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Monday, July 02, 2007
12T voters make Carcar City
By Garry A. Cabotaje
CARCAR CITY -- A fireworks display that started at 9:05 Sunday night and lit up the skies for two minutes signaled the triumphant end of the long campaign to make the new city of Carcar.
A total of 13,483, about 28 percent of the former heritage town’s registered voters, turned up to vote. Of them, 11,699 or about 87 percent voted “yes.” The “no” votes amounted to 1,748.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007 Coverage
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“We should not miss this opportunity because this town deserves to become one,” newly reelected Mayor Patrick Barcenas told reporters after he cast his “yes” vote at 9:35 a.m. in Barangay Poblacion 1.
Barcenas believes the conversion should have happened eight years ago, ahead of neighboring Talisay City’s change in status.
Carcar is the second town in Cebu to become a city this year, following Bogo in the north, which held its plebiscite last June 16.
While Carcar failed to surpass the 60.8 percent turnout in Bogo, its turnout was still higher than Parañaque’s 7 percent and San Juan and Navotas’ 12 percent.
Low-key affairz
But except for “Yes to cityhood" streamers displayed in strategic places and leaflets detailing six major “cityhood benefits," there was not much fanfare in the former heritage town.
Carcaranons, who are known for their ingenuity in making shoes as much as for their famous chicharon, went on with their normal routines.
Internet cafes teemed with teenagers, while others spent much of their Sunday in the town’s department store and a food chain.
The initially sluggish turnout didn’t escape Cebu Provincial Election Supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano’s notice, and he observed that some of the residents spent their day at the beach to celebrate St. Peter’s Day.
Castillano initially projected a 30 to 40 percent turnout of voters, more than enough to ratify Republic Act 9436, the law converting Carcar town into a component city.
Castillano, who supervised the local board of canvassers, visited Perrelos and Guadalupe, Carcar’s vote-rich barangays.
82% last May
Carcar has 47,897 registered voters spread throughout 226 precincts. It recorded an 82 percent turnout, one of the highest among Cebu towns, during the May 14 elections.
Before voting, Barcenas and his wife attended the 8 a.m. mass at the St. Catherine Parish Church.
Like other campaigners for Carcar City, the mayor said the benefits will be tremendous, starting with the town’s P72-million annual Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) that could triple.
More IRA funds, he said, will finance a bigger public market and a bus terminal, new school buildings, as well as the opening of two diversion roads.
The first diversion road would link Barangay Poblacion 3 to Barangay Poblacion 1, stretching about four kilometers and leading to Barili town. The second one will connect Barangays Valladolid and Bolinawan, a seven-kilometer alternate road heading towards Argao town.
These two new roads will unclog traffic especially at the historic rotunda, Barcenas said.
No tax hike
A “Yes to cityhood" leaflet printed in bold letters the guarantee that Carcar would not impose new tax rates within 10 years.
Barcenas also vowed to provide funds for the improvement of the local shoemaking industry through training, promotions and soft loans.
Vice Mayor Nicepuro Apura, for his part, promised to pass a measure extending the tax hike moratorium to 10 years, so as not to overburden the Carcaranons and entice more investors to come in.
The newly approved RA 9436, written by Rep. Eduardo Gullas (Cebu Province, 1st district), guarantees only a five-year suspension of any local tax increases.
Apura, who will preside the local council’s inaugural session on Wednesday, also sees the need for “extensive” urban planning and the development of the town’s tourism sites.
But businessman Julius Sarmiento, 39, described the tax hike moratorium as just a bait for Carcaranons to favor the conversion.
“Even if Carcar remains a town, it can still move forward and entice businessmen to pour in their investments here," he said.
Sarmiento, who cast his “no” vote in Barangay Poblacion 1, said that his clan supported his stance. He helped in the distribution of at least 200 copies of flyers arguing against making their town into a city.
About five hours after the precincts closed, the canvassing was over. Two sub-committees speed up the counting, spending five minutes, on average, on each plebiscite return.
By 9:05 p.m. came the formal proclamation, followed by the brief flare of bright lights over Cebu’s newest city. (Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pampanga. (July 2, 2007 issue)
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