class urban locality being sought by investors for their business investments, thus, opening more job opportunities for the local manpower and more revenue that the local government could use in maximizing the delivery of social services to its people.
It will serve as an additional attribute to the locality that is now officially recognized as one of the three most livable cities in the country, the City of Fun and Adventure for the world travel market and a convention capital; admired for its excellent in local governance and in disaster risk reduction and management; and a business-friendly city, among other inspiring traits, he added.(PNA)