A MUNICIPAL mayor of Ilocos Sur said the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) should not be crying over the slash of their share from the annual Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).

Narvacan Mayor Edgar D. Zaragosa said the LCP should instead be thankful to the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as the IRA shares of cities for last year “were very much bigger as compared to the shares of different towns all over the country. “

Zaragosa is the incumbent president of Ilocos Sur’s League of Minicipalities of the Philippines (LMP).

Zaragosa was reacting to the protest by members of the LCP on the huge slash of their IRA share purportedly owing to the conversion of 16 towns into cities last year.

These 16 towns-turned-cities include Tabuk in Kalinga province; Bogo and Carcar in Cebu province; Guihulngan in Negros Oriental, Tayabas in Quezon; Batac in Ilocos Norte; Naga in Bicol; Catbalogan and Borongan in Samar; Baybay in Leyte; El Salvador in Misamis Oriental; Cabadbaran in Agusan del Norte; Bayugan in Agusan del Sur, Lamitan in Basilan; Tandag in Surigao del Sur and Mati in Davao Oriental.

LCP members asked the government to stop the conversion of towns into cities obviously in anticipation of proposed House Bill 24 authored by Zamboanga Sibugay Rep. Ann Hofer seeking to amend the Local Government Code.

The bill seeks to grant automatic cityhood to the capital town of provinces without cities.

“They (LCP members) should not protest because greater privileges had been given them by the administration as compared (to) the towns and should be very happy and thankful for that,” Zaragoza said.

“If some of these cities have been greatly affected due to the slash of their IRA shares, maybe they could come out with a resolution seeking the decrease of IRA shares of the highly urbanized cities to further balance their share,” he suggested.

Zaragoza also disclosed that the proposed stopping of the conversion of town into cities will hinder the development of the countryside.

Based on Republic Act 7160 otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991, for a town to become a city, it should meet the standard of P100 million annual income, 10,000-hectare land area, and at least a population of 150,000.

With the total national IRA, which is equivalent to 40 percent of the revenue collected by the Bureau of Internal revenue (BIR) for the third preceding fiscal year, Zaragoza said that 23% is divided for the 120 total number of cities; 34% for the 1, 510 towns; 23% for the provinces; and 20% for the barangays.

“With these schemes, the provinces should be the one to complain and not the cities because the provinces have greater areas being served,” he said.