History

 

     Naga became a city on July 15, 2007, by virtue of Republic Act No. 9491, which was ratified in a plebiscite on September 02, 2007.

In November 2008, Naga lost its cityhood, along with 15 other cities, after the Supreme Court of the Philippines granted a petition filed by the League of Cities of the Philippines, and declared the cityhood law (RA 9491) which allowed the town to acquire its city status, unconstitutional. The said cities, the court ruled, did not meet the requirements for cityhood. On December 10, 2008, Naga and the other 15 cities affected filed a motion for reconsideration with the Supreme Court. More than a year later, on December 22, 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." As such, the cityhood status of Naga was effectively restored.
On August 27, 2010, Naga City reverted back to a municipality again. It shared its fate with 15 other cities, after the Supreme Court reinstated a 2008 decision declaring as “unconstitutional" the cityhood laws converting 16 municipalities into cities. A previous law required towns aspiring to become cities to earn at least P100 million annually, which none of the 16 did. Voting 7-6, with two justices not taking part, the SC reinstated its Nov. 18, 2008, decision declaring as unconstitutional the Republic Acts (RAs) converting 16 municipalities into cities.
      On September 5, 2010, despite of the demotion, the city still celebrated its 3rd Charter day.
      On February 15, 2011, the supreme court upheld for the 3rd time the cityhood of Naga and 15 other towns in the Philippines.