36,226 residents ratify Bacoor’s conversion into city

Bacoor in Cavite is now officially a city after 36,226 of its residents voted “yes” in favor of the town’s conversion into a city.

Annie Laceda, Bacoor municipal election officer, announced the results of the plebiscite which drew 40,080 votes on June 23. Only 3,854 residents rejected the conversion.

Juanito Icaro, Commission on Elections regional officer for Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) on Monday said the plebiscite results ratified the new status of Bacoor as a city.

Another Cavite town, Imus, is set to hold a plebiscite on its conversion into a city on June 30.

Cavite Gov. Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla Jr. said he foresees more Cavite towns becoming cities in the next 10 years.

“They are even more qualified to become cities (than the other municipalities that vied for city status),” Remulla said, referring to the towns of Kawit, Tanza, Naic, General Trias, General Mariano Alvarez (GMA), Carmona, Silang and Alfonso. Cavite is currently composed of 19 municipalities and four cities.

According to the Local Government Code, a municipality is required to meet at least two of the three minimum requirements to become a city: An annual income of P100 million, a population of 150,000 and a contiguous territory of 100 square kilometers.

President Aquino in April signed Republic Act Nos. 10160 and 10161 for the conversion of Bacoor and Imus into cities. Bacoor has an annual income of P474 million, population of 441,197 and a land area of 52.40 sq km, while Imus has an income of P535 million, population of 253,000 and land area of 171 sq. km.