Voting on for brgy Banawa Englis

VOTING starts at 7 a.m. and closes at 3 p.m. in the Guadalupe Elementary School today.

Poll results will decide whether Cebu City should create the 81st barangay.

Police declared a heightened alert status all over Cebu City to ensure a smooth and peaceful plebiscite.

Guadalupe has 28,431 registered voters, who will be asked to vote “yes” or “no” for the creation of barangay Banawa-Englis to be carved out from barangay Guadalupe.

A liquor ban in barangay Guadalupe started 12:01 a.m. of Friday and will continue until midnight of Sunday.

A gun ban in the barangay has been implemented in the barangay since June 25 and will run until August 2, said Chief Inspect Enrique Belcina, Gualdaupe police precinct chief.

About 45 policemen in two shifts will be deployed starting 5 a.m. at the school.

This includes ten additional policemen borrowed from various precincts.

A total of 237 teachers are serving the 79 clustered precincts in the Guadalpue Elementary School serving as the Board of Election Tellers (BET).

The plebiscite will follow the same procedure as that in a regular election, said Edwin Cadungog, election officer for south Cebu City.

Voting hours end at 3 p.m. but if voters are still within the 30 meter radius of the polling place, they can still cast their ballots.

Results will be known as early as 9 p.m. today.

Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) will be given priority.

Comelec officers brought ballot forms as s early as 4:30 a.m.

Other election paraphernalia like the ballot boxes, ballpens, envelopes and folders were brought 1 p.m. yesterday.

The run-up of today’s plebiscite was not without drama with former south district congressman Antonio Cuenco trading barbs with barangay Labangon captain Victor Buendia.

Cuenco authored the law calling for the plebiscite to determine if barangay Banawa-Englis is carved out from the city’s biggest barangay.

Buendia however is campaigning for the “no” votes.

Although Labangon voters are not involved in the plebiscite, Buendia claims the creation of the news barangay will also carve out about five hectares of his barangay.

The area to be carved out from Labangon according to Buendia includes the Rosalina Village where he lives.

He threatened Cuenco that he he will get zero votes in 2013 when he runs for the congressional seat of the south district.

Cuenco on the otherhand said he would work for the ouster of Buendia as Labangon chief if the “yes” votes win.