Cabanatuan bishop, folk back plebiscite

CABANATUAN CITY, Philippines—The highest church official of this city appealed to authorities to allow a plebiscite on the conversion of this city into a highly urbanized city (HUC) to proceed as thousands of residents rallied on Saturday to demand that the issue be put to a vote by the people.

In a pastoral letter, the bishop of this city, Sofronio Bancud, said that while the church was not siding with neither a “yes” or a “no” vote for HUC status, it believed the plebiscite should proceed.

The plebiscite was put on hold after the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against it, acting on a petition filed by Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Umali.

“Conscious of our pastoral duty but fully aware of the limitations of what we can do… we deem it prudent and necessary to leave the matter to those who know this issue better than us: our elected officials and the people of Cabanatuan who will eventually decide through a plebiscite,” said Bancud’s pastoral letter.

The bishop said, though, that an information campaign should be conducted on the benefits and disadvantages of an HUC status.

“Likewise, we exhort our people to raise questions about the issue, discuss intelligently, discern prayerfully and participate responsibly in the entire democratic process,” said Bancud.

“Indeed, our people deserve the best. Hence, we need to keep them well and correctly informed, and provide them a safe and sound environment to make their final decision through a plebiscite, without fear or favor, and allow them to do so in the peacefulness of their conscience,” said the bishop.

“We are not asking our people to vote yes or no,” said Bancud in the Jan. 25 pastoral letter. “Our position is clear: We believe that the plebiscite is the fitting and rightful venue for the people of Cabanatuan to be heard,” he said.

Displaying placards, some of which proclaimed, “Yes or no, ituloy ang plebisito (let’s proceed with the plebiscite),” the rally participants assembled in Plaza Lucero in front of St. Nicholas of Tolentine Cathedral here.

President Aquino issued Presidential Proclamation No. 418 on July 4, 2012, which converted Cabanatuan City into an HUC, pending the results of a Jan. 25 referendum that was scheduled by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The governor argued that the whole province would be affected by the proclamation and should therefore be allowed to take part in the exercise.

Based on Republic Act No. 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991, the province loses administrative control over Cabanatuan once it achieves HUC status.

The law also states that residents of an HUC do not need to elect officials of the provincial government.

The local police said between 3,500 and 4,000 people joined the Saturday rally. “This rally was a people’s initiative,” said City Administrator Jose Roy Balagtas.

Supt. Pedro Soliba, city police chief, said a senior citizens’ group had secured a permit for the rally. Balagtas said the lawyers of Cabanatuan Mayor Julius Cesar Vergara had asked the Supreme Court to lift the restraining order over the plebiscite.

In announcing the high court’s TRO, Supreme Court spokesperson Theodore Te said the order was “effective immediately and continuing until further orders from this court.”

The Comelec originally scheduled the plebiscite for Dec. 1, 2012, but Umali secured a TRO from a lower court and elevated the case to the high court in November 2012.

Cabanatuan became a chartered city in 1950. It served as capital of Nueva Ecija until 1965 when the seat of the government was moved to Palayan City. Anselmo Roque and Armand Galang, Inquirer Central Luzon, with a report from Jerome Aning in Manila