Saturday, September 22, 2007 No merging of Baguio barangays this year By Rimaliza Opiña
IT’S final. The planned merging of barangays would not happen this year due to time constraint.
However, the planned plebiscite, which would determine whether Baguio residents favor the merging or not might still be pursued simultaneous with the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections on October 29.
Baguio Vice Mayor Daniel Fariñas said the City Government could save funds if the plebiscite is held simultaneous with the elections.
On top of the allocation of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the City Council would appropriate P8 million from its estimated plebiscite paraphernalia cost would amounting to P6 million.
Meanwhile, Fariñas advised the public to choose wisely on whom to vote for.
Fariñas and Councilor Antonio Tabora Jr. also opposed the proposed abolition of the SK as they think that the youth sector, which comprises a large percentage of the population, has to be consulted first and has to be represented in barangay, municipal and city councils.
Senator Aquilino Pimntel Jr. earlier said he is in favor of abolishing the SK considering that it is no longer serving its original purpose and following reports that some SK officials were found using their authority for graft and corruption.
