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A city is a political unit of a more urbanized and developed community than a municipality. Highly urbanized cities have a minimum population of 150,000 with the most recent income of at least 50 million pesos. The Department of Local Government may declare a place a highly urbanized city within 30 days after it passes the criteria. Makati is an exception and by its own choice has remained a municipality.

City Officials have a similar function and powers to municipal officials.

Chartered cities are independent from provinces. The mayor there has many functions that match those of governors.

Governors and mayors wield considerable influence. Many governors in those provinces where control of the central government is weak are said to have their own private armies and mayors have immediate control over the police force of a city. This direct control of the mayors over the police forces was re-established by the Aquino government after Marcos had integrated the police into the military.

However, the local police are not the only armed force with police powers in the Philippines. There is also the Philippines Constabulary which is under the control of the Department of Defense, and which is highly centralized. Many of the more dangerous police tasks are handled by the constabulary.

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Sometime in the future, it will be possible through genetic engineering to create humans who are predisposed to live hundreds, and even thousands, of years, or, in fact, indefinitely. Furthermore, it will be possible not only to engineer new lives predisposed to live indefinitely but also to re-engineer existing human life to live on and on. Existing humans will "infect" themselves with virus-like agents that will carry new genetic information into the nucleus of cells to get rid of diseases, and the aging process.