Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
At the bill-signing for the Cities of Ilagan and Calapan

[Delivered at the Main Conference Room, Malacañang, Manila, February 2, 1998]

Two new urban centers
in the countryside

LAST FRIDAY, I signed into law bills creating three new cities—one in the Visayas, the city of Passi in Iloilo; and two in Mindanao, Tagum and the island of Samal, both in Davao province. To dramatize the fact that urbanization is taking place all over the country, I am signing today bills creating two more new cities in Luzon—Ilagan in Isabela and Calapan in Oriental Mindoro.

Signs of progress

These two new laws bring the total number of cities in the Philippines to 74—from 60 cities when the Ramos Administration started in 1992. Six of the 14 created during my term are in Metro Manila. Besides the five new ones, the remaining three are Santiago in Isabela and Sagay and Kabankalan, both in Negros Occidental. By definition, a city is of greater size, population and importance than a municipality. Cityhood—especially in the Philippine setting—connotes a place that is a developed community.

In this sense, the creation of 14 new cities over the last six years, geographically distributed throughout the archipelago, signifies that many of our municipalities have assumed the characteristics of cities. The more important of those characteristics are a conducive business environment, the presence of urban amenities and other infrastructure, and a capacity to deliver improved basic services to their constituents. These new cities, therefore, indicate the progress we have made and the widespread distribution of the fruits of development.

The two new cities

Our two new cities—Ilagan and Calapan—are both capital towns that have been transformed into bustling communities and growth centers. Ilagan was once the capital of the entire Cagayan Valley. It became the capital of Isabela when Isabela was separated from the provinces of Cagayan and Nueva Vizcaya. Its location at the crossroad of the region has enabled it to expand tremendously, as investors invest in its business, travel and industry. Isabela is the critical hub in the agroindustrial development program called the Tuguegarao-Ilagan-Cauayan growth network.

Calapan was the capital of the whole of Mindoro Island before it was divided into two provinces in 1950. Retained by Oriental Mindoro as its capital, Calapan has since become a bustling growth area in the Southern Tagalog region. It combines trade, industrial and agricultural activities, being the link between Southern Luzon, through Batangas City, and the other parts of the island of Mindoro.

With their conversion into cities, we may expect dramatic changes to take place in both Ilagan and Calapan. They will not only create more job opportunities for their people; they will also enhance the delivery of basic services, since they can now formulate better development plans and programs from their greater share of resources.

Every administration since the decade of the fifties has professed its wish to develop towns and cities. The new cities we have created show not only that we are achieving rapid urbanization but also that, as exemplified by the new cities of Ilagan and Calapan, we are also maintaining the balance in development between our metropolitan areas and the countryside.