Labangon officials campaign actively vs Guadalupe split

CEBU, Philippines - The officials of Barangay Labangon, Cebu City are actively campaigning against the proposed split of Barangay Guadalupe by creating a new barangay to be called Banawa-Ingles because such move will reduce Labangon’s territorial jurisdiction by at least five hectares.

After the court rejected the move of Labangon barangay officials to scrap the proposed split of Guadalupe to two barangays, Labangon Barangay Captain Victor Buendia said their next move is to campaign for a “No Vote” during the plebiscite to be conducted on July 28.

A portion of Rosalina Village, Labangon where Buendia is residing would be affected because it will no longer be part of Labangon if the “Yes Vote” will win the plebiscite. He said the people in Labangon, particularly those who are residing in Rosalina Village, are against the provision of the special law creating a new barangay from Guadalupe that they will become part of the proposed new barangay.

Buendia said if a five-hectare area in Barangay Labangon will be taken out of its territory, Labangon may lose about P5 million in revenues from real property taxes.

“Nindot na kaayo ang Barangay Labangon kay daghan na gani mi og garbage truck nga mohakut sa mga basura, unya anha gayud mi magpasakup anang barangay nga wala pa gani Barangay Hall?” Buendia said in an interview over DYLA yesterday. (Barangay Labangon is already progressive and now you want us to be part of a barangay which does not even have its own barangay hall yet.)

Apparently it is not only Rosalina Village that will be affected. Buendia said 16 of his sitios including Santa Ana, Paseo, Paseo Arcenas and Rosalina will be affected by Republic Act 9905 or the law creating Barangay Banawa-Englis.

“It’s not fair, kay ang resulta ani, mogamay among income from generation to generation, dapat moapil mi sa plebisito,” he said. (We should be allowed to join the plebiscite.)

Buendia and other concerned residents posted several posters in different areas of Barangay Guadalupe urging its residents to reject the move of former South District Rep. Tony Cuenco who authored the law splitting Barangay Guadalupe to two separate barangays.

Cebu City South District Rep. Tomas R. Osmeña had decided not interfere with the issue so that the people in Guadalupe will not be influenced by his stand.

Buendia said that if the “yes” vote will win in the plebiscite, he will seek the assistance of the Supreme Court against the law creating a new barangay out of Guadalupe, the biggest barangay in Cebu City.

Some residents of sitio Lupa, which belongs to barangay Labangon, are questioning the boundaries of the new barangay because their place has been included in its territorial jurisdiction.

For his part, Mayor Michael Rama earlier said the issue of boundary between Labangon and the soon-to-be created new barangay can be resolved after the plebiscite. The law provides that the City Council is the one authorized to resolve boundary conflicts of barangays.

Cuenco explained that barangay Guadalupe is too big compared to other barangays of the city.

It was Buendia, who was still a councilman in 2009, who requested for

a temporary restraining order against the implementation of the plebiscite, saying that the new law infringed his right as a voter and resident of Labangon.

This was, however, dismissed by the Regional Trial Court Branch 58 Judge Gabriel Ingles in March last year for lack of merit. Buendia filed for a declaratory relief before RTC Branch 23 but

Judge Generosa Labra junked his case for double jeopardy. – (FREEMAN)