tale of many cities

Does the Philippines need more cities?

Becomming a city is a big deal for towns and municipalities. In a way it 'upgrades' the status of a particular place. It further means that a particular place has improved economically, socially and that people are, in a sense, more 'modern'. Cityhood is a status desired by many towns and municipalities. Having more cities also gives a country a good image, since it implies that many places are improving. But the question is does the country need more?

Today, 90% of the 120-strong League of Cities in the Philippines, headed by Mandaluyong Mayor Benhur Abalos, are expected to set their flags at half-mast and their employees to wear black arm bands. This is in protest to House Bill 24, authored by Zamboanga Sibugay Rep. Ann Hofer, that seeks to amend Republic Act 9009 or the Local Government Code by exempting capital towns of provinces from the minimum income requirements to become a city.

The new proposed bill states that all provincial capital towns can become a city despite the lack of the minimum requirements. For a town to be a city, it must have a land area of 100 square kilometers, a population of 150,000 and a Php 100 million annual income. With the new bill, capital towns can become a city even if they earn only 50 million income annually.

The proposed bill not only hurts the existing cities, but it also lowers the standards for any city. Every city get a share of the Internal Revenue Allotment or IRA. With more cities, the IRA decreases, thus cities get less money annually. The standard for cityhood has also diminished. Now any town with minimum qualifications can now apply.

Negros Occidental has 13 cities, the most number of cities in one province. But if one visits the place, only 1 city can actually be called a 'city'. Only the capital Bacolod City is the city one can actually compare with major cities such as Ilo-ilo, General Santos or even Cebu. The 12 other cities are still mostly agricultural. One would not think they are cities if one visits them. And surely this is also the case with other provinces.

Just last year, 16 towns were elevated to cityhood. Surely, few people would not recognized most of these cities. There are a lot of cities in the country that really doesn't look like cities. Except, I guess, for San Juan City in Metro Manila, which was elevated last year, the rest doesn't look and feel like a city.

Although it is also true that for places to be developed, it is important that they become a city first. After all, some companies would not invest in just a small town. But in the bigger picture, government must only elevate towns if indeed it has the right place in the league of cities. It might be a bad thing for a town if it is elevated to cityhood without the right requirements. Timing is very important. Becomming a city for a small town might even be bad for that town since now they will stand behind bigger cities and will just fade in the shadows of the "great cities". But if it remains to be a town and wait for some time, then chances are it will be known as the "great town" and will open further investment opportunities since they will be compared with just smaller towns.

Being a city is something good, but government must only elevate towns if they meet the perfect requirements. It might lead to the town's doom is they will be elevated without the right criteria. These town-city will just be eaten alive by competition and comparison.

asia's high

The Philippine peso is Asia's 2007 best performing currency and so far for 2008 too. With a growth of almost 19%, it is considered Asia's strongest. It was once one of the worst, reaching as high to almost 60 pesos per dollar. But now, it has improved and has touch the 40-level per dollar with 40.55 pesos per dollar, its highest since 2000.

And the growth doesn't seem to stop. Analysts predict it will even strengthen to the 38 peso level against the dollar within this year and some experts even forecast the peso to reach the 35-level this year. Who would have thought the country would experience such boom in the economy. Who would have thought the peso would be stronger than the US dollar.

But despite peso's growth, not everyone is happy. The most affected are the more than 10 million OFW's who rely on foreign currency. If before, they could send $1000 or around Php 50,000... now the $1000 is just around Php 40,000 or Php 10,000 lower. If before, people are complaining why the peso is in the 50-level, now people are complaining why the peso is in the 40 or even 30-level.

It's actually a paradox. Those who complain that the peso has strengthened are those who make the peso strong. OFW's remit billions of pesos to the country and that is one factor why the Philippine peso is strong. But sadly they are also the one affected by the strength of peso. It's hard to be on their side. One would not know if one should be happy that the peso is strong or not.

One good effect of the strength of peso is the influx of foreign investments. Last year, the foreign investments outpaced domestic investments. And more are coming to the country... not to mention more tourist arrivals too. 2007 also marked an increased in tourist arrivals in the country from around 2.6 million tourist in 2006 to 3.09 million last year.

Of course, this all leads to the question: what about the common Filipinos? Has there been any change in their life? Has there been a difference due to the strength of peso? Apparently, one can not see it just yet. Most Filipinos will surely say they didn't feel the growth of the economy. Only the rich are experiencing it.

One can't know for certain the answers to the questions. But whether or not this strong peso affects some people negatively, it sure is something good in the long run. If it attracts more investments in the future, then it surely could help further improve the economy and hopefully the lives of many Filipinos. Hopefully, this strong peso could create more jobs and good jobs at that. The state of the economy now can help the country for its long term goals. But hopefully it also helps the short term needs of the Filipinos.

2010

It's still more than 2 years prior the 2010 National Elections in the Philippines, and yet a lot of names have surfaced regarding who will replace Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The list of possible candidates are not at all surprising- same people. The names of Vice President Noli De Castro, MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, Sen. Mar Roxas, Sen. Manny Villar, Mayor Sonny Belmonte and even Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro all came out in the list of the so-called presidentiables.

As of today, one cannot really say who among the possibe candidates will win or at the very least who might win. As of now, all candidates are on the same platform. No one yet could tell who will reside in Malacanyang in 2010. A lot of events could still happen and everyone, even the popular ones, is not assured of that exclusive seat.

The road to Malacanyang is a dangerous one, albeit very exciting so to speak. One might do everything to arrive there first. One might fall back along the path and never recover. One might become impoverished of wealth or of friends. It is a road surely only one wins, but a road a lot dreams of. It is no surprise that many wants to follow the footsteps of Emilio, Manuel, Ramon, Ferdinand, Fidel among others. It is the seat of power after all and power, as history tells us, can breed greed.

Issues also arose if former presidents can still run. Why do people give so much hype on this, when in fact the constitution clearly states that elected presidents can't seek a new term. It is also very unlikely if indeed Cory, Fidel, Joseph or even Gloria would run again this 2010.

The road to 2010 begins now. That year is what people have been waiting for so long. The country has been under the Arroyo administration for more than 6 years and will continue to be in the next 2 to 3 years. People wanted to oust Gloria, but can't. And this upcomming elections will answer their prayers since it is the only legitimate way to get rid of an illegitimate one (as others would point out). The next polls would test the voters, the politicians and the entire country. How do they want the next 6 years to be? How wise are modern Filipino voters? How changed is our government system?

Those questions and more will be answered in 2 to 3 years from now.