TACLOBAN CITY — The Tacloban City council has reaffirmed the city’s status as a highly urbanized city (HUC), urging national government agencies to strictly recognize its administrative independence from the provincial government of Leyte.
Through Resolution No. 2025-16-62, unanimously approved during the council’s regular session on October 9, 2025 at the New City Hall, the Sangguniang Panlungsod directed national offices to exclude Tacloban from communications and official correspondences involving the provincial government of Leyte.
City officials said the measure was adopted to prevent administrative confusion and ensure that all government transactions reflect Tacloban’s legal standing as an HUC, which operates separately from the province under existing laws.
Tacloban was converted into an HUC through Proclamation No. 1637 issued in 2008 by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The change in status was ratified by city voters in a plebiscite held on December 18, 2008.
Under the Local Government Code, cities that meet specific population and income requirements may be classified as highly urbanized. As an HUC, Tacloban is independent of provincial supervision, and its residents do not vote for provincial officials.
Copies of the resolution were transmitted to the Office of City Mayor, Alfred Romualdez, and to concerned national government agencies for their information and appropriate action.
The city government emphasized that the resolution reinforces Tacloban’s fiscal, political, and administrative autonomy while maintaining coordination with neighboring local governments on regional development initiatives.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
