MANILA, Philippines — Ormoc City now has fewer barangays after voters ratified in a plebiscite the renaming and merger of 28 villages into three, Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said on Saturday.
Laudiangco said 89.34 percent voted yes and just 10.08 percent opted for no for the ratification of Ormoc City Ordinance No. 052 (Series of 2021, dated Jan. 19, 2021) in the plebiscite. Voter turnout was 53 percent of the more than 10,000 residents.
“With this reverberating decision, the City Government of Ormoc hopes and intends to bring Barangay Governance more efficiently and effectively to the people, ensure the delivery of basic services and usher the whole of government closer to the Ormocanons,” Laudiango said in a statement.
The three new consolidated barangays are now known as Barangay South, Barangay East, and Barangay West.
Merged into Barangay South are Barangay District Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 15, 17, 23, 27, and 29.
Merged into Barangay East are Barangay District Nos. 9, 10, 11, 16, 18, 25, and 28.
Merged into Barangay West are District Nos. 14, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, and 26.
This Ormoc plebiscite is the fourth in a series of plebiscites held this year.
Before that, there was a referendum to for the creation of Barangay New Canaan into a regular and distinct barangay in Alabel town in Sarangani; a plebiscite for the conversion of the Calaca town into a component city of Batangas; and a plebiscite for the division of Maguindanao province into Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur.
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