City-hood, especially one that officials fought for several years, is always a welcome change; just ask the latest to have gone that route, Talisay City.
The upbeat mood stems from the counting of the chicks before the eggs are hatched: increased Internal Revenue Allotment share, greater independence, etc.
In reality, however, becoming a city is no assurance that growth is automatic.
Growth as process
The advantages derived from the conversion of a municipality into a city are not enough to derail the normal process of development.
It’s not like Bogo will now suddenly become the Cebu City of the north.
Rise in income, greater freedom, etc. may spur economic activity in a place newly converted into a city but only if officials concerned use these wisely.
In a sense, Bogo and the next town to jump into the city-hood bandwagon, Carcar, long have the potentials of growth being the center of activity in the far north and south.
One can even ask what took these places too long to achieve this status.
Not new
Indeed, what Bogo’s mayor-elect Celestino Martinez Jr. said, like making the city a trading center of the north, is not new---that has long been noted by urban planners.
The same is true for Carcar, whose shoe making industry and trading potentials have been the subject of endless discussions by policy makers.
In short, these two places could have already become major urban centers even without being declared by law as cities had their potentials been maximized.
That their growth has been slow is not a good omen for their city-hood.
Officials
Hope, though, should never be lost.
May the increase in income and greater freedom, plus the pride of being tagged a city finally prod concerned officials to work hard to achieve progress for their areas.
City-hood can be a welcome change only if officials change their moribund ways.
If not, the fireworks display and the dancing to welcome city-hood will be nothing but an empty and useless celebration.
