President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed a law that converts the Municipality of Carmona into a component city of Cavite province, Malacañang announced on Friday.

The President signed Republic Act No. 119381, otherwise known as “An Act Converting the Municipality of Carmona in the Province of Cavite into a component city to be known as the City of Carmona”, on Thursday, 23 February 2023.

The law requires the Municipality of Carmona to hold a plebiscite within 60 days from the approval of the law.

This means that “present elective officials of the Municipality of Carmona shall continue to exercise their powers and functions until such time that a new election is held and the duly-elected officials shall have already qualified and assumed their offices.”

“Appointive officials and employees of the Municipality of Carmona shall, likewise, continue exercising their functions and duties and they shall automatically be absorbed by the City Government of the City of Carmona,” it stated.

It also suspends the increase in the rates of local taxes within five years of acquiring Carmona’s cityhood.

“Until otherwise provided by law, the City of Carmona shall continue to be part of the Fifth Legislative District of the Province of Cavite,” the law read.

It shall take effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general publication.

The measure seeking the cityhood of Carmona was passed by the 19th Congress on 25 July 2022 during its first regular session.

Earlier this week, Carmona celebrated its 166th founding anniversary as a town with activities promoting its tourism.

To date, Carmona has a population of more than 300,000 and obtains an annual income of P50 million—two of the requirements needed for a town to attain cityhood.