Wednesday, March 21, 2007 Plebiscite for Carcar cityhood deferred By Garry Cabotaje Sun.Star Staff Reporter
THE plebiscite of the Carcar cityhood will not be held simultaneously with the May 14 polls, as this may not get a mass concurrence from the Carcaranons or, worse, it may be disapproved.
“Why rush it when it’s (elections) divisive,” said Rep. Eduardo Gullas (Cebu, 1st district), the bill’s author, in a news conference.
At least 16 cityhood bills, which include Carcar, have already been forwarded to Malacañang for President Arroyo’s signature.
An official copy of Carcar’s cityhood bill was submitted only last March 15.
However, the President reportedly opted to “lapse it into law” after 30 days because of strong opposition from the League of Cities whose members are concerned that their Internal Revenue Allotment will decrease.
Thus, Gullas expects that the Carcar cityhood will become law on April 15, about a month before this year’s mid-term elections.
Still, the veteran Cebuano lawmaker said he’d rather have the plebiscite held after the May polls, apprehensive that the electoral exercise may derail Carcar’s cityhood.
If Carcaranons favor the bill, the town will be the second local government in Cebu’s first district to be converted into a component city through Gullas’ efforts.
Talisay, a neighboring city, officially became a component city of Cebu Province in 2001 through Republic Act 8979.
But if it is disapproved in the plebiscite, the Carcar cityhood will go back to square one and undergo again the same tedious legislative process in Congress.
Gullas said he fought hard in Congress for the approval of the bill as some legislators were against the conversion of a second city in the same district.
He said, though, that he will not follow the move of fellow legislator, Rep. Clavel Asas-Martinez (Cebu, 4th district) who wants to hold the plebiscite of the Bogo cityhood during the May 14 polls.
Gullas said he already advised Carcar town officials to set aside at least P10 million for the plebiscite expenditures.
As to the cityhood of Naga, Gullas expects that it will also be approved on third and final reading during the last five-day sessions of the Senate in June.
The 13th Congress will officially end after its last session days on June 4 to 8.
Gullas said he is trying his best to get a certification of urgency from Arroyo to ensure the Naga cityhood bill’s approval in the Senate.
He reiterated that he will support the senatorial bids of reelectionists Manuel Villar, Joker Arroyo, Ralph Recto and Kiko Pangilinan whom he described as very supportive of his proposed bills.
Villar is with the Genuine Opposition, while Pangilinan is running as an independent candidate.
Gullas said he also promised Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. of the minority bloc, to support the candidacy of his son Koko in the Senate just to ensure that Pimentel will not block the Naga cityhood.
