A San Juan City councilor has proposed an ordinance seeking to divide Barangay West Crame in two and bring the number of barangays in the city to 22.
In filing his proposed ordinance, Councilor Dante Santiago said Barangay West Crame, with 14,500 residents in Purok 41 and Purok 42, is one of the most densely populated barangays in San Juan.
Santiago said a group of West Crame residents under the “Samahang Nagkakaisa ng Purok 42, Inc.,” headed by Desiree Farinas and Alexander Danao, filed a petition in November 2005 to then Barangay Captain Apolonia Galindez seeking to divide West Crame into two barangays.
He said that late last year, the group made the same request to Mayor Joseph Ejercito and Rep. Ronaldo Zamora.
Ejercito referred the matter to the city council, which turned over the issue to its committee on laws, ethics and justice headed by Santiago, who drafted the ordinance.
“The group has so far gathered about 5,000 signatures for the residents of Purok 42 supporting the move to declare it as the 22nd barangay in our city,” Santiago said.
He added that Purok 41 residents have signified their willingness to have West Crame divided in two.
Santiago said that based on a series of consultative meetings with the Lands and Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (LMB-DENR), the National Statistics Office (NSO), city officials of San Juan, the barangay council and residents, Barangay West Crame has satisfied all criteria set forth under Section 386 of Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code.
He said the code provides that for a place to qualify as a barangay, it must have at least 5,000 inhabitants but no mention is made of the land area required.
“There is no definite area required. As per boundary computation based on survey in 1976, it (West Crame) has an area of 1,106 hectares or 111,060 square meters and it is properly identified by metes and bounds. There is also no specific income required,” Santiago said.
Santiago said that as of December 2007, West Crame has an approximate existing fund amounting to P4.5 million based on certification issued by the city treasurer’s office.
“Such income is sufficient to provide basic services and facilities to meet the requirement of the populace,” he said. – Jose Rodel Clapano