We saw this coming.
In fact, some time ago, Opinyon Batangas already ran a banner story featuring the local government unit (LGU) of Malvar as the “next big thing” in terms of development and economy in the province of Batangas.
Aside from the LIMA Technology hub, Malvar also hosts a sprawling light industrial park located across the Star Tollway.
Although Wiki still calls it a second-class LGU, Malvar is actually a first-class municipality now, and under the able leadership of Mayor Cristeta Cuevas-Reyes, it seems that there is nowhere to go for the town but up – to cityhood.
However, the road getting there may not be well paved and may “not happen overnight” but definitely, Malvar is on its way there says the mayor.
A First-Class Town
“We are now a first class municipality. Katunayan, medyo matagal na po. But maybe in four months' time ilalabas na ng Department of Finance ang formal at official na announcement na kami po ay First Class Municipality,” the local chief executive said in a recent interview with Opinyon Batangas.
Aside from attaining a first-class municipality status, Malvar is now considered a top-ranking LGU in the province of Batangas, besting 29 other towns.
Recently, it also vaulted up to 138th out of 1,488 municipalities nationwide, leaving 1,350 towns behind in its wake.
As we said, there is nowhere to go but up from here for Malvar.
“Kapag first class na kayo, (next is) cityhood na. Ang hinahabol na lang namin (ay) makatulad ng Carmona hindi nila na-meet yung requirements ng land area, at population pero naging city sila itong year na ito (2023),” Reyes said.
P100-M+ to Provincial Coffers
And similar to Carmona, the clincher for this lies on the level of earnings or economic capability of an LGU with which Malvar qualifies fully well and also hopes to make use of towards its cityhood goal, an insider who requested anonymity said.
And this is highly doable because, in the words of the mayor herself, Malvar has long been remitting consecutively more than P100 million in local earnings to the provincial government of Gov. Hermilando Mandanas.
Crafted by then-Senator Ping Lacson, there is a law now that allows an LGU to apply for cityhood provided the said LGU has accrued consecutive earnings of P100 million or more for at least two straight years.
“Matagal na kaming ganyan (remitting P100M+). Katunayan nitong huli, last year, the town remitted P180 million to Gov. Mandanas,” Cuevas-Reyes said while admitting that Malvar’s road to cityhood is challenging as it has a lot of bumps to hurdle at the moment.
“Naku, opo madugo yan kasi ang Carmona trinabaho nila yan for eight (8) years, but I’m hoping sana yung aking isang term ay ma-push through talaga.”
Autonomy to Progress
Becoming a city offers a lot of advantages for an LGU like faster and better services for constituents as it will no longer be remitting tax earnings to the provincial government.
“Kapag kami naging city wala na yun, tanggal na yun,” Cuevas-Reyes referring to annual remittances the LGU currently makes to the provincial government, said.
Another crucial step for the application for cityhood is filing a measure in Congress, authored first and foremost by the District Representative, and after, comes the plebiscite where the electorate has to vote yes, or no to cityhood.
If things push through as planned, Malvar will become the fifth city of Batangas after Sto. Tomas, Tanauan, Lipa, and Batangas City.
Strategically Located
Malvar is strategically located 37 kilometers (23 miles) from Batangas City and 68 kilometers (42 miles) south of Manila, easily accessible via the STAR Tollway. It is surrounded by Tanauan City to the north, Santo Tomas City to the east, Lipa City to the south, and Balete Town to the west.
With the expansion of Metro Manila, Malvar is now part of the Manila conurbation, extending to Lipa City.
The town was named after General Miguel Malvar, a native of Santo Tomas, Batangas, and one of the last Filipino generals to surrender to the Americans during the Philippine-American War in 1902.
Impetus of Change
Philippine cities are categorized into three groups: highly urbanized cities (HUC), independent component cities (ICC), and component cities (CC).
Local and state governments in the Philippines derive their tax revenues primarily from three sources: income taxes, sales taxes, and property taxes.
A new law enacted on May 1, 2022, facilitates the conversion of municipalities into cities under Republic Act 11683. This amendment streamlines the process and allows qualified municipalities to apply for city status without certain land and population prerequisites.
The impetus of this change is to distribute national resources more fairly and extend the benefits of cityhood to a larger population.
Under this law, municipalities like Malvar can apply for city conversion if they generate a minimum of P100 million in revenue for two consecutive years, even if they have a smaller land area or population. The law was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on April 11, 2021.
One major advantage of achieving city status is increased budget allocation for the city government, although taxes may be higher compared to municipalities. The transition from a municipality to a city involves specific steps, including the passage of a bill in Congress, presidential approval, and a plebiscite where residents vote to accept or reject cityhood.
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