CEBU, Philippines - Eighteen days to the plebiscite on March 13, Guadalupe Barangay Captain Eugenio Faelnar is encouraging residents of sitios Banawa and Englis to vote against the move to split barangay Guadalupe into two.
Faelnar said it is better if residents of his barangay would wait until Mayor Tomas Osmeña gets a seat in Congress and work for a three-way split.
“Since the proposal for a three-way split cam from you and mayor Osmeña prefers it, let’s just vote “no” and we will let our mayor work for the three-way split,” Faelnar told residents of sitios Banawa and Englis in a gathering.
Faelnar said he will send the same message to other residents in the barangay in other gatherings.
Faelnar said he is confident that majority of the residents in his barangay will make the “right decision” of rejecting the two-way split. He said the proposal of Cebu City South District Representative Antonio Cuenco to create a Barangay Banawa-Englis is disadvantageous to Guadalupe because it would weaken its “power” and financial resource.
“Ako silang ingnan nga ato lang buhaton sa council because it is easier, faster and cheaper,” Faelnar said.
The Commission on Elections has finalized the schedule of the plebiscite on March 13. The campaign period for those pushing for the split and those opposing the move started February 18 and will end on March 11.
Osmeña already announced he is not joining the plebiscite while Cuenco said he will vote for the split, but will not campaign for it.
Osmeña said he will not join the plebiscite because he is torn between his sympathy to the residents of Guadalupe proper who wants the barangay intact and to residents of sitios Banawa and Englis who have long been seeking for independence. – Jessica Ann R. Pareja/JMO (FREEMAN NEWS)