THE Gaisano Grand Group yesterday opened the first mall in Liloan, boosting the municipality’s planned bid for cityhood in three to five years.
The mall is Gaisano Grand’s 30th in Visayas and Mindanao and the 11th in Cebu. Eight out of its 10 employees are town residents.
The four-story mall has a department store, supermarket and space for fastfood chains and other outlets.
Liloan Mayor Vincent Franco “Duke” Frasco said the opening of the mall is a testament to investors’ confidence in the town.
He said they expect additional income in terms of real estate and business taxes from the establishment.
The town, located about 18 kilometers north of Cebu City, aims to earn P100 million to meet the required income for a city.
A municipality may be converted into a city if it meets the requirements under Republic Act No. 9009, which amended the Local Government Code of 1991 (RA No. 7160), such as P100 million average annual income in the last two consecutive years and a population of at least 150,000 or a contiguous territory of 100 square kilometers. /USJ-R Intern Jellmar F. Cabrera