Consolacion, Liloan and Minglanilla, on the verge of Cityhood

Minglanilla, Consolacion and Liloan are municipalities in Metro Cebu that are now on the verge of cityhood based on the qualifications set forth by R.A. 9009, the governing law on cityhood or conversion of a municipality to a city.

Republic Act. 9009

• locally generated income of at least ₱100 million (based on constant prices in the year 2000) for the last two consecutive years, as certified by the Department of Finance, AND
• a population of at least 150,000, as certified by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA); OR a contiguous territory of 100 square kilometers, as certified by the Land Management Bureau, with contiguity not being a requisite for areas that are on two or more islands

Size

For the territorial requirement of 100 square kilometers, not one among the three Metro Cebu towns can qualify since they all have a smaller land area, with Consolacion having only 37sq.km, the smallest of the three.

So the only way to go is to comply with the two other requirements. Income and Population.

100M Annual Income

Money seems not a problem these days for Consolacion, Liloan and Minglanilla as they all have annual earnings exceeding the minimum parameter of 100M.

150,000 Population

On the question of population however, not one of the three can make the cut. That is if we refer to the latest census of 2015:

Liloan: 118,753

Minglanilla: 132,135

Consolacion: 131,528

But that is four years ago. These are fast growing urban areas that are averaging 4% to 10% year-on-year growth on its population.

Looking at the demographics, both Consolacion and Minglanilla should have breached the mark already as early as last year (2018), while Liloan will also make it in 2020 or 2021 at the latest.

Cities enjoy greater autonomy from the national government and a much bigger share of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).

But the biggest change of all for new cities aside from the label, is the prestige and distinction it gives to all its residents.

A moment of pride and collective excitement for the milestone in history, when their once sleepy town finally ‘arrived‘ to join the big league.

Of course it is the people through a plebiscite who will eventually decide the fate of any cityhood proposal, but almost always, the excitement and human instinct for self -advancement prevails.

To the people of Minglanilla City, the City of Consolacion and Liloan City, congratulations in advance and please keep your city clean.