CITY OF SAN JOSE DEL MONTE–A city councilor has expressed strong opposition to the Highly Urbanized City (HUC) bid of the City of San Jose del Monte (CSJDM) on claims the city is not yet ready to become an independent city, separated from the provincial government of Bulacan (PGB) due to lack of industries, jobs that will enable residents to pay the higher taxes.
District 2 Councilor Romeo Agapito, stood strong despite being a lone opposition for San Jose del Monte to become a fully independent city.
According to Agapito, the city is not yet ready. He said in an interview that about 75% percent of the people of San Jose del Monte belong to poor and low to no income individuals and families who cannot afford the imposition of huge taxes an independent city will bring.
He said the city has no industries, factories where people can directly work and earn. “People here are workers in adjacent Sta. Maria town, Quezon City, Caloocan City, Manila City, Cavite, Laguna, and other places in Bulacan. They just sleep here in their homes and work somewhere else. There should first be sustainable sources of income and job opportunities ,” he said.
Agapito also expressed deep sentiments of being separated from Bulacan, the roots of his ancestors. He said the intention of the HUC is eventually for CSJDM to be a part of Metro Manila.
“Lamang dito sa San Jose ang No,” (The no votes are prevalent here in San Jose), he told NEWS CORE.
The strong opposition of Agapito stands despite Bulacan officials backing the move the CSJDM as the rest of all the 23 other mayors in the province signed a manifesto of support.
Twenty Bulacan League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) members headed by Bocaue Mayor Eduardo Villanueva Jr. and the three other members of Bulacan League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) Atty. Christian Natividad of Malolos, Atty. Henry Villarica of Meycauayan and Ferdinand Estrella of Baliwag all expressed their support to the intention of CSJDM to become a HUC through a manifesto they signed in the first week of the month.
The support statement said that the CSJDM has met the P50 million local annual income and a 200,000 population requirement. Under Section 452 of Republic Act (RA) No. 7160 or the “Local Government Code of 1991, cities or municipalities with a minimum population of 200,000 inhabitants and with the latest annual income of at least P50 million shall be classified as HUC.
Natividad said the HUC bid of the CSJDM is a self-enrichment move of a fellow component city in the province and there is no reason for them to be an obstacle.
CSJDM with 651,813 residents has the largest population among all Bulacan’s four component cities and 20 municipalities. It is 17.5% of Bulacan’s 3,708,890 total population.
The whole of Bulacan province—the PGB and the 20 towns and 4 component cities were allotted a P17.4 billion worth National Tax Allotment (NTA) for 2024. The PGB will have a share of P5.4 billion.
Natividad sees a deduction in the 2025 NTA of the PGB when the budget allotment for the CSJDM if it becomes an HUC will take effect because the province’s LGU with the largest population had already separated. He explains that the basis of the NTA or the previously known Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) under the Local Government Code is a province, city or municipality’s population and land area.
According to the mayor, the deduction in the budget of provincial government will rather ease its burden of rendering basic delivery of services to largely populated CSJDM when it turns into an HUC because its 651,813, the largest beneficiaries of services in the province will no longer be served by the PGB.
“The expenditures of the province will be even lesser because of the huge population of the city. The funds of the provincial government being allotted to the City of San Jose del Monte for its social services, health and medical needs and peace and order, education, scholarships and other basic services can be diverted to small towns when it becomes an HUC,” he said. “Kung malaki ang ginagasta ng Kapitolyo sa San Jose del Monte dahil sa laki ng populasyon nito, mas malaki ang matitipid nito kung magiging HUC na at magagasta nito ang budget sa mas maliliit na bayan,” he said.
Bulacan Provincial Treasurer Atty. Maria Teresa Camacho however could not be contacted by NEWS CORE on the amount to be deducted from the budget allotted to the PGB if the CSJDM becomes an independent city.
San Jose del Monte’s enormous population makes it the 18th most populated city in the country and the largest local government unit in Bulacan and Central Luzon, according to Mayor Arthur Robes.
During the election period, San Jose del Monte whips the winning votes in the province’s top posts.
Robes said the continued increase in their population today requires the component city to become an HUC to meet the growing basic needs of the people.
CSJDM Lone District Rep. Florida Robes, the proponent of the city’s full independence told Inquirer in a message reply on Oct. 7 that the provincial government provides them 30% share from the province income and collections from permits and taxes on natural resources like sand and gravel and other quarry produce through provincial government ordinances. In this case, the provincial government will be unburdened of the said 30% share it provides CSJDM if it becomes a fully independent city.
But, Gov. Daniel Fernando and the whole of the PGB has not issued an official statement whether it opposes or supports CSJDM’s HUC bid.
In a Bulacan radio interview two weeks ago, Rep. Robes said that the PGB had twice expressed its support. “If there will be an opposing camp, we know it is not from the provincial government because Gov. Fernando had twice manifested his support,” she said.
San Jose del Monte which is adjacent to Quezon City, Caloocan City and Rodriguez Rizal is now branded as the Rising City of Bulacan. It is the first municipality in the province which became a component city.
Known as the relocation capital of the country because of series of numerous national government housing projects for Metro Manila Informal Settlers (IFS) that began in 1963 and 1964, more than 75% of CSJDM’s residents are non-native residents and only more than 20% are native Bulakenyos.
Around 20,000 families were relocated to Barangay Sapang-Palay during that time. To date, there are about 10 flagship national government housing projects in the city. The city has 156,871 households.
But Mayor Robes said that they have embraced all the relocated families from Metro Manila as all “San Josenos” without any discrimination. He said delivery of basic services to all the people in their city will further be improved if they become an HUC. He also said that the strength of the CSJDM is its people.
If it becomes an HUC, it will be the third in Central Luzon after Olongapo City and Angeles City.
San Jose del Monte, the first to become a component city from the four component cities in the province will need a majority of “yes” or “oo” votes from Bulacan’s 2,099,914 registered voters during the election of Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on Oct. 30, according to Commission on Elections (Comelec) assistant regional director Elmo Duque.
Voters need to write “yes” or “oo” if they approve the conversion into HUC and “no” or “hindi” for rejection on the question in the ballot, “Pumapayag ka ba na ang Lungsod ng San Jose del Monte, Lalawigan ng Bulacan ay gawing isang Highly Urbanized City alinsunod sa Proclamation No. 1057 na naging ganap na batas noong Disyembre 4, 2020?” (Do you agree for the City of San Jose del Monte, Province of Bulacan to become a Highly Urbanized City in line with Proclamation No. 1057 which had been made into law on December 4, 2020). Former President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the said Proclamation No. 1057.
Mona Ann Campos, Bulacan Provincial Election Supervisor (PES) said in an earlier text message reply that the plebiscite is manual and has a separate ballot. The BSKE election is also manual.
