SARANGANI, Philippines - Bulldozers are working hard in the poblacion of Alabel, laying new drainage and carving roads to distant barangays. The concrete and asphalt works seem to scream progress and development.
They also indicate a municipality playing catch-up with foundations that residents say should have been strategically built to prepare for the urbanization it has long wanted to achieve.
After all, Alabel, the capital of Sarangani province in Mindanao, has been pushing to be converted into a city for close to a decade now. It's one of the few capitals, if not the only one, that remain as municipalities. (Read | TIMELINE: In Sarangani, Alabel's long-drawn battle for cityhood)
Despite stalled cityhood bills in past Congresses, Alabel has been gearing up to meet the requirements for conversion.
From an annual income of P79.66 million in 2018, when the first bill for cityhood was filed by then-Sarangani congressman Rogelio Pacquiao, the amount has climbed up to nearly P237.6 million in 2024.
Municipal finance records attribute the leap mainly to stronger real property tax collections, rising business permit fees, and higher market rentals as more enterprises set up in the poblacion.
Between 2022 and 2024, the Department of Public Works and Highways poured P547 million into road concreting, flood-control projects, and farm-to-market links from distant barangays to the poblacion.
Even Alabel's municipal hall seems to be keeping up with the cityhood ambition -- a new administration building with a larger session hall for the Sangguniang Bayan.
Growing local revenues are only half of the story, however. There is the other half of whether the town can live, breathe, and function like a city.
Despite the ongoing drainage projects across town, for instance, even light rain leaves knee-deep waters in low-lying streets.
Councilor Mark Lester Senit, an engineer who chairs the municipal council's infrastructure and waterworks committee, acknowledges the gap.
"For me, maybe it's only right to become a city once our drainage and water systems are in order. If the municipality qualifies, that's good. But we should finish and improve these first, so that we'll be more presentable as a city," he said in a mix of English and Filipino
"We need a comprehensive plan, with a continuous budget, until flooding is addressed across the entire municipality," Senit stressed.
Another engineer, Ian Montefalcon, points out that unaddressed flooding could scare off investors -- the ones that Alabel hopes to attract once it changes status to being a city.
"If new infrastructure comes without solving drainage first, it will only add problems," Montefalcon said in Bisaya.
In 2024, over P737 million worth of flood control and drainage system improvement was earmarked in the municipality's Annual Infrastructure Program, based on the General Appropriations Act. Separately, for 2025 and 2026, P10 million has been allocated for the municipality's Master Drainage Plan, as outlined in its investment program.
Montefalcon warned that Alabel, if it doesn't plan its development well, could just replicate the woes of older urban centers.
Political analyst Jovanie Espesor of the Mindanao State University-General Santos gave the same warning. As seen in the case of GenSan -- the region's economic hub some 20 minutes away from Alabel by car -- drainage is often the first casualty of poorly planned growth, he said.
It is one of the "major sins of most urban communities in the Philippines," he added.
"GenSan is a product of gradual evolution because of economic development, which makes urban planning weak. It is expected that there will be a massive infrastructure boom -- commercial buildings, subdivisions, other physical infrastructure -- but most urban centers are not actually mindful of what is not seen, the drainage system," Espesor said.
The ability to address and prevent floods is just one of the measures which Alabel is up against. The Global Liveability Index highlights the basics: housing, water, health, education, jobs, and governance.
In the Philippines, these indicators echo the vision of the Marcos administration's Ambisyon Natin 2040 for safe, prosperous, and inclusive communities. In Alabel, these are the daily concerns of residents who will ultimately decide whether the town is ready to carry the weight of being a city.
One visible sign of Alabel's growing pains is its swelling population and the pressure this puts on housing.
Alabel's population has been consistently rising in recent years, driven by a spillover from General Santos City and migrants from nearby towns. Poblacion alone is home to one in every five residents, while barangays like Alegria and Maribulan are catching up. New subdivisions are rising near the town center, gradually reshaping its once-rural skyline.
MSU's Espesor said migration is a two-edged sword: "You entice people with skills and qualifications because opportunities are here, but you also attract those with lower education and skills who will still avail themselves of social services even though they're not native."
He noted that some Indigenous peoples in the hinterlands may eventually leave ancestral farms for jobs and opportunities closer to the center.
With a population of 90,120 as of the 2024 census, and a land area of 510.98 square kilometers, Alabel still has room for expansion. Cityhood could change that -- by 2030, its population is projected to reach 100,000.
Under the municipality's investment program, housing projects are in the pipeline in 2025 and 2026. The aim is to relocate displaced and underprivileged families, especially those in coastal and flood-prone areas.
But if new businesses and migrants move in, and without proper zoning and affordable housing programs, the town could see informal settlements and congestion within the decade.
Reliable utilities also remain a daily struggle for many residents. Most barangays have access to water and electricity, but upland and coastal communities still report irregular service.
Alabel's water system works fine for now, but it's built for a small town, not a growing city. The local government is expanding potable water systems in 49 sitios and upland barangays, but the question is whether these projects can keep up once investors come in to set up offices and factories, and develop subdivisions and build schools and malls.
Councilor Senit admitted that Alabel's water system still relies on outdated technology and leaves some barangays without access.
"We need to look at modern technology to make our drinking water safe, and to bring water up from lower sources to upland areas. There are still barangays without proper water supply," he said.
Connectivity has improved with new farm-to-market roads and highway upgrades, but gaps remain. Inside Poblacion, some streets await concreting, and the multi-million-peso transport terminal remains unfinished four years after groundbreaking rites.
For an upland resident like Darwin (not his real name), a 26-year old professional teacher and a member of a cultural minority, better roads could mean faster access to schools, markets, and basic services in remote areas.
But in their community, the cityhood conversation feels distant. He said consultations have been scarce, and many residents in upland sitios are still uncertain about what a city transition would mean for them.
"They need to start with the basics, like explaining to the IPs what cityhood really means," he said in a mix of English and Bisaya. "If Alabel becomes a city, the government has to assess the needs of the community. Livelihoods could change, and there's also the risk that ancestral land will be affected because when you think of a city, it usually means more roads and buildings."
The uneven spread of services fuels a deeper worry: who benefits from cityhood. Darwin said that while Poblacion enjoys major upgrades, many sitios still lack reliable transport and livelihood opportunities.
"Maybe the [local] government is ready, but the residents are not," he added.
This gap in governance also ties back to the economy. For upland and coastal residents, being "left behind" doesn't just mean roads or classrooms, it also means fewer livelihood opportunities.
For 23-year-old fresh graduate Jade Alegre, cityhood feels like a promise of better opportunities. But he admits employment options remain limited, forcing many graduates to leave Alabel for work elsewhere.
"It's hard to imagine the vision of cityhood becoming real when resources and opportunities still feel so limited," he said.
While agriculture continues to anchor Alabel's economy (with coconut, corn, and fisheries dominating) and small retail and service enterprises are expanding, the town has yet to develop the kind of diversified economy that sustains most cities.
The municipality's Statement of Receipts and Expenditures reveals a structural weakness. In 2024, Alabel's total operating income reached about P1.07 billion, but the bulk -- over 80% -- came from its share of the National Tax Allotment, underscoring its dependence on national transfers.
Political analyst Rogelio Panao of the University of the Philippines' Center for Investigative and Development Studies (UP CIDS) warned that this reliance leaves municipalities vulnerable to fluctuations in national budget policy.
In the short term, cityhood could bring prestige and potentially more resources. But prestige alone cannot guarantee clean water, reliable transport, or affordable housing.
By 2035, Alabel could grow into a well-planned, functional city if leaders invest early in utilities, infrastructure, connectivity, and economic diversification. If not, the municipality risks replicating the urban headaches of congestion, flooding, and weak services that haunt many Philippine cities.
Cebu City's case offers a cautionary tale of how unplanned growth can backfire. Jawjaw Loseñada discussed in a UP CIDS paper the costs of rapid and uneven urbanization. He pointed out that reclamation projects, along with overbuilding in upland and coastal areas, destroyed ecosystems and made flooding worse -- so much so that even light rain now brings ankle- to knee-deep waters that disrupt daily life.
"I think that's one thing Alabel must be mindful about, especially in preparation for its cityhood -- that they should have this mindset and perspective of modern urban planning," Espesor said.
Indeed, Alabel still feels more a rural town than a budding city. Agriculture remains the primary livelihood. While there is a modest uptick in small businesses like coffee shops, grocery stores, and retail shops, the local economy is far from diversified as in established cities.
And the idea of cityhood brings concerns to these small, homegrown businesses. Archell Emnace, 28, a hardware store owner, worries that cityhood could bring investors and jobs, but could also cause prices of goods and services to soar.
She said she can only afford to pay her workers P380 a day, below the provincial minimum of P420. "If we become a city, wages will go up," she added. "That's good for workers, but it will be hard for small businesses like mine." - Rappler.com