San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan Rep. Florida Robes is savoring her district's new highly urbanized city (HUC) tag which practically brings the city shoulder-to-shoulder with the heavyweights in the National Capital Region (NCR).
“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 of the City of San Jose Del Monte Convention Center (CSJDM) in Barangay Sapang Palay Saturday.
“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," added the solon, chairwoman of the Committee on People's Participation in the House of Representatives.
Duterte declared SJDM a highly-urbanized city thru Proclamation No. 1057. Under Section 453 of Republic Act (RA) No. 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991, the President shall declare a city an HUC within 30 days after it has achieved a minimum population of 200,000 as certified by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and an income of at least P50 million as certified by the City Treasurer.
The Palace declaration is subject to ratification in a plebiscite by qualified voters of the city. Of the more than 30 HUCs in the country, 16 are located in NCR or Metro Manila.
"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,” Robes said.
The CSJDM Convention Center – the first such facility in the city – is part of Duterte’s flagship "Build, Build, Build" program. It is expected to further encourage entrepreneurship and spur the development of more micro, small, and medium enterprises in the city.
The new convention center – which boasts a 1,300-capacity main ballroom, as well as two big function rooms, and four conference rooms – is seen to attract more investments, which would then translate to more jobs for local folk.
“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, calling the structure a "dream come true."
SJDM Mayor Arthur Robes, the lady solon's husband, was also present during the inauguration.