Legarda to Push San Jose Cityhood in Second Term

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Antique lone district Rep. Antonio Agapito “AA” Legarda Jr. said he will prioritize the conversion of San Jose de Buenavista into a city during his second term in Congress.

“There are bills we want to prioritize, and as the author of One Province, One City, hopefully we can achieve that so our capital town will become a city,” he said in an interview after his May 14 proclamation.

Legarda principally authored the One City for Every Province Act, or House Bill 9122, which seeks to convert capital towns of provinces into cities to spur local economic development.

The bill would remove existing restrictions that prevent capital towns like San Jose de Buenavista from attaining cityhood, despite meeting economic and population benchmarks.

House Bill 9122 has been pending with the House Committee on Local Government since September 2023.

Under the Local Government Code, as amended by Republic Act 11683, a town may be converted into a city if it has a locally generated average annual income of at least PHP100 million for the last two consecutive years, based on 2000 constant prices, and a population of at least 150,000.

RA 11683 also exempts municipalities that meet the PHP100 million income threshold from the land area and population requirements, allowing smaller towns with high income to qualify for cityhood.

Legarda secured a second term after defeating outgoing Antique Gov. Rhodora “Dodod” Cadiao, his former political ally in the 2022 elections.

He garnered 210,491 votes.

“In the first place, I did not fight anyone,” he said.

“We conducted ourselves with humility during the campaign and focused on presenting our platform—what we have done and what we can still do.”

He credited part of his victory to the support of his sister, Sen. Loren Legarda, who previously served as Antique’s representative.

“We are so progressive, and national government programs are directly reaching the people,” he said.

“We are receiving support from the national government, and that is a distinct advantage for our province.”

Legarda said the election result reflects the public’s desire for continuity in the programs he and his sister started.

Antique’s congressional seat has been held by the Legardas for nearly six years, with Loren first winning the post in 2019.