Imus folk vote for cityhood in plebiscite

Imus in Cavite has joined the roll of newly created cities after 20,438 of its residents voted for its conversion in a plebiscite held on Saturday.

Only 2,304 voted no, said Juanito Icaro, regional officer of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

“We are now preparing for the transition … by convening the department heads to lay down the plans,” Imus Mayor Emmanuel Maliksi said on Monday.

Imus, a lone congressional district in the province, has a population of 253,158 as of 2007 and a land area of 171 square kilometers. According to the Local Government Code, a municipality must have at least two of the three minimum requirements to become a city—annual income of P100 million, a population of 150,000, and a contiguous territory of 100 sq km.

In an earlier interview, Maliksi had said that among the projects the officials would pursue once cityhood is achieved were health subsidy for senior citizens, creation of a public hospital and subsidy for day care centers.

In April, President Aquino signed Republic Act No. 10160 and No. 10161 for the conversion of Bacoor and Imus into cities. Bacoor was officially proclaimed a city after a plebiscite on June 23 showed 36,226 residents in favor of conversion and 3,854 against it.

Cavite Gov. Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla Jr. has said that changing Imus into a city would help raise its present income from P535 million to around P800 million.

Cavite now has six cities—Cavite, Dasmariñas, Tagaytay, Trece Martires, Bacoor and Imus—and 17 towns. Remulla said he foresaw more 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 Kawit, Tanza, Naic, General Trias, General Mariano Alvarez (GMA), Carmona, Silang and Alfonso towns in the province. Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon