Cities of the Philippines

A city () is one of the units of local government in the Philippines. All Philippine cities are chartered cities (), whose existence as corporate and administrative entities is governed by their own specific municipal charters, in addition to the Local Government Code of 1991, which defines their administrative structure and powers. , there are 149 cities in the country.

A city is entitled to at least one representative in the House of Representatives once its population reaches 250,000. Cities are also allowed to have a common seal. As corporate entities, they have the power to acquire, hold, lease, convey, and dispose of real and personal property for their general interests; condemn private property for public use (eminent domain); enter into contracts; sue and be sued; and exercise all other powers conferred on them by Congress. Only an act of Congress can create or amend a city charter, and through this charter, Congress may grant a city certain powers not available to regular municipalities—or even to other cities.

Despite differences in the powers accorded to each city, all cities, regardless of status, receive a larger share of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) than regular municipalities, and are generally more autonomous than municipalities.

Government

A city's local government is headed by a mayor elected by popular vote. The vice mayor serves as the presiding officer of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (city council), which serves as the city's legislative body. Upon receiving their charters, cities also receive a full complement of executive departments to better serve their constituents. Some departments are established on a case-by-case basis, depending on the needs of the city.

{| class="wikitable"

|+Offices and officials common to all cities The law classifies cities into five classes according to their income ranges, based on the average annual regular income for three fiscal years preceding a general income reclassification. The classification are as follows:

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;"

! scope="col" style="width:25%;" | Class

! scope="col" | Average annual income<br />()

! scope="row" | First

| >1,300,000,000

! scope="row" | Second

| 1,000,000,000–1,300,000,000

! scope="row" | Third

| 800,000,000–1,000,000,000

! scope="row" | Fourth

| 500,000,000–800,000,000

! scope="row" | Fifth

| <500,000,000

Legal classification

The Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic Act No. 7160) classifies all cities into one of three legal categories: A majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite held on July 21, 2007, approved the conversion.

:There are currently 34 highly urbanized cities in the Philippines, 16 of which are located in Metro Manila. Two other cities, Pagadian and Naga, have been declared HUC by the president but have not yet been ratified through plebiscites.

Currently, there are only four independent cities in two classes that can still participate in the election of provincial officials (governor, vice governor, and Sangguniang Panlalawigan members):

Cities declared highly urbanized between 1987 and 1992, whose charters (as amended) explicitly permitted residents to both vote and run for elective positions in the provincial government, and therefore allowed by Section 452-c of the Local Government Code
locally generated income of at least 100 million (based on constant prices in the year 2000) for the last two consecutive years, as certified by the Department of Finance, and
a population of at least 150,000, as certified by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), or a contiguous territory of 100 square kilometers, as certified by the Land Management Bureau, with contiguity not being a requisite for areas that are on two or more islands.

Republic Act No. 11683 further amended Section 450 of the Local Government Code in 2022, exempting a municipality qualified for cityhood from the land or population threshold if the municipality has a locally generated average annual income of 400 million pesos for the previous 2 years according to 2012 constant prices, though this amount "shall be increased by five percent" for every three years after the law's effectivity.

Members of Congress (usually the involving representative of the congressional district to which the proposed city belongs) then draft the legislation that will convert or create the city. After the bill passes through both the House of Representatives and the Senate and becomes an Act of Congress, the President signs the Act into law. If the Act goes unsigned after 30 days it still becomes law despite the absence of the President's signature.

The creation of cities before 1983 was solely at the discretion of the national legislature; there were no requirements for achieving 'city' status other than an approved city charter. No income, population or land area requirements had to be met to incorporate cities before Batas Pambansa Bilang 337 (Local Government Code of 1983) became law. This is what made it possible for several current cities such as Tangub or Canlaon to be conferred such a status despite their small population and locally generated income, which do not meet current standards. The relatively low income standard between 1992 and 2001 (which was 20 million) The income requirement was increased sharply from 20 million to 100 million in a bid to curb the spate of conversions into cities of municipalities that were perceived to have not become urbanized or economically developed enough to be able to properly function as a city.

Despite the passage of RA 9009, 16 municipalities not meeting the required locally generated income were converted into cities in 2007 by seeking exemption from the income requirement. This led to vocal opposition from the League of Cities of the Philippines against the cityhood of these municipalities, with the League arguing that by letting these municipalities become cities, Congress will set "a dangerous precedent" that would not prevent others from seeking the same "special treatment". The resulting legal battles resulted in the nullification of the city charters of the 16 municipalities by the Supreme Court in August 2010. (See #"League of 16" and legal battles)

Changing city status

Throughout the years there have been instances of changes to the city's status with regard to eligibility for provincial elections, as a result of the passage of laws, both of general effectivity and specific to a city.

Before 1979

Prior to 1979, all cities were just considered chartered cities, without any official category differentiating them aside from income levels. Though chartered cities were considered autonomous from the provinces from which they were created, the eligibility of their residents to vote for provincial officials was determined by their respective charters.

Regarding participation in provincial affairs, there were three types of city charters:

those which explicitly allowed their respective residents to elect provincial officials,
those which explicitly prohibited participation in provincial elections,
and those which are silent regarding voter participation in provincial elections.

The 1951 Supreme Court decision on Teves, et al. v. Commission on Elections finally resolved the ambiguity surrounding the third category of cities, by confirming that the residents of cities with such charters (such as Dumaguete and Davao City) are ineligible to participate in provincial elections.

June 10, 1950: The original city charter of Dagupan (Republic Act No. 170) was originally silent on the matter of the eligibility of city residents to participate in provincial election, therefore implying that residents were ineligible to participate in provincial elections. Three years later Republic Act No. 448 amended the charter to explicitly empower the city's voters to participate in the election of the governor and provincial board members of Pangasinan.
June 14, 1956: The city of Cabanatuan was originally explicitly excluded from electing and being elected into positions in the provincial government of Nueva Ecija until its original city charter (Republic Act No. 526) was amended by Republic Act No. 1445 in 1956, which enabled the city's residents to once more vote for provincial officials.
June 16, 1956: The original city charter of Dansalan (Commonwealth Act No. 592) was originally silent on the matter of the eligibility of city residents to participate in provincial election, therefore implying that residents were ineligible to participate in provincial elections. Sixteen years later Republic Act No. 1552, in addition to renaming the city to Marawi, also amended the city charter to explicitly empower the city's voters to participate in the election of Lanao Province officials.
June 10, 1964: Cebu City's old charter (Commonwealth Act No. 58) was repealed, and replaced with Republic Act No. 3857 in 1964. The law allowed the city's residents to once more become eligible to vote for officials in the provincial government of Cebu.
June 21, 1969: Following the Supreme Court decision on Teves, et al. v. Commission on Elections which upheld Dumaguete's independence from Negros Oriental, to explicitly allow the city's residents to once again vote for provincial officials.
One Act of Congress in which the residents of existing cities whose residents were previously explicitly granted the right to participate in provincial elections were deprived such a right:
June 19, 1959: By virtue of Section 2 of Republic Act No. 2259, the voters of the cities of Dagupan and Iloilo were deprived of the right to participate in provincial elections. COMELEC Resolution No. 1421, which was issued to implement the provisions of BP 51 prior to the January 30, 1980, local elections, stated that a total of 20 cities were not allowed to participate in the election of provincial officials:
Per Section 3 of BP 51, all other cities were considered "component cities" of the provinces in which they are geographically located, or the provinces of which they were originally a part. Under BP 337 a city that had at least 150,000 inhabitants and an income of at least 30 million was to be declared highly urbanized by the Minister of Local Government within thirty days of the city having met the requirement. and Zamboanga City, which had been autonomously governed since its creation by virtue of Section 47 of its city charter (Commonwealth Act No. 39).

By virtue of Section 30 of Batas Pambansa Bilang 881 (Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines), approved on December 3, 1985, provided that: "unless their respective charters provide otherwise, the electorate of component cities shall be entitled to vote in the election for provincial officials of the province of which it is a part." This provision therefore overrides the 1951 Supreme Court decision on Teves, et al. v. Commission on Elections by providing voters in component cities whose charters are silent on the matter of electing provincial officials the right to again participate in provincial elections. BP 881 therefore again enfranchised voters in the cities of Bais and Canlaon (Negros Oriental), and Ozamiz (Misamis Occidental). Despite the charter of the city of Cotabato being silent on the matter of electing provincial officials, the city was not legislated to be part of any of the successor provinces of the old undivided Cotabato province. Voters of the city therefore were still not eligible to vote in the provincial elections of either Maguindanao or North Cotabato and therefore remained independent from any province.

1987–1991

The period between ratification of the new Constitution (February 1987) and the effectivity of the Local Government Code of 1991 (January 1992) was one of transition. During this time, BP 51, BP 337 and BP 881 were still in force: the only legal classes of cities during this period were still "highly urbanized" and "component" cities.

Altering the right of city residents to participate in provincial elections was once again exercised by the newly restored Congress in this period. A total of three cities were affected: Republic Acts Nos. 6641 (in 1987), 6726 (in 1989) and 6843 (in 1990), once again allowed the residents of Mandaue, Oroquieta and San Carlos to vote for provincial officials of Cebu, Misamis Occidental and Pangasinan respectively. Since BP 51—which only considered cities as being either "highly urbanized" or "component"—was still in force at the time, the changes were not considered as switching between legal categories,

Component/independent component city to highly urbanized city (CC/ICC–HUC)

Since 1992, once a city reaches a population of 200,000 persons as certified by the Philippine Statistics Authority and an income of 50 million (based on 1991 constant prices) as certified by the city treasurer, the city government can submit a request to the President to have their city declared as highly urbanized within 30 days. Upon the President's declaration, a plebiscite will be held within a specific timeframe to ratify this conversion. There are no limits as to the number of times a component city can attempt to become a highly urbanized city, should previous tries be unsuccessful.

Since 1992 three component cities have been successfully converted into HUCs:
Puerto Princesa (2007): Proclamation No. 1264 signed on March 26, 2007, declared the capital city of Palawan an HUC. Majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite held on July 21, 2007, approved the conversion.
Lapu-Lapu (2007): Proclamation No. 1222 signed on January 23, 2007, declared the component city of Lapu-Lapu an HUC. Majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite held on July 21, 2007, approved the conversion.
Tacloban (2008): Proclamation No. 1637 signed on October 4, 2008, declared the capital city of Leyte an HUC. Majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite held on December 18, 2008, approved the conversion.
The following component cities failed to become HUCs, for various reasons:
Cabanatuan (1997): Proclamation No. 969 signed on February 13, 1997, declared the former capital of the province of Nueva Ecija an HUC. Majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite held simultaneously with the barangay elections on May 12, 1997 did not approve the conversion.
Tarlac City (2005): Proclamation No. 940 signed on October 27, 2005, declared the capital city of the province of Tarlac an HUC. Majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite held on February 11, 2006, did not approve the conversion.
Antipolo (2011): Proclamation No. 124 signed on March 14, 2011, declared the capital city of the province of Rizal an HUC. On April 4, 2011, Antipolo's city mayor announced that the planned June 18, 2011, plebiscite is indefinitely postponed, effectively suspending the bid to convert the city into an HUC.
Cabanatuan (2012): Proclamation No. 418 signed on July 4, 2012, once again declared the former capital of the province of Nueva Ecija an HUC. The plebiscite was originally set for December 1, 2012, but, due to preparations for the upcoming 2013 national, ARMM and local elections, was rescheduled by the COMELEC for January 25, 2014. A week before the rescheduled plebiscite, the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order, which postponed the vote until the case brought by Nueva Ecija governor Aurelio Umali was decided.
San Jose del Monte (2020): Proclamation No. 1057 signed on December 4, 2020, declared the component city of the province of Bulacan an HUC. Majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite held on October 30, 2023, did not approve the conversion.

Downgrading

Highly urbanized city to component city

Reclassifying an HUC as a component city likely involves not only amending the concerned city's charter, but also the Local Government Code, as currently there is no provision in the LGC that allows this, nor are there any precedents. Some Cebu City politicians have previously indicated that they wish to bring back the city under the province's control, to bring in more votes against the Sugbuak, the proposed partition of Cebu Province. The Supreme Court on September 16, 1999, however ruled in favor of the city's mayor who contended that such a change in the status of the city required a plebiscite just like any other merger, division, abolition or alteration in boundaries of any political unit. And due to the lack of a plebiscite to affirm such a change, RA 8528 was therefore unconstitutional.

Amendments

On April 11, 2022, a day after it lapsed into law without the signature of the president, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11683, which amended Section 450 of the Local Government Code, making the conversion of municipalities into cities easier. The amendments state that if a municipality generates at least ₱400 million for two consecutive years, it will be exempt from the land and population requirements. However, some sources claim that Puerto Princesa covers an area of more than , its officially recognized land area figure (according to IRA share calculation data) is .

By elevation:
Lowest: Most Philippine cities are located on sea level. However, some parts of Navotas, South Caloocan and Malabon are below sea level, and continue to experience subsidence.
Highest: much of Baguio is situated more than above sea level. However, the peak of Mount Apo, the tallest mountain in the Philippines, forms part of Davao City's boundary with the municipality of Bansalan, Davao del Sur; the city of Digos encompasses a section of the Mount Apo Natural Park as well.
Most extreme points:
Northernmost: Laoag
Southernmost: General Santos
Easternmost: Bislig
Westernmost: Puerto Princesa

Defunct/dissolved cities

Legazpi City (1948–1954): Legazpi's cityhood was approved on June 18, 1948. Under Republic Act No. 306, Legazpi became a city after the President of the Philippines proclaimed its cityhood. Comprising the present-day territories of Legazpi City and Daraga, the city was dissolved on June 8, 1954 when Legazpi and Daraga were made into separate municipalities. Legazpi eventually became a city on its own on June 12, 1959.
Basilan City (1948–1973): Formerly part of the city of Zamboanga until it was made a city on its own in 1948 through Republic Act No. 288. Delimited to only the downtown area of what is now Isabela City upon the creation of the province of Basilan in 1973 through Presidential Decree No. 356 by President Ferdinand Marcos. Finally abolished and its territory annexed to the municipality of Isabela on November 7, 1975, through Presidential Decree No. 840.
Rajah Buayan City (1966): Under Republic Act No. 4413, the then-municipality of General Santos in what was then the unified province of Cotabato was to be formally converted into a city named after a historical ruler in Mindanao on January 1, 1966, provided that majority of qualified voters in the municipality vote in favor of cityhood in a plebiscite. In December 1965 the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) proclaimed the cityhood of Rajah Buayan, with 4,422 people voting for and 3,066 voting against. However, two residents of the new city challenged this by arguing in the courts that the number of people who voted in favor of cityhood did not form a majority in light of the fact that there were 15,727 voters in the city. The court issued an injunction on January 4, 1966, restraining city officers from performing any acts authorized by or pursuant to provisions in RA 4413. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld this decision on October 29, 1966, and declared that the city charter was not accepted by majority of voters, thus rendering RA 4413 null and void. The municipality of General Santos would later be converted into a city under the same name in 1968.

"League of 16" and legal battles

The Supreme Court of the Philippines, by a highly divided vote of 6–5, on November 18, 2008, subsequently upheld with finality on May 6, 2009, declared unconstitutional cityhood laws converting 16 municipalities into cities. The 24-page judgment of Justice Antonio T. Carpio, adjudged that the following cityhood laws violate secs. 6 and 10, Article X of the Constitution of the Philippines:

RA No. 9389 (Baybay, Leyte)
RA No. 9390 (Bogo, Cebu)
RA No. 9391 (Catbalogan, Samar)
RA No. 9392 (Tandag, Surigao del Sur)
RA No. 9393 (Lamitan, Basilan)
RA No. 9394 (Borongan, Eastern Samar)
RA No. 9398 (Tayabas, Quezon)
RA No. 9404 (Tabuk, Kalinga)
RA No. 9405 (Bayugan, Agusan del Sur)
RA No. 9407 (Batac, Ilocos Norte)
RA No. 9408 (Mati, Davao Oriental)
RA No. 9409 (Guihulngan, Negros Oriental)
RA No. 9434 (Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte)
RA No. 9435 (El Salvador, Misamis Oriental)
RA No. 9436 (Carcar, Cebu)
RA No. 9491 (Naga, Cebu)

:The Court held that the foregoing cityhood laws, all enacted after RA 9009's effectivity, "explicitly exempt respondent municipalities from the increased income requirement from 20 million to 100 million in Section 450 of the Local Government Code (LGC), as amended by RA 9009. Such exemption clearly violates Section 10, Article X of the Constitution and is thus patently unconstitutional. To be valid, such exemption must be written in the Local Government Code and not in any other law, including the Cityhood Laws."

However, more than a year later, on December 22, 2009, acting on the appeal of the so-called League of 16 Cities (an informal group consisting of the sixteen local government units whose cityhood status had been reversed), the Supreme Court reversed its earlier ruling as it ruled that "at the end of the day, the passage of the amendatory law (regarding the criteria for cityhood as set by Congress) is no different from the enactment of a law, i.e., the cityhood laws specifically exempting a particular political subdivision from the criteria earlier mentioned. Congress, in enacting the exempting law/s, effectively decreased the already codified indicators." As such, the cityhood status of the said 16 LGUs was effectively restored.

On August 24, 2010, in a 16-page resolution, the Supreme Court reinstated its November 18, 2008, decision striking down the cityhood laws, reducing once more the sixteen LGUs to the status of regular municipalities.

The most recent development in the legal battles surrounding the League of 16 came on February 15, 2011. Voting 7–6, the Supreme Court (SC) ruled that 16 towns that became cities in 2007 can stay as cities. This was the fourth time the SC has ruled on the case, and the third reversal. It said the conversion of the 16 towns into cities met all legal requirements.

In March 2011, the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), while challenging a Supreme Court ruling that upheld the cityhood conversion of 16 municipalities, has expressed support for the cityhood bids of 21 towns that have fulfilled the requirements outlined in the Local Government Code. These towns have demonstrated their compliance with the eligibility criteria required for cityhood were endorsed by the LCP for cityhood conversion:

Laguna: Cabuyao, San Pedro
Rizal: Cainta, Taytay, Binangonan
Cavite: Bacoor, General Trias, Imus, Carmona, Silang
Nueva Ecija: Pantabangan
Batangas: Calaca, Santo Tomas, Bauan, Nasugbu
Quezon: Mauban
Bulacan: Marilao, Santa Maria, Norzagaray
Bataan: Limay

Rejected cityhood

This is a list of attempts that reached the stage where a Republic Act was enacted for the purpose of achieving cityhood.

Batangas (1965): A majority of the votes cast in the then-municipality of Batangas rejected cityhood in a plebiscite conducted on the same day as the 1965 Philippine general elections, as mandated by Republic Act No. 4586. The city would have been named Laurel City in honor of Jose P. Laurel, the president of the Japanese-sponsored Second Republic. The municipality of Batangas would later be converted into a city under the same name in 1969.
Tarlac (1969): The city charter of Tarlac (Republic Act No. 5907) was approved on June 21, 1969. Cityhood was rejected in a plebiscite held on November 11, 1969, by a majority of the ballots cast. Tarlac became a city 29 years after, in 1998.
Taguig (1998): Republic Act No. 8487, Taguig was supposed to be converted into a highly urbanized city but it was rejected due to lower income. More than six years later, the cityhood of Taguig was ratified with majority of the ballots cast votes in a plebiscite held on December 8, 2004.
Ilagan (1999): Republic Act No. 8474, which converted Ilagan to a component city of Isabela, was approved on February 2, 1998. However, majority of votes cast in the plebiscite held on March 14, 1999, rejected cityhood. Ilagan finally became a city after majority of votes cast in the August 11, 2012, plebiscite approved the Republic Act No. 10169.
Novaliches (1999): On February 23, 1998, the controversial City Charter of Novaliches (Republic Act No. 8535) was approved, which sought to create a new city out of the 15 northern barangays of Quezon City. Historically a separate town, Novaliches was distributed between Quezon City and northern Caloocan in 1948. In a plebiscite held on October 23, 1999, the majority of ballots cast (which included all voters of Quezon City and not just the 15 barangays) rejected the cityhood of Novaliches.
Meycauayan (2001): Cityhood was rejected by majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite held on March 30, 2001, to ratify Republic Act No. 9021. Meycauayan became a city five years later with the enactment of Republic Act No. 9356 and its ratification through a plebiscite on December 10, 2006.

Former names

This is a list of name changes made upon or since cityhood.

Cagayan de Oro: The municipality of Cagayan was converted to the city of Cagayan de Oro on June 15, 1950, through Republic Act No. 521. An earlier bill was filed by Misamis Oriental Congressman Pedro S. Baculio for the creation of the City of Cagayan, however the 1st Congress was adjourned before any readings for the bill had done. The final, and enacted, cityhood bill authored by Congressman (and later Vice President) Emmanuel Pelaez gave the city its present name.
Lapu-Lapu: The municipality of Opon was converted to a city named after Lapulapu, hero of the Battle of Mactan in 1961 through Republic Act No. 3134.
Marawi: Inaugurated as the City of Dansalan in 1950, renamed to Marawi on June 16, 1956, through Republic Act No. 1552.
Ozamiz: The municipality of Misamis was converted to a city named after José Ozámiz, the first governor of Misamis Occidental, in 1948 through Republic Act No. 321.
Pasay: Inaugurated as Rizal City in 1947, reverted to Pasay on June 7, 1950, through Republic Act No. 437.
Roxas: In 1951, the municipality of Capiz was converted to a city named after Manuel Roxas, the first president of the Third Philippine Republic and town native through Republic Act No. 603.

Proposed cities

The following municipalities have pending legislative bills filed in the 20th Congress seeking their conversion into component cities:

Bayambang, Pangasinan – through House Bill No. 3817 by Maria Rachel Arena
Claver, Surigao del Norte – through House Bill No. 68 by Bernadette Barbers
Consolacion, Cebu – through House Bill No. 3886 by Daphne Lagon, and Sonny Lagon
Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay – through House Bill No. 173 by Marlesa Hofer-Hasim
Isulan, Sultan Kudarat – through House Bill No. 389 by Ruth Sakaluran
Kalibo, Aklan – through House Bill No. 4889 by Jesus R. Marquez
La Trinidad, Benguet – through House Bill No. 1328 by Eric Yap, and Edvic Yap
Liloan, Cebu – through House Bill No. 3305 by Vincent Franco Frasco
Lingayen, Pangasinan – through House Bill No. 5472 by Mark O. Conjuanco
Malay, Aklan – through House Bill No. 4415 by Florencio Miraflores, through House Bill No. 5776 by James Ang Jr., through House Bille No. 7732 by Florencio Miraflores and James Ang Jr.
Minglanilla, Cebu – through House Bill No. 7654 by Rhea Mae Gullas
San Jose, Occidental Mindoro – through House Bill No. 3602, House Bill No. 7634 by Leody Tarriela
Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur – through House Bill No. 2787 by John Tracy Cagas
Santa Maria, Bulacan – through House Bill No. 3873 by Salvador Pleyto
Sariaya, Quezon – through House Bill No. 2023 by Ma. Cristina Lopez

Capital town proposed conversion – through House Bill No. 7876 filed by Elijah San Fernando on February 18, 2026, which seeks to convert the capital town of provinces into a component city with less than fifty percent dependency on tax, amending the section 450 of Republic Act No. 7160, as previously amended by Republic Act No. 9009 and further amended by Republic Act No. 11683.