Plebiscite needed for Naga’s HUC conversion

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is expected to hold a plebiscite to ratify Naga’s conversion into a highly urbanized city.

Malacañang on Friday released Proclamation 1267, declaring Naga as a highly urbanized city.

Under the Local Government Code, a plebiscite must be conducted within 120 days from the date of the President’s declaration in order for it to take effect.

President Marcos, through Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, signed the proclamation on May 26.

The Comelec will release the guidelines for the plebiscite including its coverage.

But since Naga is an independent component city, local officials expect that only registered voters in the city can participate in the process.

If ratified, Naga will be the country’s 34th highly urbanized city.

Mayor Leni Robredo announced the issuance of the presidential proclamation on Wednesday, coinciding with the 68th birth anniversary of her late husband and former Naga City mayor Jesse Robredo.

The city council earlier passed a resolution urging Malacañang to issue the HUC proclamation, noting that Naga has met the requirement set under the Local Government Code including the minimum population of 200,000 and annual income of P50 million.