Angaras eyeing conversion of Baler into a component city

BALER, Aurora — The Angaras are pushing for the conversion of this capital town — the birthplace of the late former Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon — into a component city to hasten the development of the province, one of the country’s 20 poorest.

House Deputy Minority Leader Juan Edgardo Angara said he supports proposed legislation seeking to convert at least 30 municipalities, including Baler, into cities to jumpstart their development.

"I think there’s nothing wrong in saying that every province deserves (to have) a city. With that, that province will be eventually developed," he told The STAR.

The young Angara, son of Sen. Edgardo Angara, said his proposal to convert this town into a component city is consistent with House Bill 5737 introduced by Rep. Jose Mayo Almario exempting certain towns from the income requirement, subject to certain conditions.

Entitled "An Act to Exempt from the Income Requirement Capital Towns of Provinces Subject to Certain Conditions" and amending Republic Act 7160, as amended by RA 9009, otherwise known as the Local Government Code, the measure was already passed by the House committee on local governments chaired by Negros Oriental Rep. Emilio Macias II. It has been the subject of plenary deliberations in the Senate.

The Local Government Code fixes the income requirement for a municipality to become a city at P100 million annually for the last two consecutive years.

It also requires prospective cities to have a territory of at least 100 square kilometers and a population of not less than 150,000.

A check with Baler Mayor Arthur Angara showed that the capital town has an income of P30 million annually, way below the minimum income of P100 million.

The fourth-class town, located 232 kilometers north of Manila and which stands on the coast of a horseshoe-shaped valley overlooking the Pacific Ocean, has a population of 34,000 and a land area of 9,000 hectares.

But Angara said the inclusion of Baler in the list of prospective cities is anchored on Almario’s proposal that the minimum income requirement shall not apply to capital towns of provinces, but subject to conditions such as the capital town is located in a province without a city.

While Baler, which, at 397 years old, is one of the country’s oldest towns, is the capital of Aurora, Angara said the province, which has eight municipalities, does not have a component city yet.

"Merong magagalit diyan pero dapat lang (Some will get mad but it is just right)," he said, referring to the League of Cities of the Philippines which has opposed the measure, claiming that the conversion of the 32 capital towns of provinces without cities would drain the existing internal revenue allotments (IRAs) of each of the 117 existing cities by at least P100 million.

He said Baler used to cover a wide area but the nearby towns of San Luis, Ma. Aurora and Dipaculao were carved out of it.

Angara’s aunt, Aurora Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, said converting this town into a city would be a fitting tribute to Quezon, the first President of the Commonwealth, who, she stressed, was the one who instilled genuine nationalism among Filipinos.

"His sense of nationalism became evident when he mouthed the now-famous line ‘I would rather see the Philippines run like hell by Filipinos than to see it run like heaven by Americans,’" she said.

Angara-Castillo, who also hails from this capital town, said it was phenomenal that a small town like Baler, which is often overlooked for its remoteness, could produce a Philippine president — Quezon — and a Senate president — Sen. Angara.

"Sen. Angara was also the president of the University of the Philippines, ASEAN Law and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines," she said.

During the 11th Congress, 55 bills seeking to convert certain municipalities into cities were filed, of which 32 were enacted into law, one was rejected in a plebiscite and 21 were not acted upon due to the impeachment proceedings in 2000 against then President Joseph Estrada.