PRESIDENT Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte has proclaimed the city of San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan as a highly-urbanized city.
This was announced Saturday by San Jose Del Monte City Rep. Florida “Rida” Robes during the inauguration of the City of San Jose Del Monte Convention Center (CSJDM) in Bgy. Sapang Palay.
Robes said the President, through Proclamation No. 1057, declared San Jose Del Monte a highly-urbanized city subject to ratification in a plebiscite by qualified voters in the city.
Robes, together with her husband, SJDM Mayor Arthur Robes, also led the inauguration of the CSJDM Convention Center, the first convention center in the city, which is part of President Duterte’s Build, Build, Build program. It is expected to encourage entrepreneurship and give full play to the development of more micro, small and medium enterprises in the city and at the same time attract more investments in commerce and industry to create more jobs.
“I am very honored to announce that President Rodrigo Duterte has declared our beloved city a highly-urbanized city. We have long waited for this and we will work more to make us truly deserving of this proclamation for the people of San Jose Del Monte,” Robes said during the inauguration.
She also delivered her State of the District Address (SODA) to appraise the city of the programs and plans they have been in place to help the city cope with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and other development projects for the city.
Under Proclamation No. 1057 stated that under Section 453 of Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991, the President shall declare a city a highly urbanized city within 30 days after it has achieved a minimum population of 200,000 as certified by the Philippine Statistics Authority and an income of at least P50 million as certified by the City Treasurer.
“Whereas, the population and income of the City of San Jose Del Monte have been verified and attested to by the Philippine Statistic Authority and the Department of Finance – Bureau of Local Government Finance, respectively,” Duterte said.
“Now therefore I, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution and existing laws, do hereby proclaim the City of San Jose Del Monte as a highly-urbanized city, provided that this proclamation shall take effect only upon ratification in a plebiscite by the qualified voters therein, as provided for in Section 453 of RA 7160,” the President stated in the proclamation.
President Duterte’s proclamation came after the Sangguniang Panglungsod of San Jose Del Monte, through Resolution No. 2019-059-09, requested the President to declare the city as a highly-urbanized city.
“Whereas, it is a declared policy of the government to support the initiatives of local governments to attain their fullest development as self-reliant communities, and make them effective partners in the attainment of national goals,” the President stated in the proclamation.
Robes, during her SODA, said the city is on its way to development with the implementation of inclusive, sound and sustainable programs to improve the lives of the people of San Jose Del Monte. “Our end-goal, of course, is to improve the quality of life of the people of San Jose del Monte. We have laid the groundwork for that and we are seeing the fruits of our hard work. We are now a city on the rise and I believe that we can push our city further forward through the help and support of our beloved San Joseno,” she said.
One of such notable program, Robes, pointed out is that CSJDM Convention Center, the first convention center in the city, which is part of President Duterte’s Build, Build, Build program to spur investments by providing the required infrastructure to encourage business, create jobs and spur economic growth.
Located in the Activity Center in Bgy. Sapang Palay, the convention center has a 1,300-capacity main ballroom, two big function rooms and four conference rooms.
Robes said the convention center “is a dream come true” as it will encourage tourism, culture and education not just for the people of San Jose Del Monte but the whole of Bulacan.
“We are very proud of this convention center because it will showcase who we are and what have achieved so far. We expect it to further boost economic activity in our city and bring our city to new heights of development,” Robes said.
