Let the people decide

This refers to the news item “Nueva Ecija governor challenges mayor to debate on Cabanatuan cityhood” (STAR, 11/4/12).

Reacting to the challenge, Cabanatuan City Mayor Jay Vergara said Nueva Ecija Governor Umali should instead debate or question the Constitution that authorized Cabanatuan to become a highly urbanized city (HUC).

Cabanatuan is a 62-year-old component city of Nueva Ecija. With a total population of 259,267 in 2007 and an annual income of P734.73 million in 2010, the city is more than qualified for an HUC status. Governor Umali, however, strongly opposed the move to convert Cabanatuan into an HUC, saying that the city is not yet ready to stand alone and that the city government still needs the support of the provincial government.

 I wonder why the good governor is calling again for a public debate on the HUC proposal for Cabanatuan when President Aquino has already proclaimed Cabanatuan as an HUC and the required plebiscite therefor has been set on December 1 by the Commission on Elections, besides the fact that the pros and cons of the issue have already made their point. Thus, further discussion or debate on the same issue becomes moot and academic.

 Amid the political wranglings engendered by the HUC issue that polarized our city, let us now mobilize the citizenry to take up the cudgels for the contending parties and decide on what is good for their beloved city in the coming referendum. The voice of the people is the voice of God. —PRUDENCIO E. MAGPAYO, Cabanatuan City