Borongan braces up for cityhood

By ALICE NICART (PIA Borongan)
June 2, 2007

BORONGAN, Eastern Samar  –  The local government unit of Borongan is set to conduct soon the much awaited plebiscite for its conversion to a component city.

Despite the opposition of the country’s League of City Mayors, Borongan might just be blessed with the “Yes” vote as more and more sectors put their axe together for the massive information dissemination campaign.

Reelected Sangguniang Bayan member and OIC-Mayor, Dr. Jessie Solidon in yesterday’s forum belied reports that the proposed cityhood had been disapproved due to income requirement.

He stressed that it is now on record of Senator Franklin Drilon what the Senate Committee had previously agreed that “municipal applicants which were still within the P20-M income requirement may be considered,” thus when the bill was returned back to the Lower House and so endorsed again by Congressman Prospero Pichay and Alfredo Lim, the bill was approved.

What the LGU is projecting instead is the people’s reactions to the cityhood thing.

Several words have surfaced recently of some negative remarks emanating from the business sectors of Borongan in particular. However, the Cityhood Team had prepared a series of information campaign sorties and IEC materials in order for the cityhood message to be captured and fully understood by every voting entity. As an information man himself, Solidon, speaking before Mayor Fidel Anacta (who is in Manila submitting other requirements) believes that once people get to know of the benefits they would derive from living in a city instead of just in a mere municipality albeit, better health services, infrastructure, education and other social services, then they will accept the proposal and vote “Yes” to Borongan cityhood.

On taxation, Mr. Emman Balondo, Assistant Treasurer stressed that once the cityhood is approved, it is mandated, that no increase in real property taxes shall be rendered within the five year period since its approval date. Or, Balondo added that, should the government finds out that the new IRA is sufficient for the city’s expenditure then, no increase in taxes shall occur at all. On the other hand, Balondo said, since it is eminent that taxation is progressive, the feared increase may have to happen instead in 2009 as there is a mandate to revise the real property taxes come 2008.