By Ignacio R. Bunye
March 1, 2025 was a red letter day in Muntinlupa City as it marked its 30th Cityhood Anniversary with a series of milestone events that showcased the city’s remarkable achievements and vision for the future. The day’s highlight was the traditional State of the City Address held at the Filinvest Tent in Alabang where Mayor Ruffy Biazon celebrated Muntinlupa’s enviable status as a city that is Smart, Sustainable and Strong.
The Filinvest Tent was packed to the rafters with representatives from the business sector, community organizations, religious groups, civic clubs, homeowners associations, national agencies with offices in Muntinlupa, and the city’s officialdom led by Mayor Biazon, Congressman Jimmy Fresnedi, the city council led by Vice Mayor Temy Simundac and Majority Floor Leader Raul Corro, the Association of Barangay Chairmen led by Allen Ampaya, the nine Barangay Councils of Muntinlupa, the Sangguniang Kabataan, and city department heads led by City Administrator Allan Cachuela.
The day’s events began with a thanksgiving mass, followed by the groundbreaking ceremony for the Mental Health and Palliative Care Building in Alabang and the blessing of the Bulilit Center in Cupang — key projects that reinforce Muntinlupa’s dedication to healthcare and early childhood development.
In his address, Mayor Biazon reaffirmed Muntinlupa’s commitment to being a Smart, Sustainable and Strong city, emphasizing how technology, long-term planning and resilience drive its governance.
Mayor Biazon also gave an update on the city’s progress under his 7K Agenda, which stands for Kalusugan (Health), Karunungan (Education), Kabuhayan (Livelihood), Kalikasan (Environment), Katarungan (Social Justice), Kapayapaan-Kaayusan (Peace and Order), and Kaunlaran (Urban Development).
Positioning Muntinlupa as a Model Smart Urban Village, Mayor Biazon highlighted the ongoing process of updating the city’s Comprehensive Land and Water Use Plan and Zoning Ordinance, which will guide Muntinlupa’s growth and resource allocation. He also introduced MUNTIcen ID, a unified ID system designed to streamline citizen services, and the continued expansion of MUNConnect, a public WiFi system placed in key locations such as schools, business centers and government facilities.
Mayor Biazon proudly reported that the city’s dedication to good governance has earned it significant national recognition, including its third consecutive Seal of Good Local Governance Award and top rankings in the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index, particularly in Government Efficiency, Infrastructure, Resiliency, and Innovation.
During the program, Mayor Biazon recognized the Top 10 Taxpayers of Muntinlupa, namely: Ford Group Philippines Inc., Filinvest Land Inc., Filinvest Alabang Inc., Filinvest REIT Corp., Manila Electric Company, Genpact Services LLC, Alabang Commercial Corporation, Amkor Technology, Insular Life Insurance Company, and CitySuper Alabang, Inc.
For the whole month of March, Muntinlupa will be conducting environmental cleanups, senior citizen activities, job fairs, the Kalingang Muntinlupa Service Caravan, trade fairs of local products, art exhibits, and competitions highlighting the talents of Muntinlupeños in sports, arts and other endeavors.
Witnessing the proceedings at the Filinvest Tent, I could not help but fondly reminisce the events prior to cityhood. In 1986, when I started my public service as OIC Mayor, Muntinlupa was still classified as a fifth-class municipality. It was earning approximately P28 million per year which was hardly sufficient to pay even for the salaries of municipal employees. It was probably second or third to the last among the 17 LGUs in Metro Manila. So our focus, with then Vice Mayor Jimmy Fresnedi and Municipal Attorney Raul Corro, was to grow Muntinlupa’s income to meet the minimum qualification for highly urbanized cities.
This we accomplished by reforming our tax collection system, intensifying computerization, and improving our real property tax administration. As a result, Muntinlupa’s income grew rapidly so that by the time we applied for cityhood mid-1994, our yearly income exceeded P400 million, 15 times more than we earned at the start of my term and already way above the minimum requirement for a highly urbanized city. In 1994, the minimum yearly income qualification was P50 million for two consecutive years. This threshold was raised later to P100 million for two consecutive years.
Parallel to our thrust to grow our income, we systematically prepared and trained the employee workforce to become highly motivated, honest and efficient public servants.
We hurdled the House of Representatives easily. But we passed thru the wringer in the Senate. To cut a long story short, the Senate approved our cityhood literally at the last two minutes before the Senate adjourned. President Fidel V. Ramos signed our City Charter at 9:00 a.m., March 1, 1995, at Malacañang.
Congratulations to Muntinlupa City on its 30th Cityhood Anniversary! Here’s to many more years of progress, unity and success.
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