SC to hear LCP's petition for conversion of new cities
City Mayor Jerry Treñas said the Supreme Court will hear today (Tuesday) the petition filed by the League of Cities in the Philippines (LCP) seeking a moratorium on the creation of new cities in the country. He said he prepared himself in the first hearing after they filed the petition in May 2007.
Treñas along with the members of the league is hoping that the high court will listen to their pleas in the conversion of new cities that eventually cut down the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) share of each city. Yesterday, the chief executive was reading their pleadings in his office when reporters arrived in his office.
Named respondents to the petition are the Comelec and the six municipalities, namely, Baybay, Bogo, Catbalogan, Tandag, Borongan and Tayabas. The petition covers the Cityhood Law that seeks to convert the municipalities of Baybay (Leyte), Bogo (Cebu), Catbalogan (Samar), Tandag (Agusan del Sur), Borongan (Samar) and Tayabas (Quezon) into cities without complying with the minimum requirement of P100 million in locally generated income, contrary to the requirements of the Local Government Code as amended by Republic Act No. 9009.
The six municipalities are among the 16 towns which sought exemption from the requirements of the law. Congress recently approved the conversion into cities of said municipalities despite the failure to meet the requirements of Republic Act 9009. Republic Act 9009 states that a town should have a locally generated income of at least P100 million annually before it could be classified into a city. It should also have a land area of at least 100 square kilometers or a population of 150,000.
The chief executive said they will still continue to wear black armbands every Monday to dramatize their appeal pending the decision of the high court. Other cities even flew their flags at half-staff and their to signify their protest.