still with House Bll 24

Mayor Mel Sarmiento who is the Secretary-General of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) was in Manila last Monday to be with the other officials of the LCP to explain to the media the Leagues' stand of House Bill 24. Here are some links which contained reports of the LCP stand on HB 24:

Mockery of high court ruling hit (by Gigi Muñoz David)

A group of city mayors is up in arms against the allegedly underhanded tactics being employed by the leaders of 16 towns who are pressing for cityhood that the Supreme Court has already ruled as unconstitutional.

. . . League of Cities president Benhur Abalos, the mayor of Mandaluyong, said some of these town leaders have cast dishonor to the Supreme Court and its members. “They have been writing private letters to the individual justices of the Supreme Court in order to persuade them to change their votes in the case,” Abalos said.

. . . The league said the 16 towns did not meet at least two of three requirements: minimum land area of 100,000 square meters and/or population of 150,000; and an annual locally-generated income of P100,000.

. . . Calbayog City Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento, league secretary, said the Supreme Court decision of November 2008 prohibited the mayors from filing further pleadings.

. . . In December 2006, the 16 towns filed their cityhood bills in the 13th Congress. The cityhood bills contained a provision exempting them from the income requirement. It is also at this time that the cityhood bills were approved by the House and transmitted to Senate.

. . . The Supreme Court on Nov. 18, 2008 en banc said the various laws creating these new cities indeed violated the Constitution and the local government code. The 16 towns filed a motion for reconsideration in January.

Read the entire article

You may also check these related links:

League of Cities denounces tack of 16 municipalities (The Philippine Star)
16 LGUs scored for ‘sneaky tactics’ to regain cityhood
"Sneaky tactics" to regain cityhood of 16 LGUs deplored
LCP warns of massive retrenchment of city hall employees if number of cities continues to rise
Mockery of high court ruling hit (Manila Standard)
LCP decries revival of ‘dead’ cities