PLEBISCITE | Voters in Bulacan reject bid to convert San Jose Del Monte into highly urbanized city

November 1, 2023 , 05:09 PM

By Beatrice Puente

(November 1, 2023) – More than 800,000 voters in Bulacan rejected the conversion of San Jose Del Monte into a highly urbanized city, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) reported on Wednesday, a result that blocked an attempt that would have made the locality independent from the provincial government.

A copy of the Certificate of Canvass showed that 820,385 voters opposed the conversion while 620,707 were in favor, tallying a gap of almost 200,000. It covers all the 24 cities and municipalities in Bulacan.

The plebiscite was conducted last Monday in time for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

In 2020, then-president Rodrigo Duterte signed Proclamation No. 1057, converting San Jose Del Monte into a highly urbanized city following the request made by the city council through Resolution No. 2019-059-09. This, however, still had to undergo a plebiscite.

Duterte’s proclamation said San Jose Del Monte “met the minimum requirements” for the conversion under the Local Government Code of 1991.

“It is a declared policy of the government to support the initiatives of local governments to attain their fullest development as self-reliant communities and make them effective partners in the attainment of national goals,” read Proclamation No. 1057.

Under the Code, a city with a minimum population of 200,000 and an annual income of at least P50 million shall be classified as a highly urbanized city. The Philippine Statistics Authority must certify the population while the city treasurer must similarly certify the latest income of the local government unit.

San Jose Del Monte has a population of more than 600,000 and a net income of P141 million, as of 2022. But the voters have the final say on whether the city shall become highly urbanized or not.

“It shall be the duty of the president to declare a city as highly urbanized within 30 days after it shall have met the minimum requirements prescribed in the immediately preceding section, upon proper application therefor and ratification in a plebiscite by the qualified voters therein,” added the Code.

When a city becomes highly urbanized, the voters residing therein can no longer vote for the provincial governor. Thirty-three cities in the Philippines are highly urbanized. Half of these are in Metro Manila.

Earlier this month, Bulacan mayors expressed their support for the conversion of San Jose Del Monte into a highly urbanized city, touting what they described as a “step toward autonomy.”

Advocates added that the local development initiatives can improve in the event that the city achieves its highly urbanized status.

But opposition groups stressed that the standard of living in the city would get higher if San Jose Del Monte becomes a highly urbanized city. Higher taxes on businesses, land, and other properties were also raised by critics as a major concern.

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