By BOY RYAN B. ZABAL
MALAY, Aklan — Municipal officials here were pushing for the cityhood of this northern town.
Sangguniang Bayan member Jupiter Aelred Gallenero disclosed this plan, saying “an ad hoc committee will be created to gather the requirements for the upgrade from first-class municipality to city.”
The Local Government Code states that a town can be converted into a city if it has a locally generated income of at least P100 million in the last two years as certified by the Department of Finance, a population of 150,000 or more as certified by the National Statistics Office, and a contiguous territory of 100 square kilometers.
“Kon huyapon ru population makaron it Malay basi pasok ron maw sa requirements (for cityhood),” said Gallenero, the main plan proponent.
Once Malay is ready, the Sangguniang Bayan will pass a resolution asking Rep. Teodorico Haresco Jr. to file a cityhood bill.
Malay has a population of 45,811 (10,180 households) as of the 2010 National Census of Population and Housing.
It is the second most populous municipality in Aklan, with an 8.6-percent share of the province’s total population.
Malay also has a land area of 66 square kilometers and 17 barangays.
In November 2010, the municipal council approved a resolution creating an ad hoc committee and a technical working group to conduct an initial study on the planned cityhood.
Sen. Gregorio Honasan II last week filed a bill proposing changes in cityhood requirements:
- 50 square kilometers instead of 100 square kilometers for the land area
- 25,000 instead of 150,000 for the population; and
- at least P220 million instead of at least P100 million for the local income in the last two years. (Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
