A LOCAL official of Minglanilla town in southern Cebu has expressed optimism that the first-class municipality would soon qualify to become a city.

Municipal Councilor Rajiv Enad, chairman of the Committee on Laws, told SunStar Superbalita Cebu, that they had already passed a resolution creating an Ad-Hoc Committee on Cityhood, where Enad is the chairman.

He said that although they have not met the area requirement to become a city, the municipality’s population of 160,000 and an annual income of P200 to P400 million are more than enough for them to obtain a cityhood status.

For this year, their annual budget is P700 million.

A municipality or a cluster of barangays may be converted into a component city if it has an average annual income of at least P100 million in the last two consecutive years based on 2000 constant prices and either a population of at least 150,000 inhabitants or a contiguous territory of 100 square kilometers, according to the Senate’s official website.

Enad said they already drafted the New Cityhood Law for the resolution that will be forwarded to Congress for the sponsorship of the cityhood bill.

He was hopeful that more projects will be implemented in the town this year, including the reclamation area that is expected to generate more income for the municipality. (GPL, TPT)