MANILA, Philippines — Residents of Carmona in Cavite voted in favor of the municipality’s conversion into a city during a plebiscite on Saturday.
The “yes” votes officialy ratified Carmona as the eighth component city of Cavite.
The ratification brought to eight the total number of cities in Cavite province, after Bacoor, Cavite City, Dasmariñas, General Trias, Imus, Tagaytay and Trece Martires.
Data from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) showed that 53.9 percent or 31,632 of the 58,691 registered voters participated in the plebiscite.
“We are glad that the voter turnout was high for a cityhood plebiscite,” Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said yesterday.
Certificates of canvass issued by the municipal plebiscite board of canvassers showed a total of 30,363 votes in favor of cityhood while 1,016 rejected it, or a wide margin of 29,347.
The Comelec announced the results of the voting at past 9 p.m., or several hours after the plebiscite closed at 3 p.m.
Voters cast their ballots at 10 polling centers with 116 clustered precincts.
Carmona Mayor Dahlia Loyola thanked her constituents for participating in the plebiscite and supporting the cityhood.
People gathered outside the municipal hall, where a mini-concert was held, to wait for the results of the voting.
The plebiscite was provided under Republic Act 11938 signed by President Marcos in February, which mandates the conversion of the municipality of Carmona into a component city upon ratification by a majority of the votes cast.
Marcos declared July 8 as a special non-working holiday in Carmona to allow residents to go out and vote.
The plebiscite was “very orderly and peaceful” with not a single untoward incident reported, police said.
“Everything was smooth and under control. The situation was so quiet, peaceful and orderly. We commend our men and women in uniform for ensuring the success of the plebiscite,” Col. Christopher Olazo, Cavite police director, said.
In 2021, Carmona was tagged as the country’s richest municipality. — Ed Amoroso