Plebiscite ratifies merger, renaming of Bacoor barangays

MANILA, Philippines — Residents of Bacoor, Cavite voted for the merging and renaming of barangays in the city, results of a plebiscite on Saturday showed, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Of the 32,380 registered voters who participated in the plebiscite, 29,285 or 90.44 percent voted in favor of the merger and renaming of barangays, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said. Only 2,994 voted against the plan.

Garcia downplayed the low voter turnout in the electoral exercise, wherein only 28.30 percent of the 114,416 total number of registered voters cast their ballots.

“Regardless of whether the turnout was high or low, what is important is that the electoral exercise was peaceful and credible,” Garcia said.

He said he was satisfied with the overall conduct of the plebiscite, noting that the “voice of the people reigns supreme.”

The voting started at 7 a.m. and closed at 3 p.m.

With the plebiscite results, 44 barangays in Bacoor will be merged into 18 while five others will be renamed, as provided under a city ordinance.

Garcia said the Comelec is waiting for the results of the plebiscite as these would affect the ongoing preparations for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in October.

The Philippine National Police said the conduct of the vote was peaceful and orderly.

Col. Christopher Olazo, Cavite police director, said no untoward incident was reported in any of the 22 polling centers.

“The plebiscite was smooth, quiet and orderly. The residents cooperated. We can consider the plebiscite as peaceful and orderly,” Olazo said.

He said 451 personnel from different government agencies and support units were deployed in different polling centers to secure the voters.

The Comelec issued Resolution 10917 on May 17, mandating the conduct of the plebiscite.

The affected barangays were consulted by the local government before the proposal was approved, which paved the way for the holding of the plebiscite.

The merger was expected to increase the shares in the national tax allocation of the villages.

It also aims to cut red tape, promote an effective peace and order campaign as well as reduce the cost of operations of local governance. — Ed Amoroso