A glimpse of the shipyards at the mouth of the Cansaga Bay in Consolacion town, northern Cebu. | CDN Digital file photo
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Philippines- A House Bill that seeks to convert the municipality of Consolacion into a component city was recently filed at the House of Representatives.
House Bill 1324 is co-authored by Rep. Daphne Lagon of the 6th district of Cebu and her husband, Ako Bisaya Partylist Rep. Sonny Lagon.
The two legislators said Consolacion town, a first class town in northern Cebu, is already qualified to become a city after already exceeded the income and population requirement for a component city.
Local officials have long dreamt of Consolacion town’s conversion as one of the component cities in Cebu. However, they fell short on the population and land area requirements among others.
Republic Act No. 11683, which amends Section 450 of the Local Government Code (LGC) of 1991, says that for a municipality to become a component city, it must have a land area of at least 100 square kilometers and a population of not less than 150,000 inhabitants as certified by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). It must also earn an annual income of P100 million from local revenues as certified by the Department of Finance in the last two consecutive years.
The law added that a locality should have generated an average annual income of P400 million for two consecutive years in case it fails to meet the population or land area requirements.
In the explanatory note of HB 1324, the two legislators said with the passage of Republic Act 11683, which amends Section 450 of the LGC and makes it easier for municipalities to apply to become a city, Consolacion town’s cityhood bid deserves a second look.
The Lagons said that Consolacion is now a booming urban residential community and home to several mid-size industries because of its proximity to Cebu’s urban centers.
As of 2020, its population already reached 148,012 while its revenues amounted to over P500 million. The town’s land area is at 147.20 square kilometers.
With the planned implementation of ‘major-ticket development projects like the 25-hectare New Cebu International Container Port and the 235-hectare La Consolacion Seafront Project, this northern Cebu town is expected to strengthen its position as a major industrial and commercial center in the Province of Cebu.
The Lagons said making Consolacion town into a component city will also enhance the local government unit’s capability to deliver more and improved social services to its constituents and encourage more investors to locate and do business within its territorial jurisdiction.
Its cityhood, they added, is “with the end view of improving Consolacion’s delivery of basic services and promote the equitable allocation of national resources, the earnest approval of this measure is highly sought.”
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