Banawa-Englis plebiscite set

CEBU, Philippines - The Commission on Elections will hold a plebiscite on July 28 on the move to create Banawa-Englis into another barangay out of Barangay Guadalupe in Cebu City.

In an en banc resolution issued on Thursday, the Comelec said the calendar of activities, including the gun ban period, for the plebiscite will be from June 25 to August 2.

Based on the Election Registration Board (ERB), around 28,435 registered voters of Barangay Guadalupe are expected to participate in the plebiscite.

“I will vote for Yes,” said former Rep. Antonio Cuenco, a resident of the barangay.

Cuenco authored House Bill 5652 that seeks to create Barangay Banawa-Englis. The bill was signed into Republic Act 9905 by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on January 7, 2010.

The Comelec had first set the plebiscite on March 13, 2010 and set aside P1.4 million. It has already spent around P400,000 for the paraphernalia when the court ordered the suspension of the plebiscite.

The remaining P1 million, which is still in the Comelec coffers, will be utilized for the conduct of the plebiscite.

Then Labangon barangay councilman Victor Buendia had petitioned the court to withhold the plebiscite.

Buendia argued that the law infringed his right as a voter and as resident of Barangay Labangon, where he is now the barangay captain, since it stated that the whole of Labangon’s Rosalina Village, where he resides, would be part of Barangay Banawa-Englis.

But on March 11, 2011, Regional Trial Court Judge Gabriel Ingles dismissed Buendia’s petition for lack of merit. His decision became final and executory.

“Hinaut nga wa na’y mobabag niani (I hope no one will oppose the plebiscite),” said Cuenco in a press conference yesterday together with the members of United Banawa-Englis Association, Inc. (UBEAI).

Cuenco said that Guadalupe officials assured him that they would not block the process.

UBEAI president Crispin Villarin said that it took more than 25 years for their dream to come true.

Villarin said they already have identified a city-owned lot as the future site of their barangay hall.

“We will see to it that the plebiscite on July 28 will be orderly and smooth,” said Jeffrey Cartilla, UBEAI vice president.

Should the “yes” vote win, a special election will be held within 60 days after the plebiscite as provided by the law.

Banawa-Englis residents said one of the reasons for their move to separate from Guadalupe is the neglect by barangay officials, claiming that only Guadalupe proper has benefited from government projects.

City hall reaction

Mayor Michael Rama is pleased that the plebiscite will soon be conducted, saying that he was one of those who favored the creation of Banawa-Englis into a separate barangay when he was vice mayor.

He believed that the sitio Banawa residents who want independence from Barangay Guadalupe should be given the chance.

But Rama said he does not want to highlight his stand to avoid influencing others in the barangay.

Rama is a voter of Guadalupe so he would participate in the plebiscite.

“I will express my sentiment when the time comes inside the precinct,” he said. — With Jessica Ann R. Pareja/LPM (FREEMAN)