Central Luzón Region

[bariQ]

wow may NE thread na pala

may town ba na baloc sa NE?

[tracymack]

Originally Posted by barrera_marquez

Palayan City as we know is a sleepy city. People even argue if it is really a city but do we have a city seal for Palayan City? I have never seen one. Thanks.

Really? It's the capital of NE right? I guess Palayan shares the same thing with Trece Martirez City, the capital of Cavite. It's more like a town and the reason people flock this city is that it's home to provincial government offices. There's nothing wrong with it though. Maybe government officials prefer a more laid back environment.

[barrera_marquez]

Originally Posted by tracymack

Really? It's the capital of NE right? I guess Palayan shares the same thing with Trece Martirez City, the capital of Cavite. It's more like a town and the reason people flock this city is that it's home to provincial government offices. There's nothing wrong with it though. Maybe government officials prefer a more laid back environment.

Yes. I am searching for it via the Internet and nothing showed. I was searching for almost an hour. Palayan City is very far and returning to one of my hometowns just to get one is a waste of money. Hey, the fare to Palayan City is almost P200 one way! Sometimes buses even refuse to to go there. You know the Cabanatuan Central Terminal, all buses converge there but if you're going to Palayan City, you must take a jeep which charges you P17 to go there. I only know one bus company that has the courage to go there- 5 Star. That is why I seldom go to Nueva Ecija because not of the distance but because there are not many buses plying there. Just like a ghost town- call it "Palayanphobia."

It just goes only like this: Palayan City is the brain since the government of the province is in that city but the heart of Nueva Ecija is in Cabanatuan City since the city generates most of the income for the province. Once Cabanatuan City stops, the entire Nueva Ecija including Palayan City will be doomed.

With the comparison to Trece Martirez City, the situation in Palayan City is worse. We have only 30,000 people living here. Search for Palayan City in Google Earth and you will not see buildings but farms instead. I am not against Palayan City's cityhood but I do not want any more Palayan Cities again.

[tracymack]

I hear you. I'm not sure what the requirements are for a town to be eligible to be upgraded to a city but I personally think this should be revisited. A lot of so called "cities" have be popping up all over the place but if you visit these places you might end up wondering how they got to city status. I would think that population, income, infrastructure, employment opportunities, presence of educational institutions & commercial establishments.. I can go on but these definitely are and should be taken into consideration. Is the status quo for qualifying towns too low? Maybe the bar needs to be raised.

As for Palayan City, maybe officials saw that it had potential of some sort that's why they opted to have it as NE's capital. I don't know for sure because I've never been there.

[barrera_marquez]

Originally Posted by tracymack

I hear you. I'm not sure what the requirements are for a town to be eligible to be upgraded to a city but I personally think this should be revisited. A lot of so called "cities" have be popping up all over the place but if you visit these places you might end up wondering how they got to city status. I would think that population, income, infrastructure, employment opportunities, presence of educational institutions & commercial establishments.. I can go on but these definitely are and should be taken into consideration. Is the status quo for qualifying towns too low? Maybe the bar needs to be raised.

As for Palayan City, maybe officials saw that it had potential of some sort that's why they opted to have it as NE's capital. I don't know for sure because I've never been there.

There are only a few things that are needed to develop this into a real city. Meaning, they should these things to boost development.

• Government Service- are there enough police stations for the city? Are there fire stations and hospitals for the city? If there are not, my goodness! How does this place become a city without all those things? Don't expect development, they will really never come without those.
• Infrastructure- all buses and almost all roads in Nueva Ecija lead to Cabanatuan City, not Palayan City, they should invest more here. I remember my journey there- it will not just cost me almost P200 but also four hours from San Fernando City alone! Build a good road network from Palayan City to other cities/municipalities in Nueva Ecija.
• Reduce agricultural zoning- the fact that a city should be in a high population, the city's agricultural zoning could be reduced. Why? There are many farms there! Not houses, not buildings, not everything, just plain farms or if your lucky, a good road but some roads within the city in poor condition. Look at the picture of the Nueva Ecija capitol building in Palayan City, it doesn't have buildings nearby! Increase residential, industrial and commercial zoning here! This situation is worse than Santa Cruz, Laguna actually folks!
• Communications- do I have anything more to say? The communications are better in Cabanatuan City, not Palayan City.
  
  If those conditions were not met, better transfer the Nueva Ecija capitol from Palayan City to Cabanatuan City! Cabanatuan City looks more like the capital city of Nueva Ecija!

[tracymack]

I'm sorry you feel that way about Palayan. I hope things (development-wise) get better soon.

[barrera_marquez]

Originally Posted by tracymack

I'm sorry you feel that way about Palayan. I hope things (development-wise) get better soon.

Too bad it is my hometown. How come my hometown became like that? Even Kalibo is better, Kalibo looks like a city now but still a municipality. But this thing, a "city" but looks more like a village, not even a municipality. My God! Can't the development be done right here? Even Gapan City and Munoz City is better and yet they only became cities during the years 2000-2001, classified as Nueva Ecija's newest cities.

Anyway, I heard a road is going to be constructed here in Nueva Ecija to Aurora. If you can make it an expressway and then make it pass on to Palayan City, then the development can begin there. Remember, the people are aware that this is the Nueva Ecija capital and that might kick-start development.

Now I know why Palayan City is called Palayan City- it is a "city" full of palayans (rice fields).

Hey wait, Palayan City is created as a city in 1965. What does Palayan City look then? I'll bet it's worse.

Tracymark, during year 2000-2001, I am not sure, the bars for cityhood requirements have been raised already but those "cities" managed to be cities because of grant of exemptions for the requirements. This is the problem of Ilagan, Isabela which has failed cityhood because of plebiscite in 1998. They cannot meet the P100M income requirement. But Kalibo, a municipality that looks like a city has undergone several plebiscites for cityhood but I guess the people of Kalibo didn't want to pay higher taxes so they always decline it.

[tracymack]

Exemptions? Really? That's twisted. Totally unfair. Why award cityhood status to undeserving towns? IMO, cityhood has to be earned.

By the way, it's tracymack.

[tracymack]

Originally Posted by barrera_marquez

Tracymark, during year 2000-2001, I am not sure, the bars for cityhood requirements have been raised already but those "cities" managed to be cities because of grant of exemptions for the requirements. This is the problem of Ilagan, Isabela which has failed cityhood because of plebiscite in 1998. They cannot meet the P100M income requirement. But Kalibo, a municipality that looks like a city has undergone several plebiscites for cityhood but I guess the people of Kalibo didn't want to pay higher taxes so they always decline it.

That is one thing that has to be considered. The income classification of residents. Officials need to be certain their residents can indeed afford city life before pushing for cityhood.

[barrera_marquez]

Originally Posted by tracymack

That is one thing that has to be considered. The income classification of residents. Officials need to be certain their residents can indeed afford city life before pushing for cityhood.

Not really, one thing needed here is the income of the municipality. If the municipal income is high enough, then there won't be any tax increases when it becomes a city. Right?

Exemptions? Really? That's twisted. Totally unfair. Why award cityhood status to undeserving towns? IMO, cityhood has to be earned.

Check out the Why there are so many "cities" thread, the debate there about those so-called "cities" is doing well. I suggest you to check it out to see it.

If you want to see those pesky exemptions, take a load of this:
http://city-ph.com/news/city-mayors-...-for-filipinos

Thanks for correction, tracymack.

[tracymack]

Originally Posted by barrera_marquez

Not really, one thing needed here is the income of the municipality. If the municipal income is high enough, then there won't be any tax increases when it becomes a city. Right?

I agree but when things get tight finance-wise for the new city, it's the residents that get impacted the most.

[tracymack]

Originally Posted by barrera_marquez

Check out the Why there are so many "cities" thread, the debate there about those so-called "cities" is doing well. I suggest you to check it out to see it.

If you want to see those pesky exemptions, take a load of this:
http://city-ph.com/news/city-mayors-...-for-filipinos

Nice find barrera_marquez! This is an excerpt from the link: “We do not oppose the creation of more cities but we should not create new ones if the government cannot afford to support them,”. I say no more exemptions. Municipalities should work hard to earn their cityhood. Sometimes some towns are just not meant to be cities. There should be a balance of urban & rural communities. Officials should not force the issue of cityhood. Gaining cityhood does not necessarily mean improved quality of life for the residents.

I think we should move this discussion to the existing thread to give way to NE posts.

[Colonel Burger]

Guys, do you know what is the height of the white cross in Mr. Samat in Pilar, Bataan.

The last time that I was there was when I was just 12 years old. We climbed the cross using the stiars and it was pretty though climb.

would the structure reach 20 stories high?

[Colonel Burger]

Ok.... i googled it. the structure is 92 meters high 311 ft. (so its around 25-30 stories high from my estimate)

would this make it the tallest monument in the Philippines? are there any monument as tall as this in the Philippines?

[Colonel Burger]

The image was taken from http://bp0.blogger.com/_JjCu_PpH8dY/...0/IMG_2043.JPG

[Colonel Burger]

[barrera_marquez]

Since I am really concerned to the condition of Nueva Ecija's capital. I want to see your opinions about the issue if Nueva Ecija's capital should remain in Palayan City or should be transferred back to Cabanatuan City?

Comments, obviously are very welcome. Let your voice be heard!

[GearX]

Let it be to have 2 capitals.

Palayan - Government & Institution Capital
Cabanatuan - Commercial Capital & Business center

[Colonel Burger]

A capital should not necessarily be the center of commerce and industry. Take for example the capital city of Australia, Canberra, the commonwealth government is housed there, but the center of commerce, trade, etc. etc. is Sydney and Melbourne

[barrera_marquez]

Originally Posted by Colonel Burger

A capital should not necessarily be the center of commerce and industry. Take for example the capital city of Australia, Canberaa, the commonwealth government is housed there, but the center of commerce, trade, etc. etc. is Sydney and Melbourne

The fact that Cabanatuan City is the former capital of Nueva Ecija is not yet been removed to the hearts of many Nueva Ecijanos until this day. Canberra actually is a great city. The same case goes for the Philippines, Manila is not the center of trade and commerce but Quezon City and Makati City.

The biggest problem of Palayan City is lack of development. We can degrade Palayan City but before that, we better transfer Nueva Ecija's capital to Cabanatuan City. Even my colleagues mistake the province's capital- they said Cabanatuan City. It looks like more the capital of Nueva Ecija.