The League of Cities of the Philippines are up in arms over a new bill in the Lower House that relaxes the stringent requirements of the Local Government Code in the transformation of a locality into a city.
League President and Manda luyong City Mayor Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. said in a press briefing that the Lower House never consulted them over House Bill No. 24, authored by Zamboanga Sibugay Second District Rep. Ann Hofer, that exempts capital towns of provinces from the annual income requirement of P100 million to be qualified as a city.
The League, composed of 120 cities nationwide, expressed fear that their internal revenue allotment (IRA) will decrease if Congress will pass the bill. The mayors said that in 2007 alone, 16 towns were converted into new cities. If House Bill 24 becomes a law, there will be 27 new cities, which will further reduce the per capita IRA share of existing cities.