‘YES’ MOTORCADE Supporters of the cityhood of Calaca hold a motorcade on Sept. 1, two days before residents vote on the bid to convert the town into a component city of Batangas. —PHOTO FROM CALACA MAYOR SOFRONIO LEONARDO ONA JR. FACEBOOK
Some 58,000 registered voters of Calaca town in Batangas province will decide today, Saturday, the bid for cityhood of the municipality, amid calls from opposing camps to vote for or against it.
Mayor Sofronio Leonardo Ona Jr., on Friday, made a last-minute appeal to his townmates to approve the proposed cityhood, saying that a “yes” vote would be “expressing love for the town” and their “legacy to the next generation.”
But Florante Macatangay, son of former town Mayor Conrado Macatangay and lead convenor of the “No to Calaca Cityhood Coalition,” insisted that it was “wrong timing” to turn the town into a city at this time.
He and other cityhood opponents argued that the residents have yet to fully understand the negative effects that cityhood would bring to the locality.
However, Ona, who has shared several video messages from businessmen and multisectoral leader supporting the cityhood bid, said turning Calaca into a component city would mean more appropriation for programs, projects and activities of the local government for social and health services, infrastructure projects, peace and order, livelihood, education, environment and agriculture.
Ready for polls
Calaca, which is under Batangas’ first legislative district, has a population of 87,361 as of 2020 and a land area of 114.58 square kilometers.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has been ready for the cityhood plebiscite of the first-class municipality, which has 58,881 registered voters and 123 clustered precincts, said municipal elections officer Jewel Vidal.
However, only those who voted in the elections last May would be allowed to cast their ballots, added Vidal.
“It is an important reminder to avoid confusion,” he stressed.
Vidal urged voters to comply with existing health protocols against COVID-19, such as the proper wearing of face masks, hand sanitation and safe distancing, to ensure the safe conduct of the plebiscite, which will be held from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“We will use thermal scanner upon entering the precincts. Should any voter show signs of COVID-19 symptoms, we have [designated] polling booths where they can still vote,” she explained.
As of Aug. 29, Calaca has two active COVID-19 cases, records from the Batangas provincial health office showed.
Vidal described the plebiscite campaign period as “generally peaceful.”
Police Maj. Willy Salazar, Calaca police chief, said the local police has also been augmented by additional forces from the Police Regional Office in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) in time for the plebiscite.
“We’re ready to maintain peace and order during the plebiscite,” he said in a phone interview on Friday.
Salazar said they have yet to arrest gun ban violators.
The ban on carrying or transporting firearms and deadly weapons started on Aug. 4 and will last until Sept. 10.Then President Rodrigo Duterte signed Calaca’s cityhood through Republic Act No. 11544 on May 26, 2021. A plebiscite among Calaca residents is all that is left for the law to be effective.
The law said the plebiscite must be conducted within 90 days of the approval of the law. But on Aug. 18, 2021, the Comelec reset the plebiscite to September this year, or four months from the end of the election period for the May 9 national and local elections.
Once the conversion is approved through the plebiscite, Calaca will become the fifth city in Batangas. The province currently has four cities—Sto. Tomas, Lipa, Tanauan and Batangas—and 30 municipalities. —DELFIN T. MALLARI JR.