Gwen says Balamban rich enough to be a city

Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III (4th from right), wife Jobella and officials of Balamban town headed by Mayor Ace Binghay (center wearing dark glasses) and officers of Tsuneishi Heavy Industries Cebu, Inc. prepare for the maiden trip of the SC-209 bulk carrier vessel at Tsuneishi compound Balamban Cebu in this April 22, 2014 file photo.

Known for its shipbuilding industry, Balamban town in northwest Cebu is qualified to become a city, said Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia of Cebu’s 3rd district.

A bill seeking cityhood status for Balamban is being pursued by Garcia after the original bill was filed by her brother and predecessor  Pablo John Garcia during the 15th congress.

However, the town didn’t meet the P100 million income requirement for cityhood  based on the  Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) 2012 and 2013 assessment.

Because of this finding, House Bill No. 04515, or an act converting Balamban town into a component city of Cebu, has been  stalled in the House committee on local government.

Gwen said she disagrees with the estimate.

“The municipality  already achieved an  income beyond P100 million. In fact, the town earned P156 million in 2013 alone,” she told Cebu Daily News in a phone interview yesterday.

To qualify for conversion into a city, the locality must have  an average annual income of P100 million for the last two years computed against constant prices in the year 2000, as certified by the Department of Finance.

Finding
Since Garcia filed the bill in 2014, BLGF computed the town’s income for 2013 and 2012.

“The BLGF said based on their computation, the town’s average income for two years did not reach the requirement provided by law. They computed only P75 million,” Garcia said.

For conversion, Balamban also needs a contiguous territory of 100 square kilometers as certified by the Land Management Bureau and a population of at least 150,000 inhabitants as certified by the Philippine Statistics Authority (formerly National Statistics Office).

Garcia said the town passed these  requirements and she has been trying to contest the BLGF findings.

Conversion
“There really is a big disparity. I am hoping to schedule a committee hearing now that Congress has resumed,” she said.

Garcia said Balamban earned P115.86 million in 2012 while it earned P156.16 million in 2013.
She said she intends to invite BLGF and the PSA to the committee hearing to shed light on the recent computation.

Section 450 of the Local Government Code of the Philippines sets criteria for  the conversion of towns into cities.

“I really believe there has to be an amendment to this. I am now preparing a bill to amend this particular section because the limitation on the computation of a municipality’s income is not realistic,” Garcia said.

Overdue
She said a more realistic picture of  a town’s  income  should be based on current prices.

Aside from shipbuilding, Balamban relies on agriculture, fishing, local manufacturing and  small, medium, and large enterprises.

The town is home to medium-sized shipbuilder  Tsuneishi Heavy Industries Cebu Inc.

The company specializes in shipbuilding, ship repair, and manufacturing of outfittings for ships and other vessels.

It also supplies medium-sized vessels to different parts of the world.

“Balamban is really qualified. All other requirements have been submitted. And this is long overdue,” said Garcia.