Guihulngan

Guihulngan
Component City
City of Guihulngan
Seal
Negros Oriental map locating Guihulngan
Guihulngan Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 10°07′N 123°16′E / 10.117°N 123.267°ECoordinates: 10°07′N 123°16′E / 10.117°N 123.267°E
Country	Philippines
Region	Negros Island Region (NIR/Region XVIII)
Province	Negros Oriental
Legis. district	1st district of Negros Oriental
Barangays	33
Government[1]
• Mayor	Carlo Jorge Joan L. Reyes
• Vice Mayor	Ernesto A. Reyes
• City Council	2013 List Jake Reyes Pepo Pasigna Alvin Trinidad Roberto Bustamante Edison Dela Rita Sr. Rock Candido Litoy Pique Cyrus Fat(Deceased) Caesar B. Macalua Samuel R. Rizon
Area[2]
• Total	388.56 km^2 (150.02 sq mi)
Population (2010)[3]
• Total	93,675
• Density	240/km^2 (620/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC+8)
ZIP code	6214
Dialing code	35
Income class	5th class

Guihulngan, officially the City of Guihulngan and often referred to as Guihulngan City, is a city in the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 93,675 people.^[3]

Barangays

Guihulngan is politically subdivided into 33 barangays.^[2]

• Bakid
• Balogo
• Banwague
• Basak
• Binobohan
• Buenavista
• Bulado
• Calamba
• Calupa-an
• Hibaiyo
• Hilaitan
• Hinakpan
• Humayhumay
• Imelda
• Kagawasan
• Linantuyan
• Luz
• Mabunga
• McKinley
• Nagsaha
• Magsaysay
• Malusay
• Mani-ak
• Padre Zamora
• Plagatasanon
• Planas
• Poblacion
• Sandayao
• Tacpao
• Tinayunan Beach
• Tinayunan Hill
• Trinidad
• Villegas

History

There are several versions how the city derived its name. The first, according to old tales, was attributed to a river flowing directly to the town proper from the main spring in sitio Anahaw, Barangay Nagsaha, hence the name "GUIPADULNGAN" which means the point where the river flows to an end.

The second is associated with the gruesome incident in the 19th Century when the Philippines was a colony of Spain; men, women and children were said to be captured, beheaded and thrown into the sea, now known as Tañon Strait, by the Moros. Other accounts claim that the Moros dropped a bell into the sea when they found out that was used by the lookout warn the townsfolk of the coming. Since that time, the place has been called "GUIHULUGAN" which means, "Place where a thing was dropped". But in the Spanish writing, "U" and "N" are similar, which is why it became commonly written and known as GUIHULNGAN.

Whether it originated as "GUIPADULNGAN" or "GUIHULNGAN", the name is indeed symbolic, as the town is “dropped” with abundant blessings from the Almighty for a significant "end".^[4]

Cityhood

During the 11th Congress (1998–2001), Congress enacted into law 33 bills converting 33 municipalities into cities. However, Congress did not act on a further 24 bills converting 24 other municipalities into cities.

During the 12th Congress (2001–2004), Congress enacted into law Republic Act No. 9009 (RA 9009), which took effect on 30 June 2001. RA 9009 amended Section 450 of the Local Government Code by increasing the annual income requirement for conversion of a municipality into a city from ₱20 million to ₱100 million. The rationale for the amendment was to restrain, in the words of Senator Aquilino Pimentel, "the mad rush" of municipalities to convert into cities solely to secure a larger share in the Internal Revenue Allotment despite the fact that they are incapable of fiscal independence.

After the effectivity of RA 9009, the House of Representatives of the 12th Congress adopted Joint Resolution No. 29, which sought to exempt from the ₱100 million income requirement in RA 9009 the 24 municipalities whose cityhood bills were not approved in the 11th Congress. However, the 12th Congress ended without the Senate having approved Joint Resolution No. 29.

During the 13th Congress (2004–2007), the House of Representatives re-adopted former Joint Resolution No. 29 as Joint Resolution No. 1 and forwarded it to the Senate for approval. However, the Senate again failed to approve the Joint Resolution. Following the suggestion of Senator Aquilino Pimentel (Senate President), 16 municipalities filed, through their respective sponsors, individual cityhood bills.^[5] The 16 cityhood bills each contained a common provision exempting it from the ₱100 million income requirement of RA 9009 –

"Exemption from Republic Act No. 9009. — The City of x x x shall be exempted from the income requirement prescribed under Republic Act No. 9009."

On 22 December 2006, the House of Representatives approved the cityhood bills. The Senate also approved the cityhood bills in February 2007, except that of Naga, Cebu which was passed on 7 June 2007. These cityhood bills lapsed into law on various dates from March to July 2007 after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo failed to sign them.

Guihulngan was already the largest municipality in Negros Oriental when, in July 2007, a popular referendum was passed declaring it a city.^[6]The point of law at issue in 2007 was whether there had been a breach of Section 10, Article X of the 1987 Constitution, which provides –

No province, city, municipality, or barangay shall be created, divided, merged, abolished or its boundary substantially altered, except in accordance with the criteria established in the local government code and subject to approval by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite in the political units directly affected.

– and in each case the established criteria were far from met.

In November 2008, Guihulngan lost its cityhood, along with 15 other cities,^[5] after the Supreme Court of the Philippines granted a petition filed by the League of Cities of the Philippines, and declared unconstitutional the cityhood law (RA 9409) which had allowed the town to acquire its city status.^[7] The Supreme Court ruled that they did not pass the requirements for cityhood.^[8][9]

On 10 December 2008, the 16 cities affected acting together filed a motion for reconsideration with the Supreme Court. More than a year later, on 22 December 2009, acting on said appeal, the 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."^[10] Accordingly cityhood status was restored.

But on 27 August 2010, the 16 cities lost their city status again, after the Supreme Court voted 7-6, with two justices not taking part, to reinstate the 2008 decision declaring as "unconstitutional" the Republic Acts that converted the 16 municipalities into cities. A previous law required towns aspiring to become cities to earn at least ₱100 million annually, which none of the 16 did.^[11]

On 15 February 2011, the Supreme Court made another volte-face and upheld for the third time the cityhood of 16 towns in the Philippines.^[12]

And on 12 April 2011, a Supreme Court en banc ruling delivered in Baguio City, promulgated and resolved that:

We should not ever lose sight of the fact that the 16 cities covered by the Cityhood Laws not only had conversion bills pending during the 11th Congress, but have also complied with the requirements of the LGC prescribed prior to its amendment by R.A. No. 9009.^[11] Congress undeniably gave these cities all the considerations that justice and fair play demanded. Hence, this Court should do no less by stamping its imprimatur to the clear and unmistakable legislative intent and by duly recognizing the certain collective wisdom of Congress. WHEREFORE, the Ad Cautelam Motion for Reconsideration (of the Decision dated 15 February 2011) is denied with finality.^[12]

So affirming the finality of the constitutionality of the 16 cityhood laws.

On 28 June 2011 the Supreme Court directed the Clerk of Court to issue forthwith the entry of judgment on the cityhood case of 16 municipalities. Sealing with "the finality of the resolution upholding the constitutionality of the 16 Cityhood Laws absolutely warrants the respondents' "Motion for Entry of Judgment", the SC ruled."^[13]

This entry of judgment ended the cityhood battle of the 16 cities in the Philippines.

NB The income classification limits have been revised more than once since RA9009.

Source: Income Classification for Provinces, Cities and Municipalities

Demographics

Population census of Guihulngan
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1990	74,493	—
1995	80,660	+1.50%
2000	84,607	+1.03%
2007	91,358	+1.06%
2010	93,675	+0.92%
Source: National Statistics Office[3]

College and University

Negros Oriental State University - Guihulngan Campus is a state university in the province of Negros Oriental.

St. Francis College Guihulngan (SFC-G) is a private institution located in Bateria, Guihulngan, Negros Oriental. Inspired by the Charism of St. Francis of Asissi, three Franciscan friars including Brother Norbert Binder.

Landmarks

A huge bell with a Carabao was served as the main attraction of the city located at the side of Justice Hall along the National Highway.

Festival

Cara-Bell Festival (Every 24 May) – Legend has it that marauding pirates used to slaughter natives of the town and drop their corpses into the sea. When a bell was installed as warning device this, too, was taken down and flung offshore. The site where something dropped (guihulugan) forms the backdrop for spectacular revelry to highlight the town fiesta.

Transportation

Mactan-Cebu International Airport is the closest major airport to Guihulngan, although it lies on Cebu Island just to the east. Fast ferries serve Guihulngan from Cebu. Alternatively, flights go from Cebu Airport and Manila to Dumaguete Airport, from where buses run from Dumaguete City to Guihulngan, 120 kilometres (75 mi) north.

References

1. "Municipalities". Quezon City, Philippines: Department of the Interior and Local Government. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
2. "Province: Negros Oriental". PSGC Interactive. Makati City, Philippines: National Statistical Coordination Board. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
3. "Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay: as of May 1, 2010" (PDF). 2010 Census of Population and Housing. National Statistics Office. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
4. Guihulngan - Inside Negros
5. The 16 were:

   Municipality	Province
   Batac	Ilocos Norte
   Baybay	Leyte
   Bayugan	Agusan del Sur
   Bogo	Cebu
   Borongan	Eastern Samar
   Cabadbaran	Agusan del Norte
   Carcar	Cebu
   Catbalogan	Samar
   El Salvador	Misamis Oriental
   Guihulngan	Negros Oriental
   Lamitan	Basilan
   Mati	Davao Oriental
   Naga	Cebu
   Tabuk	Kalinga
   Tandag	Surigao del Sur
   Tayabas	Quezon

6. Gallarde, Juancho (July 17, 2007). "Guihulgnan becomes sixth city of NegOr". Visayan Daily Star . Retrieved July 28, 2009.
7. Republic Act No. 9409 of 24 March 2007 Charter of the City of Guihulngan
8. G.R. No. 176951 et al. (First appeal) of 18 November 2008 Consolidated petitions for prohibition assailing the constitutionality of the subject Cityhood Laws and enjoining the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and respondent municipalities from conducting plebiscites pursuant to the Cityhood Laws.
9. Napallacan, Jhunex (2008-11-21). "Cities’ demotion worries DepEd execs". Cebu Daily News. Inquirer.net. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
10. G.R. No. 176951 et al. (First reversal) of 21 December 2009
11. Republic Act No. 9009 of 24 February 2001 An Act amending section 450 of Republic Act no. 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991, by increasing the average annual income requirement for a municipality or cluster of barangays to be converted into a component city.
12. G.R. No. 176951 et al. (Second appeal) of 15 February 2011 League of Cities of the Philippines v. COMELEC
13. G.R. No. 176951 et al. (Final Resolution) of 28 June 2011 Supreme Court has directed the Clerk of Court to forthwith issue the Entry of Judgment

External links

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information
• Local Governance Performance Management System
• Guihulngan Official Website