Friday, June 08, 2007
Senate okays Gullas bill on Naga
THE Senate approved House Bill 6041, converting the town of Naga into a new component city of Cebu Province, on its third and final reading yesterday morning.
The proposal drew the Senate’s nod, with 14 votes, before the Upper House of the 13th Congress adjourned its last day of regular session.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007 Coverage
The Senate, presided over by Senate President Manny Villar, approved it “with no committee or individual amendments” three days after it was passed on second reading.
“I thank the Lord that we were able to push through the proposed bill in the third and last regular session of the Senate. This will tremendously help the town of Naga and its people,” an elated Rep. Eduardo Gullas, the House deputy majority leader, told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday.
Naga is the third Cebu town to be converted into a city by the 13th Congress, after Bogo and Carcar.
Gullas (Cebu, first district) expects that the conversion will “more than double” Naga town’s current P79-million annual Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) share.
Cities get an IRA share of about P180 million to P200 million.
Gullas, who got a fresh mandate in the last May 14 polls, also said this will help a lot in the priority programs of Naga Mayor Valdemar Chiong, such as the establishment of a bigger public market, a national night high school and a new cemetery.
Chiong, Vice Mayor Delfin Señor and the members of the town council were present during the Senate’s approval of the Naga City bill.
Once the President signs it into law and the residents approve it through a plebiscite, Naga will become the third component city in the first congressional district, next to Talisay and Carcar.
Carcar’s conversion into a city has been scheduled for a plebiscite on June 23 and Gullas expects Naga to follow suit either in the third or last week of July.
Naga, a first-class municipality, has an annual P100-million budget, 55 percent of which goes to basic services.
The senators who approved HB 6041 were Villar, Juan Flavier, Francis Pangilinan, Pia Cayetano, Ramon Magsaysay Jr., Juan Ponce Enrile, Franklin Drilon, Ralph Recto, Rufino Biazon, Edgardo Angara, Sergio Osmeña III, Jinggoy Estrada, Panfilo Lacson and Alfredo Lim, the Senate’s local government committee chairman.
On orders of Villar, Senate Secretary General Oscar Yabes transmitted the certification of approval to the House of Representatives.
In turn, House Speaker Jose de Venecia directed Secretary General Roberto Nazareno to immediately start the process of enrolling HB 6041 by transmitting the approved measure, signed de Venecia and Villar, to Malacañang for President Arroyo’s approval.
“It’s for the people of Naga, I am only an instrument to realize their dream,” Gullas said.
He also spearheaded the conversion of Talisay town into a component city in 2001, the first city among the six municipalities of Cebu’s first district.
Gullas ran for Talisay City mayor in 2001 after completing three consecutive terms as first district representative.
The Local Government Code provides that a town has to have at least P20 million as average annual income for two consecutive years, and a population of 150,000 or land area of at least 100 square kilometers.
However, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. introduced amendments that require an average annual income of P100,000, excluding the IRA, before a town could become a city.(GC)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 8, 2007 issue)
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