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Sunday, June 17, 2007
Townfolks celebrate Bogo’s cityhood
By Minerva B. Gerodias
BOGO CITY -- You read that right. With a fireworks display and dancing to live band music at the plaza, residents of Bogo celebrated Saturday night their town’s conversion into a city.
Long before the canvassing of votes ended at 10:10 p.m., the outcome was clear.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007 Coverage
View here the list of local winners
The final tally showed 23,955 “yes” votes—97.82 percent of the total votes cast—against 482 “no” votes.
Only 24,488 turned up to vote, but at 60.79 percent of all registered voters, that’s still a high turnout for a plebiscite, where the turnout normally ranges from 10 to 15 percent, said Commission on Elections (Comelec) Regional Attorney and Acting Provincial Election Supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano.
The announcement was simple: “We hereby declare that the conversion has been ratified and approved.” Representative Clavel Asas-Martinez, who set this change in motion eight years ago, missed the plebiscite for “a very important matter” in Manila.
“We have a feeling of accomplishment and achievement, now that the people and officials of Bogo can start a new chapter. We achieved what we dreamed of,” said the congresswoman’s son, outgoing Bogo Mayor Celestino “Tining” Martinez III.
It was also a high point for Bogo residents, whose ballot boxes remain stuck at the Comelec office in Manila, in arguably the most controversial congressional election in Cebu this year.
More than a month since the May 14 polls, residents of Cebu’s fourth district still don’t know whether Tining Martinez or former Provincial Board member Benhur Salimbangon will be taking oath as their congressman.
In contrast, they only had to wait five hours after the canvassing started to confirm the results of Saturday’s plebiscite.
Of 40,278 registered voters, 24,488 participated. In part because of their decision, Bogo is now the sixth component city of Cebu Province.
The plebiscite unfolded smoothly, according to Castillano.
Cebu Provincial Police Director Carmelo Valmoria sent two Special Reaction Unit teams to Bogo and personally supervised security preparations during the plebiscite.
But he said the entire event was peaceful.
There was some opposition to the plan from businessmen who were worried about the possibility of higher taxes, but that sentiment was not obvious Saturday.
And with the plebiscite held only a month after the May 14 elections,
Castillano said the people already knew where to go. Comelec used the same list of voters and precinct assignments they arranged in last month’s polls.
Castillano and some election officers also went around Bogo to supervise the conduct of the plebiscite.
Tining Martinez said he has no regrets that he will no longer be the mayor in Bogo’s first three years as a city. His father, Celestino “Junie” Martinez Jr., assumes office as mayor on June 30.
Junie has been proclaimed even if at least 18 election returns from Bogo have not been canvassed, as the total votes in those documents will no longer affect Junie’s margin against his opponent, Valeriano Hortelano.
Now that Bogo is a city, Martinez said the delivery of basic services “will be doubled” as it’s Internal Revenue Allotment will also rise.
He envisions Bogo to become a commercial hub of northern Cebu, as it is strategically located. The elder Martinez added that it will now be easier to market Bogo.
The bill for Bogo’s conversion was filed in January 1999 by Congresswoman Martinez. If finally became a law last March, despite the League of Cities’ opposition to creating new cities—which they expect will eat into their internal revenue shares.
Comelec Manila issued last June 2 the resolution to hold the plebiscite for Bogo. And Saturday, the change that took eight years to push finally gained the voters’ approval.(Sun.Star Cebu)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (June 17, 2007 issue)
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